Daily devotional · December 30
Teach Us to Number Our Days
“So teach us to number our days, that we may present a heart of wisdom. Return, O LORD! How long will it be? Have compassion on Your servants. Satisfy us in the morning with Your loving devotion, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as You have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen evil. May Your work be shown to Your servants, and Your splendor to their children. May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish for us the work of our hands— yes, establish the work of our hands!”
As the year closes, this psalm speaks with unusual honesty about the shortness of life. Moses, traditionally its author, asks God to teach us to number our days so that we may gain a heart of wisdom. This is not morbid; it is clarifying. Knowing time is limited helps us choose what matters. He also asks for satisfying love in the morning, gladness to match the years of affliction, and that God's work and favor rest upon us. The closing prayer is beautiful: establish the work of our hands. Today, take a quiet half hour to review your year without judgment. Write down what you are thankful for, what you want to release, and what you want to give your days to next. Choose one relationship and one practice to prioritize. Then offer them to God and ask Him to bless what is small and give lasting meaning to it.
Prayer
Lord, teach me to use my days wisely. Establish the work of my hands for Your glory. Amen.