Psalms 80:19 – Intimacy

“Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.”

The end of the prayer is now here. And for the third time, this request is uttered: Turn us again, O God, cause Thy face to shine, and we shall be saved!’

Needless to say, as a result I’ve covered the first mention in Psalms 80:3 and the second in Psalms 80:7. I have even commented on verse 19 in those posts, so this will be relatively short, and focus in on the new addition to the request: the name of God.

It’s an interesting development that as the Psalmist gets deeper in prayer, his relationship with God becomes more and more intimate. From using simply God or ‘Elohyim’ that is to say, the God of gods, a term used for other gods such as Baal as well, to saying God of hosts, that is, The God of gods and armies, to this verse where the name itself is used: Yahweh!

A similar progression can be seen in Psalms 23, where it begins speaking about God, but by the end it’s addressing God directly.

So should it be with our prayer, that as we kneel deep in prayer, may we find His presence there. May we see as we get to the end of time shut in with God that we have become more intimate with Him. That He becomes more than just a title, but we know His name, we know who He is – the Existing One.

There is nothing greater, nothing more powerful, nothing more meaningful then being in contact with the ONE who is before all things, who made all things, and by whom all things exist. That’s the power of prayer. That’s what makes it essential. That’s why prayer ought to be at the top of your To Do list each and every day, regardless how easy or tough times are.