O LORD God of hosts hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of Your anointed. For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusts in You.
Psalm 84:8-12
Are there not times in your life when you want to know that God is hearing your prayers? You want some kind of a sign, some confirmation from your Creator that you are not just praying into empty air? So, it must have been with the writer of this Psalm. He wanted God to look upon his face which would let him know that God was listening to his prayer.
The courts of the Lord speak of God’s presence. A day in His presence is better than a thousand days elsewhere, all put together.
William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, was heard to be crying out to God with the prayer, “Lord, do it again, Lord, do it again.” He was asking God to once again pour out His Spirit on the world and bring revival to the churches.
Having Faith for the Passion He Once Had
Perhaps that was what the Psalmist was asking from the Lord. Perhaps he knew that one day in the courts of the Lord would set his soul aflame again and restore him to the heights of joy that he once experienced.
To be a doorkeeper, or one who opened the door for people to come in, would be better than dwelling the tents of wickedness. I will leave it up to you to decide what can go on in the places where wickedness and evil are carried on. However, I agree with the Psalmist—I would rather be one who opens the door of the house of God than to dwell or live in the houses of evil.
There is a song that was written years ago that said it all: “Jesus is all the world to me.” He is my light and my salvation. He gives grace to the humble and will one day give glory to His saints. The people who trust in Him are truly blessed. Can you say amen? Do you long for the courts (presence) of the Lord? Do you pray like William Booth, that God will set your heart aflame with the Holy Spirit again? Today could be the day that it happens—seek Him while He may be found. Amen, amen and amen.
