NUMBERING OUR DAYS

Numbering Our Days

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Ps. 90:12

Have you ever thought “how many days to I have on this earth?”. Jonathan Edwards made a resolution when he was nineteen to think often of his death. He felt that if he kept his death in sight it would help him focus on eternity and thus live a better life. That is what Moses had in mind in this prayer, “Lord, teach us to number our days”. Moses, and much later, Jonathan Edwards new the value of considering the shortness of this life. This world is fragile and temporary. Unforeseen circumstances can cause it to end abruptly and without warning. As we begin a new year it would be good for us to come before The Lord, consider the brevity of human life, and to number our days before The Lord. Here are some powerful thoughts by Luther on this passage.

“Until I realized how seriously and urgently Moses prayed in this passage, I didn’t understand that we should ask God to teach us to number our days. I thought everyone was just as afraid of death as I was. However, out of ten thousand people, only ten might believe that numbering their days is important. The rest of the masses of people live as if God doesn’t exist and death doesn’t occur. But this isn’t the worst part. Some people who are about to die imagine that they’ll go on living. Others, overwhelmed by misery, still dream of happiness. Still others, who are in extreme danger, foolishly think they’re totally secure. Their delusion is the saddest part of all.
So Moses appropriately teaches us to pray that we might number our days. We aren’t supposed to ask God exactly how much time we have left. Rather, we must pray that we may become aware of how miserable and short our lives are. Death and God’s eternal anger threaten us every second.
Occasionally we’ll find people who really are concerned about the shortness of life. They are preoccupied with thoughts of their impending death, even though they didn’t pray for this knowledge. But most people aren’t aware that their days are numbered. They live as if the present moment will last forever. So for most of us, praying the way Moses suggests in this passage is indispensable.”

When we pray like this the results are staggering, we become aware of the stakes of eternity. Rather than stumbling through life self absorbed and distracted we become focused. We are suddenly aware of the lost souls all around us. We also become aware of our need of God in all things. We need Him in our families, we need Him in our schools, we need Him in our work, we are in need of God’s help and presence every moment of every day. So how many days to you have before you step into the other world? Ask The Lord to help you number your days, when you do, you can then start living life to the full.