Online House of Prayer

Aneel Aranha is an author, preacher, and evangelist who has spoken to hundreds of thousands of people around the world. You can find a huge selection of his reflections, articles, sermons, songs and other resources on his website www.aneelaranha.com.

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Online House of Prayer

Psalm 1

December 31, 2022 • Aneel Aranha • Season 3 • Episode 1

0:00 | 3:34

What kind of person would you like to be? Someone who is like a tree planted by streams of water, ever fruitful? Or someone who is like the chaff blown about by the wind? You decide.

Psalm 001

Welcome to The Psalms. This is the book in the Bible that every one loves because of the words of hope, inspiration, and encouragement that it contains. We will read one psalm every day and reflect on it briefly. Let’s begin at the beginning — with Psalm 1.

Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

The first psalm serves as a doorway to the rest of the psalms, inviting us to leave the wicked ways of the world and walk in the ways of the Lord. We do this by eagerly seeking the things God says and reflecting on them constantly and continuously throughout the day.

As we sing this psalm, we realize there is no middle ground, no room for compromise between goodness and wickedness. We need to choose to follow God or to reject him, and we reap the consequences accordingly. Those who choose God are blessed and fruitful; those who don’t are doomed.

Many years later, Jesus would echo this truth when he said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). He followed this statement with an incredible promise: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7).

When we constantly meditate on God’s word, we reprogram our minds from worldly ways of thinking to divine ways of thinking, so we can discern God’s will for us and his plans for our lives (see Romans 12:2). This ensures we are successful and prosperous in what we do, something that God told Joshua.

“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips,” he said; “meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8). The reason for being successful is simple. When we listen to God instead of paying heed to the advice fools, we will make the right decisions and be blessed for it.

God bless you.