Psalm 67: May Our Prayers Increase!

Encouraging you to pray more and more effectively is our desire. Over the last few months, we have been using Psalm 67 to do just that. At the center of this Psalm, is a heartfelt biblically rooted plea to God, that he, himself, would let all nations join in glad and joyful praise to Him.

The psalmist pleads with God, “Let the peoples praise you, O God”(v. 3, 5). He cries out ‘Let’, not 1 time, nor 2, but 4 times. And smack dab in the middle of verse 3 and 5, he lands another let, “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy”.

3Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy…….
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!

But why? Why is Psalm 67 so intent on pleading with and asking for the nation's praise to erupt in worship?

The first answer is simply, because they’re not doing it. Praise is lacking.

Secondly, the psalmist knows that God is gracious(v. 1), inclined tobless(v. 6) and has the power tosave(v. 2). God is willing and able.

Lastly, the gladness and joy of the nations hinges upon their ability to know God in salvation and praise him for it. Gladness is available.

Here is the train of thought:

praise to God is lacking among the nations, due to no knowledge of God in salvation;
no knowledge of God in salvation, no gladness and joy;
no gladness and joy, nothing to praise him for;
nothing to praise him for, still no gladness and joy,
still no gladness and joy, due to no knowledge of God in salvation;
no knowledge of God in salvation, then praise to God among the nations will also still be lacking.

The antidote for the people’s lack of praise, gladness and joy, is knowing God and his saving power through Christ. Praise be to God that the nations, including Chad, have a God who is merciful and gracious and abounding in steadfast love! He WANTS to be known.

He doesn’t need to be convinced or persuaded to let the nations be glad. It is already inherent to who he is. It is the fixed posture of his heart, the very inclination of his very being and the sure foundation of our praise. God is more committed to seeking the nation’s praise than we are, and the psalmist knows it, which is why he is so confident and free to say:

“God, our God, shall bless us, God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him” (v. 7).

Psalm 67’s plea for us to pray for the praise of the nations to be given to God is not because God will be lacking if they don’t, but the nations will not be glad until they do.

Below you will see some specific ways you can pray for these laborers and those they are trying to reach.

- An unreached man in a remote village specifically asked to have a solar powered audio recorder so that he could listen to the words of Jesus. Not only did he listen but he played it loud enough for others around him to hear too. Pray that they might hear the words of the Good Shepherd and live.

- In another place two women are asking to hear stories of Jacob and Joseph again and again. Pray for those who are sharing these stories with them as they lay the groundwork for presenting Christ.

- Several laborers in Chad use their medical skills as in roads to building trust and friendship. Open doors into various communities and families are taking place because of these efforts. Please pray for them specifically that the gentle and compassionate heart of God would be displayed through their work.

- In other places there is increased opposition both from local authorities and in the spiritual realm. Sometimes sludging through the daily grind of just surviving in a hard to reach place can be exhausting and discouraging. Pray that these laborers may abide in Christ, persevere, and not grow weary in doing good.

- Pray for new workers skilled in linguistics to come to Chad for future translation projects.

- Pray for MBB’s in Chad. Many of them face great fear, hostility, despair, temptation, persecution and despair. Many of them are ostracized from their support systems. Pray for strong communities of MBB’s to remain steadfast in faith and a support for one another.

- Pray for one Christian Chadian man. Pray that Psalm 51 would be the posture of his heart. Pray for him to follow Christ and walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and dabble in sin no longer.