His Work in Me (Praying Psalm 138:8)
The Lord will perfect that which concerns me;
Psalm 138:8 NKJV
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.
The Lord will work out his plans for my life—
Psalm 138:8 NLT
for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
Don’t abandon me, for You made me.
“You keep every promise you’ve ever made to me!
Psalm 138:8 TPT
Since your love for me is constant and endless,
I ask you, Lord, to finish every good thing that You’ve begun in me!”
There are 3 unique components in this powerful prayer:
PART 1: CONFESSION of Faith
“The Lord will perfect that which concerns me….”
Dear Father, You promised to work out and perfect all which concerns me. Your Word says, “…we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ‘I believed, and therefore I SPOKE,’ we also believe and therefore SPEAK” (2 Cor 4:13). I believe You, Lord, and therefore I speak out loud “what is written” – the promises in Your Word:
“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6).
“He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it” (1 Thess 5:24).
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer 29:11).
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 1:24).
In faith, I take my stand upon the “solid foundation” (2 Tim 2:19) of Your Word, believing and confessing Your promises as the Bible tells me to do:
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Heb 10:23).
PART 2: The REASON God can finish His work
“…Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever….”
Dear Father, all Your plans to perfect Your work in us are based wholly upon Your everlasting mercies – Your “covenant love” in which You purchased our redemption at the price of the Precious Blood of Your Son, Jesus Christ:
“Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the BLOOD of the EVERLASTING COVENANT,
Make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well-pleasing in His sight…” (Heb 13:20-21).
Lord Jesus, thank You for giving Yourself upon the Cross for me. You were willing to carry my sin and to become my sin (2 Cor 5:21); to take the curse of my sin and to become the curse in my place on the Cross (Gal 3:10-14).
And You did not stop there! You rose from the dead and sat down on the right hand of the Father where You continually make intercession for us:
“Therefore He is able also to save forever (completely, perfectly, for eternity) those who come to God through Him since He always lives to intercede and intervene on their behalf [with God]” (Heb 7:25).
And not only that, but You also sent the Holy Spirit to be our Helper, Guide, and Comforter.
Thank You, O Holy Spirit, for dwelling within me. Thank You for the conviction of “sin, righteousness, and judgment.” Thank You for leading me into all Truth, and for revealing more and more of Jesus to me (John 16:7-15). In fulfillment of the New Covenant, You were sent for the express purpose of preparing the Bride for Christ (Rev 18:7-8; Rev 22:17). And You are the One who transforms us “from glory to glory” into Christ-likeness (2 Cor 3:18) to be ready when Jesus returns for His Bride at the Rapture.
Thank You, Father, for such a demonstration of Your eternal mercies and love (Rom 5:8). Oh please, never allow me to forget or take for granted the high price You paid for this abundant provision that you might perfect the work You started in us. How could I ever doubt? You have supplied us with “ALL THINGS that pertain to life and godliness…by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these [we] may be partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:3-4). Hallelujah!
PART 3: A GENUINE and Sincere Plea
“Do not forsake the work of Your hands.”
Dear Father, You are a Master Potter, and You can do all things; but Your Word explains that my “flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another…” (Gal 5:17). So I recognize how easily I can oppose Your work in me by giving room to my flesh – oh, how foolish to resist Your loving hands!
”…O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You are our Potter…” (Isa 64:8).
Thank You, Father, for sending Your Spirit to dwell within me, filling me with “exceeding great power” (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8; Eph 1:19) that I may be “strengthened with might…in [my] inner man” (Eph 3:16). With the Holy Spirit’s leading, I choose to “deny [myself] and take up [my] cross daily,” and overcome by saying “No” to myself and “Yes” to the Potter’s hands (Luke 9:23; Rom 8:13-14; Gal 2:20; Gal 5:24-25).
Father, I long to be genuine and sincere just like the Psalmist, so I make my plea to You: “Forsake not the work of Your hands in me!” Please keep working in me no matter how much my flesh cries and complains and grovels in self-pity. Don’t leave me! Hold me down tightly upon the Potter’s wheel until Your work is done, even as You told Jacob:
“Behold, I am with you and will keep you… for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you” (Gen 28:15).
And I will hold onto You, just like Jacob told You:
“…I will not let You go unless You bless me!” (Gen 32:26).
Father, please spare not for my crying! (Prov 19:18; also Prov 13:24; Prov 23:13-14; Prov 29:15-17). I know Your discipline may not be very “joyous,” but it is necessary so that You may perfect and complete Your purpose in me:
“For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems sad and painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness [right standing with God and a lifestyle and attitude that seeks conformity to God’s will and purpose]” (Heb 12:6-11 Amplified).
O Master Potter, ever hold me tight upon the Potter’s wheel so I may be shaped by Your hand!
And I make this my prayer to You:
My CONFESSION: “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me….”
The REASON You can: “…Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever….”
My GENUINE plea is: “…Do not forsake the works of Your hands.”
In Jesus’ Precious Name, Amen.
