Psalm 90:17 - April 20, 2010

Ps 90:17 "May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us — yes, establish the work of our hands." NIV

Sometimes little prayers have a big impact and this passage is one of those times! This verse revolves around two simple principles of intercession and prayer. The psalmist understands the need for the favor of God to rest on a person’s life! The ministries of Samuel in II Sa. 2:26 and both Jesus and John the Baptist in the gospels were marked by the favor of God and in each case their lives displayed both the revelation of God and the impact of His attention and favor upon the power of their public ministries. Each ministry was marked by a clear word of revelation from heaven and each ministry carried a deep place of impact upon the hearts of men as they spoke an authoritative word that flowed out of a place of hearing and intimacy not theoretical principles.

Throughout the pages of scripture a few of the distinctions of the favor of God being upon a life would include: the Lord teaching us His ways, the Lord’s presence accompanying His servants, the favor of people coming by the hand of God, and the voice of the Lord speaking into the life of the Lord’s servants. Psalm 5:12 even describes the favor of the Lord as being as though the Lord has surrounded us with a shield. Many passages throughout the Old Testament record the people of God crying out to Him for His favor to be upon them. It seems that in today’s church there is a need for a fresh understanding of the benefit of asking the Lord for His favor to rest upon us.

The second prayer point found in verse 17 of psalm 90 is concerning the works of our hands. The psalmist understands that it is God who makes us successful. Have you ever labored at something intensely only to see it bear little or no fruit, or even to have it cost you in the end rather than to bring blessing. It is the Lord who establishes and causes to flourish. Sometimes we as His people take for granted the assumption that we will be blessed and forget our responsibility to labor with God through asking for His power and wisdom to establish our works. Every venture that we undertake for the Lord should be bathed in prayer not clothed in presumption! It is God’s desire to bless and to increase us through our God directed labors but His word also clearly says that we have not because we ask not and when we do ask we are asking with selfish motives. God invites us to partner with Him through a life of prayer and obedience to His commands and two of the simplest and yet most profoundly impacting prayers that we can pray are for God’s favor to be upon us and for Him to establish our works! Do it today!