I am Your servant; Give me understanding, That I may know Your testimonies. It is time for You to act, O Lord, For they have regarded Your law as void. (Ps. 119:25-26)

“As God’s servant, the psalmist has a claim on God for help. And so he asks for discernment—to understand the full meaning of God’s word (vv. 34, 66, 73). Powerful knowledge of divine things is of utmost importance. We can’t pray for it enough. If we are struggling with discouragement arising from affliction, it will strengthen us. If we are struggling with destructive patterns in our thinking and living, it will cause us to forsake our sin. If we are struggling with pride, envy, or bitterness, it will cultivate poverty of spirit within us. If we are struggling to forgive those who’ve hurt us, it will cause us to weep on their behalf. If we are struggling with the call to deny self, it will make us willing to live for Him. If we are struggling with addiction, it will captivate our heart and satisfy our deepest longing. If we are struggling to resist the world’s allurements, it will turn our heart away from the world’s unholy trinity of pleasure, profit, and power. If we are struggling with laziness and carefulness, it will awaken us from our slumber. If we are struggling to come to grips with numerous uncertainties, it will calm our greatest fears. (Yuille, J. Stephen. The Path of Live, 144.)