“Remind me each day of your love, for I put my trust in you.” (Psalm 143:7)

It has been said again and again that the psalms are the most raw human documents in the Bible. Take this verse set for the week before Palm Sunday. The writer could have been Martin Luther who, in his comments on the Sermon on the Mount, points out that the Christian should always be knocking on God’s door, praying in season and out, to keep strong the relationship we have by God’s grace with God.

But what if, and Luther himself indicates he had had such times frequently, you just don’t feel like praying? What if you are distracted by things of this world and forget God entirely?  Obviously the writer of this psalm had such times. The psalm seems to be saying, “I know I shouldn’t forget you, God, and right now when I am filled with joy and feel close to you, God, I beg you to break into my life when I’m living in those times of distraction. Remind me of this time and then my joy will be complete.”

We all experience such times and I, for one, have found that a simple rule of thumb sometimes helps. It’s called ACTS.  A stands for adoration, and before getting into prayer it suggests that we start by naming God’s greatness.  In prayer we remember how wonderful God is and what God has done for us.  That leads to C or confession.  Before the wonder of the God of all life and love, we must confess our own failures to carry out the things we ought to have done.  T means giving thanks to God for what God does despite our inattentiveness and downright disobedience.  Finally S stands for supplication, prayer for ourselves and others, recognizing that God wants us and cares for us even when we forget God.

Now all we have to do is recall the words of Psalm 143 (which is where we started):“Remind me each day of your love, for I put my trust in you.”

-Dick Sales