Teach Us to Number Our Days
Saturday’s Verse:
From Psalm 90:12 ESV
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”
A new year always has us thinking about time. Calendars feel new. Plans feel possible. We say to ourselves, "This year will be different.’ But Psalm 90 is a bracing reminder. Moses calls us back to the truth that our days are numbered, that life moves quickly, whether we feel ready or not.
To “number our days” does not mean to live in fear or count hours with anxiety. It means to learn to see time as God’s gift, not our possession. Wisdom begins when we admit we are not in control of how long we live or how the year will go. That truth humbles us, but it also sets us free.
Lutherans hear this psalm through the cross. We know our days are numbered because sin and death are real. But we also know our days are held by Christ, who entered our time, took up our sin, and rose from the dead. Because of Him, wisdom is not in our perfect planning or self-improvement, but in repentance and faith.
In this new year, God is drawing us to wisdom. He is turning our hearts away from ourselves and toward Him. Each day is a chance to receive His mercy, serve our neighbor, and trust His promises. We may not know how many days we have, but we know whose hands they are in.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Lord, teach us to number our days. When we run after control or squander the time You give, bring us back to You. Make us wise by Your Word, rooted in repentance and confident in Christ. Keep us faithful today and every day You grant. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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