Desire And Request (Psalm 20:4; 21:2)

 


Saturday, 8 November, 2025


Psalms 20; 21

2 Kings 15:8-22

Matthew 22:15-33


Observance: Saints, martyrs, missionaries and teachers of the Anglican Communion


Desire And Request (Psalm 20:4; 21:2)


May he grant you your heart's desire
    and fulfill all your plans!

You have given him his heart's desire
    and have not withheld the request of his lips.


A little while ago we noticed how, in the Psalms, we often come across this character described as “the righteous man”. Another main character often referred to is the “king”. The righteous man is, it appears, to be a prophetic reference to Jesus; then, as now, it is difficult to disagree with the conclusion that this king is the same Jesus.


The Psalms are given to us as a way of having a conversation with God. And they are also an insight into the conversation between the Persons of the triune God. Both are true: for in the incarnation of our Lord, he has come into us, and in his atoning death, he has brought us into him in return. Those who place their faith in the Lord Jesus are now members of his body, with him at the head; we are joined to God in a mysterious yet definite and unbreakable bond.


Whose heart’s desire, then, is being prayed for? And whose it is that is fulfilled? It is Jesus – it is his heart’s desire to be raised from the grave, and to have his people join him in the heavenly places. And it is our heart’s desire, too. Our wills, our affections, our desires, our intentions, our present and our future is bound with that of Christ – that of God – in such a way that the prayers of Jesus in the Psalms are also our prayers, too.


How do your desires line up with the desires of Jesus? How can you pray in such a way that you can get deeper into the mind of God?


Jesus, joy of our desire: open to us the mysteries of your incarnation that we may go deeper into the love of God through our prayers and in our lives.

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