Summer of Depth Devotional Day 56

Today is Day 56 of our Summer of Depth Devotional and Reading Plan, and it’s the start of our final week studying God’s word together in this way.

Yesterday, Pastor Joe gave us four simple prayers we can bring with us whenever we open Scripture: Open my eyes. Speak into my real life. Change what I want. Turn my eyes.

Those prayers all come from the same desire: we don't just want to know God's Word. We want God to use His Word to change us.

So as we begin the final week of Summer of Depth, let's actually practice what we heard yesterday. Let's dive deep into His Word.

Before anything else, slow down and reread the passage from Sunday: Psalm 119:33-40. Pay attention to who the Psalmist believes can actually change him.

“Teach me...”
“Give me understanding...”
“Direct me...”
“Turn my heart...”
“Turn my eyes...”

He's not approaching God's Word with confidence in his own ability to transform himself. He's asking God to do something in him that he knows he cannot simply will himself into doing.

That's important for us. Sometimes we approach spiritual growth almost entirely through effort. I need to pray more. I need to stop doing that. I need to read my Bible consistently. I need to get my act together.

There is certainly a place for discipline and obedience. But Psalm 119 reminds us that real transformation also requires dependence. The Psalmist doesn't only need new behavior. He needs God to turn his heart toward what is good and turn his eyes away from what is worthless.

In other words, he's asking God to change what has his attention and what has his affection.

And those two things are deeply connected. What repeatedly gets our attention has a way of shaping what we desire. That's why the prayer, “Turn my eyes away from worthless things,” is still so relevant. Our attention is being pulled somewhere all day long. Our phones, fears, ambitions, desires, entertainment, news, and countless other voices are constantly competing to shape us.

So maybe the invitation this week isn't to try harder to become a different person. Maybe it's to slow down, open ourselves honestly before God's Word, and ask Him to do what the Psalmist asked:

God, change me.

Practice:

Reread Psalm 119:33-40 and turn these four phrases into your prayer today:

Open my eyes.
Speak into my real life.
Change what I want.
Turn my eyes toward You.

Then sit quietly for a moment and give God room to show you where He wants to begin.