Psalm 19

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” vs. 14

At times preachers, as they enter the pulpit, will pray these words, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” It’s a confession of sorts, an acknowledgement that the Lord is present, and that the Lord has an interest in what was going to be said and heard. For some pastors, those who take their call to preach seriously, this is an intimidating thought. Preaching isn’t just a matter of gleaning a story or two from a commentary, adding a joke or two, and then tying it all together with a pair of pithy points. Preachers really are bringing a word from the Lord to people who are filled with a variety of feelings and emotions. Some are hurting, a few are feeling guilty, all are wanting to hear a word of grace. And the first listener for every sermon is the Lord! It’s a scary business, yet one of the most satisfying callings that any person could have. Really though, it’s not much different from the call that every believer has. Don’t we all want our words and meditations to be acceptable to the One who is our rock and redeemer? And our daily performance as a child of God does have an audience. Wouldn’t it be great if every day we could know that we haven’t missed a single cue or line?

Thought for the Day: Why do people become preachers?