Psalm 116: 1-9 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 116: 1-9 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my supplications.
Verse 2Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
Verse 3The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.
Verse 4Then I called on the name of the Lord: "O Lord, I pray, save my life!"
Verse 5Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful.
Verse 6The Lord protects the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me.
Verse 7Return, O my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
Verse 8For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
Verse 9I walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
Devotion
Someone once said, there are really only two prayers, "Help" and "Thank You."
That's certainly true for this Psalm as the writer recalls the grim context of his prayers&mdashdeath, sheol, distress, tears, anguish&mdashand the thankful and gracious news that God has provided deliverance!
Have you ever prayed with someone on their deathbed? To paraphrase a founding father, a deathbed prayer "concentrates your mind considerably." In those prayers there's no mention of deadlines, work pressures, trivia, or the desire to acquire more stuff. It's only about salvation (Latin: salvus) that is healing—the healing of relationships; the healing of body and mind; and the healing of despair through God's presence.
With the Psalmist, we move from prayers of "help" to "thank you". Which leads us to a third prayer: silence&mdashawe that God has provided ultimate healing through the life, death, and resurrection of his Son.
Prayer
Gracious God, help me to learn from the Psalmist so that my prayer, too, may be "when I come to die, give me Jesus." Amen.