Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved. (Psalm 80:3; repeated in vv. 7 & 19 ESV)

Thank you, Lord, for Asaph’s psalms.

After an opening request: Please listen, O Shepherd of Israel … Show us your mighty power. Come to rescue us! (See vv. 1-2 NLT), Asaph bookends his prayerful song with the refrain from above.

Restore us, God. Please bring us back to yourself, back in to your presence. Turn back toward us. Let your face shine. Look at us with a smile on your face. The smile of God is what we long for. That we may be saved. Your divine favor is life itself. Your frown is like death. We want life.

Are you out of fellowship with God? Pray along with Asaph. God gave us the Aaronic blessing for a reason. His presence, his smile, and his favor are the most important ingredients to a contented and vibrant life on this earth. Lord, please make your face to shine upon us. Are you living in unrepentant sin? Repent today and turn back to the Lord. Seek his face. Seek his favor. Are you just down or confused or weary? Pray: restore us, O God. Are you alive and reading this devotion? Then pray with Asaph!

In verse 14a, the psalmist asks for what is most needful: Turn again, O God of hosts! We cannot be restored to fellowship with God until he reconciles himself to us. In Christ, he delights to do this. And so Asaph builds his refrain like this: Restore us, O God (3a). Restore us, O God of hosts (7a). Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! (19a). His sense of urgency grows as he addresses the only One who can and will help. Let your face shine, that we may be saved! (3b, 7b, 19b).

BENEDICTION: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Corinthians 13:14)