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The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
-Psalm 145:18
Psalm 145 is a Psalm of praise about the goodness of God, and it celebrates all that God does for us in our lives. But this particular verse struck me as a bit perplexing. It is easy to understand what “calling on God” means, but what does it really mean to call on God “in truth”? If God will be near to me, but only if I call on him in truth, then we’d better figure out what that “in truth” part really means!
What is truth? What is the truth we need to have to be able to call on God? I think truth is many things and my truth may not be the same as your truth. It can be influenced by those around us, by what we read, or by what we’ve experienced. How then can we ever know the truth we need to call on God?
In this case, I wonder if it means calling on God for something that is in accordance with what we believe God’s will is for us or for the world. If we called on God to shred the tires of the person who cut us off in traffic, I think that would constitute something NOT “in truth”. After all, God calls us to be slow to anger and act in love, so certainly calling on God for something out of hate or spite isn’t truth.
The best way to find the truth of God’s will is to seek this truth in prayer and meditation. We can be swayed by the opinions of others but if we let go of our preconceived ideas and let God in, I think we may be able to find glimmers of this truth in our lives. Every one of us lives out some part of our lives that is not part of God’s truth, but I believe God is always working to steer us towards his truth. How will you respond when God tries to show you the way to his truth?
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