Verse of the Day 2/16

Psalm 116:1-2 (NLT) I love the LORD because he hears my voice
      and my prayer for mercy.
 ² Because he bends down to listen,
      I will pray as long as I have breath!

If you are a parent or grandparent and have been around toddlers lately, it may help you relate to this verse.  Other translations may say in verse two that the Lord "inclines" His ears to us.  The "bends down to listen" in the NLT gives a more vivid picture. 

 

Why is it that we bend down to listen to a child or perhaps pick them up to see them face to face?  It shows that they have our attention, it shows that we care, and gives them confidence that we are listening and are concerned for their "needs" and are there to help them, to do what they cannot do themselves. 

 

If you read the beginning of the psalm below, you will see that the psalmist was drowning in despair but instead of giving up he turned to the Lord in childlike faith and the Lord "bent down", listened to him, and lifted him out of the situation.

 

When we feel like we are drowning in our troubled circumstances may we turn to Him to keep our heads above water and rescue us.

 

"Jesus, our head, is already in heaven; and if the head be above water, the body cannot drown." - John Flavel in today's "Grace Gems".

 

Blessings,
Mike
Follow the verse of the day at www.mikesvotd.blogspot.com

Psalm 116  New Living Translation (NLT)

 ¹ I love the LORD because he hears my voice
      and my prayer for mercy.
 ² Because he bends down to listen,
      I will pray as long as I have breath!
 ³ Death wrapped its ropes around me;
      the terrors of the grave^[a] overtook me.
      I saw only trouble and sorrow.
 ⁴ Then I called on the name of the LORD:
      "Please, LORD, save me!"
 ⁵ How kind the LORD is! How good he is!
      So merciful, this God of ours!
 ⁶ The LORD protects those of childlike faith;
      I was facing death, and he saved me.
 ⁷ Let my soul be at rest again,
      for the LORD has been good to me.