David's Dozen Desires

‘David’s Dozen Desires’

In Psalm 119 David reveals his heart’s intent by requesting the Lord to work in his life through the Word of God over six dozen times. His most frequent desire was for the Lord to ‘quicken’ him with the Word of God. This has been the desire of many of God’s faithful servants over the years.

George Mueller, the man who prayed in millions of dollars to support his miraculous orphanage ministry during the 19th century, testified of his need to read the Word, meditating upon the Scripture, until the Lord broke through and blessed him and in fact ‘quickened’ his spirit so that he might enjoy rich communion with the Lord.

An old preacher friend of mine who has gone to be with the Lord gave a similar testimony when he told of the method he used for witnessing in the streets of the town in which he ministered: ‘We just meditate on the Word, repeatedly using the passages necessary for witnessing, and then went out in the power of the Spirit to see Him do miraculous things in our presence as we told the Gospel story to the lost.’

And herein lies the problem with most of us, we want results, 21st century style, right now, immediately if not sooner, and we do not ‘tarry’ waiting on the Lord to fill us with His Holy Spirit by feeding Him His favorite Food, the precious Word of God.

David, in this my favorite Psalm, almost demanded of the Lord, when he gave these imperative requests that so penetrated the heart of God, to provide him with the ‘quickening’ power of the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus Christ said:

‘It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing, the Words that I speak unto you they are Spirit, they are Life.’ (John 6:63) If this were the only verse in the Bible it would be enough for me to make it my habit to digest this precious Word for here He gave the very ‘secret’ to being filled with the Spirit and that is to be filled with the Word!

Psalm 119, among David’s Dozens of Desires, are nine which focus on this word ‘quicken’ which is the old English term for being ‘made alive’. Now we know that David was not referring to physical life here, but, in fact, he lays the very foundation for the Bible doctrine of Spirit-filled living which rests on the internalization of the precious Word of God! Yes, the Word of God does the work of God as my testimony demonstrates.

On March 7, 1980 the Lord saved me from the bondage of drugs and drunkenness which completely controlled my life. Of the ten demonic characteristics Satan used to control and possess the life of the Demoniac of Gadara in Mark 5:1-15, eight were prevalent in my life!

But, all praise and glory to the Lord Jesus Christ, He delivered me from every one of them the moment he saved me that miraculous day! What was it that caused this great transformation? Fifteen chapters of the Gospel of John! His marvelous miraculous Word broke through the hardened shell of my soul and gave me the gift of repentance through faith in His name!

The Holy Spirit so moved upon my heart through the Word of God that I wept for hours as the Truth of the Word pierced my soul: ‘Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends’ (John 15:13) Yes, it was the love of the Lord Jesus Christ that was revealed to me that day and brought complete deliverance from sin and a desire to witness to others!

It was and is His Word that continues to deliver me from sin and ‘quicken’ or make me alive by His Spirit, and this is the message of David here in Psalm 119, or at least one of the messages of this powerful Psalm, and it appears, by the numbers, to be the most requested of David’s Dozens of Desires. And why not? Isn’t this the very essence of being alive once we are saved? To be ‘quickened’ made alive, filled with the Spirit, so that we can do the will and work of God in His strength ‘For without Me ye can do nothing’ (John 15:5).

Therefore, according to the Words of Jesus, unless He is accomplishing His work through us by His Spirit, what we do comes to nothing…zero…zip…nada! ‘How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? (Luke 11:13) He wants to give…we simply must ask…as David did…it’s not the programs, or the seminars, or the formulas…no ‘It is the Spirit that quickens…the Words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, they are Life’