Some Psalms are obvious. They go straight to the heart. Here is a resounding affirmation that God understands us. If you want to hear God’s voice in your life, look for Understanding.
The Understanding Nature of God’s love is a huge, wonderful promise. But like everyone else, we are limited in our understanding and we are broken in some areas of our relationships. We share the world with limited, broken people. So we have experienced heartbreak and we will experience it again. We know what it means to yearn for understanding, but not find it.
This exercise is offered as a help to you to remember that even when you feel misunderstood, even when someone has badly missed the point of what you are saying, you are understood. Moreover, God is providing the people and opportunities to move forward in your life adventure. Finally, God reminds us that that David wrote the Psalm because he too experienced what it meant to wonder, “Does anyone understand?”
Prepare yourself to meditate by taking your center of awareness down from the top of your head to your toes, relaxing each major muscle group as you do. Then slow your breathing making use of your diaphragm. You want to connected with the part of yourself that is aware without managing, the part that thinks like you do just before you fall asleep or just after you wake up. Pray this prayer within the quiet of your own heart.
“Loving God, by your spirit be present to me as I search my experience for your presence. I open my heart to you. In Christ’s name. Amen.”
Scripture
O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
You perceive my thoughts from afar…
Before the word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD (Psalm 139:1-2,4).
Allow your mind to wander over the words you just read. Don’t try to analyze it or manage your thoughts, just let them flow. Reread if you want to, then ask
“Lord, what do you want me to hear?”
Does some word or phrase stand out? If so, ask God to show you what he wants you to understand. If you are drawing a blank, pray the following.
“Lord, when did I know you understood me like the author of the psalm?”
Don’t try to remember. Just go with what comes to your mind.
Return thanks and make notes in whatever sort of journal you keep.