The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
When God is our portion our boundaries are wide. Psalm 16 is a marvelous praise song that starts with a petition to God of preservation and ends with a stanza for God in adoration. In the middle of the song we have the above lines. The petitioner wants to be preserved, but has he seeks God’s face his heart changes. That is really want prayer is all about. We think we pray to receive from God, and we do. But, in reality, as we pray we are having our heart changed to think like God and to know Him. That is what is happening with David in this poem. David is petitioning God and praising God, at the same time. He recognizes that the “inheritance” is in God’s hands. God has become his “chosen portion” because he recognizes that God hold’s his lot and establishes the lines of his life. It is not as much that David chose God, but rather he recognizes that God is worthy to be chosen and followed. He recognizes, through prayer, that God can and does make his boundaries wide and pleasant. It would do us good to follow the same aspect of our prayer life. When we approach God in prayer, we need to recognize that the prayer is not always about asking, but rather fellowship in with God and acknowledging what God did in our lives and continues to do for our living. David rejoices that, unlike those who reject God (verses 3-4), he has cup that is full and running over (Psalm 23). He has “pleasant places.” That is what prayer is all about. Praising God for those things we have with Him in fellowship as we recall, remember and praise Him.
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