July 3
Verse of the Day for July 3
One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.Psalm 27:4 KJV
The Key of Devotion · Day 3 of 31
Reflection · 4 min read
Prayer When the Way Is Quiet
The setting is loud. An army encamped, war rising on every side. You would expect the next line to be a request for the enemy to leave.
One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.
Instead David says, One thing have I desired of the LORD. The one thing is not the end of the war. It is to dwell in the house of the LORD, to look at his beauty, and to ask him questions in his temple.
That is a quiet desire in a noisy psalm. And when trouble comes, the help he describes is quiet too. God will hide him in the secret of his tabernacle. Not a parade. A hidden room.
Some seasons of prayer feel like that room. Nothing dramatic is happening, no answers are arriving, and the way feels silent. It is easy to think silence means absence. David treats it as shelter.
If your prayers lately have been plain and still, sitting on the edge of the bed with a cup of tea going cold, you may not be forgotten. You may be hidden. The house is still the house when nobody is shouting in it.
Quiet is not the same as empty.Sometimes it is the secret room.
Ask for the one thing today, and let the other things wait their turn.
A hidden season can also be a held season.
Carry this today
If you could ask God for only one thing this month, would it be him?
Pray
Read Psalm 27:3–5
3Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. 4One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. 5For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
Keep praying
Reflection by Collins Asein, from the daily devotionals in the PrayerKey app. Bible text: King James Version.