envelop spinner search close plus arrow-right arrow-left facebook twitter

Everyday Saints Devotional 34

by David Joynt on February 04, 2022


Psalm 6:1-4, 7 | 1 O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, or discipline me in your wrath. 2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror. 3 My soul also is struck with terror, while you, O Lord—how long? 4 Turn, O Lord, save my life; deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love. 

7 My eyes waste away because of grief; they grow weak because of all my foes.

This is not a prayer to be offered with eyes wide open! Here the journey is not outward toward the creation or toward our neighbors, as it was with Psalm 8. Here the journey is inward, intensely private and emotional. In fact, the Psalmist’s eyes are weak with seeing and suffering. He looks inward at the emotional state of his soul, his inner brokenness and fear and sorrow.

To some degree the posture with which we pray is connected to the focus of our prayers.

Pray with your eyes shut today. Focus on the state of your soul.

Tags: pray, focus, soul

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

More from Pastor Joynts Devotionals

return to Pastor Joynts Devotionals