Category Archives: Psalms

As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should!
Psalm 119:7

Dear God, I started this prayer yesterday but didn’t get very far. I had a plan of when I would sit down and really spend some time with you, but then things happened. Some of it was spent in intercessory prayer for some friends, but some was just legitimate busyness. Then there was some time spent on my own private preferences instead of making this a priority. I’m sorry for that. But when I woke up this morning, I knew I wanted to live up to the sentiment of this verse and make you my priority: As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should.

Holy Spirit, please walk with me today and be my connection with the Father. Help me to live as I should. Speak to me and give me ears to hear. Help me to show your compassion and offer you to others. When I talk to others, be what they need from you through me. And please grant me the aero mitt to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known.

Psalm 19:1-2

Dear God, I’ve never liked multi-verse stuff in movies and story telling. Even in science with things like string theory. I’m just not interested. Maybe it’s because, especially with movies and story telling, the person telling me the story has no idea. There is one thing I find interesting when story tellers deal with different timelines or universes. There seems to be an assumption that the timeline they have known all of their lives is the optimal one. It’s almost an accidental acknowledgment that God (you) are directing us into the optimal timeline at all times. For example, in Back to the Future, even though the future does change, Marty and Doc are doing their best to ensure that nothing changes. I say all of this because when I read these verses from David this morning I thought about how comfortable he was with not needing to understand the sky, the stars, the clouds, etc. He just used it to lean into you a little more.

As I mentioned before, there are things like string theory that address what is beyond our physical world that we can see. What is beyond time? What is beyond the space we occupy? Honestly, I think, to some extent, that is where you reside. That’s where you move. That the timeless quality that explains so much. Personally, I think it helps explain déjà vu, but that’s beside the point.

Father, you are so much bigger than me. And although science has explained some of the things about which David marveled thousands of years ago, it makes it no less amazing. It makes you no less powerful. It makes you no less God. So I come to you this morning to marvel at even the wonder of my life. And then I think about the fragility of it all. I’ve been to a lot of funerals lately. I recently found out about a woman who potentially has a very significant case of cancer and she is still young with a grade-school child. I don’t want that boy to lose his mother. I don’t want that husband to lose his wife. I don’t want the world to lose this woman. So I pray for her. I ask that you mercifully heal her. I ask that you give her strength, wisdom, and hope. I don’t know if that hope is for a long life no earth or a hope of a joyous eternity with you. But speak to her soul and give her peace. Make this pain count in her life. Do it all for your glory.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

A prayer of Moses, the man of God

Lord, through all the generations you have been our home! Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God. You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals!” For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours. You sweep people away like dreams that disappear. They are like grass that springs up in the morning. In the morning it blooms and flourishes, but by evening it is dry and withered. We wither beneath your anger; we are overwhelmed by your fury. You spread out our sins before you— our secret sins—and you see them all. We live our lives beneath your wrath, ending our years with a groan. Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away. Who can comprehend the power of your anger? Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve. Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. O Lord, come back to us! How long will you delay? Take pity on your servants! Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives. Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good. Let us, your servants, see you work again; let our children see your glory. And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful!
Psalm 90

Dear God, we are not as strong as we think we are. Those are the words that come to mind as I read this prayer from Moses. We are so small. There is so much we do not understand. You must chuckle at the “smartest” among us. Almost like we cheer on a child who just learned how to phonetically read. That is what our greatest wisdom must look like to you.

It’s also kind of cool that this is from Moses. One of the things he asks is that you will teach us the brevity of life. And why? So we can grow in wisdom. I think the wisdom is to truly understand just how small we are. The earth is billions of our years old, but even before then, you were there. You exist in a realm beyond our time. You work in ways I cannot understand. I am small—so small. You are big—so big. I am foolish—so foolish. You are wise and all-knowing. That’s just the way it is, and that’s okay.

Father, help me to carry my humility and your greatness with me throughout this day. With the knowledge of my foolishness, ignorance, and smallness comes peace. If I can accept it then it will bring me peace to lean into you and away from myself. And help me to believe and live up to everything I just said.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ Point out anything in me that offends you,
    and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Psalm 139:23-24

Dear God, I love these verses, and I want to dig in to the word “anxious” at the end of 23, but before I get there, I have to say that, as great as this psalm is, there is part of it that I really don’t like. Namely, verses 19-22:

¹⁹ O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
    Get out of my life, you murderers!
²⁰ They blaspheme you;
    your enemies misuse your name.
²¹ O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
    Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
²² Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
    for your enemies are my enemies.

What? Where did this come from? When I read these words I think about how each of us deserves what David wishes you would deliver to your enemies. We have all been wicked. We have all blasphemed. We have all made ourselves your enemies. If you start drawing a line between those who are blameless and those are are wicked, I think David might be surprised to find himself on the other side of your cut line.

But I digress. What I really want to talk about is the phrase “anxious thoughts.” I looked at some different translations to see if they used the word “anxious.” The NIV, NASB1995, and NLT used the word. The KJV and ESV just said “thoughts.” No knowing how the translating works, I am going to just keep the word “anxious” and think about that.

“Test me and know my anxious thoughts.” All of the translations either use “Test” or “Try” at the beginning of the line. It reminds me of what I heard at an FCA conference when I was in high school. The speaker said (paraphrasing), “Just like when you squeeze a sponge and what inside comes out, when we are tested and pressed, what’s inside of us will come out too.” If we can take a moment in those times, either in real time or in retrospect, and prayerfully look at what came out, both in our actions and our “anxious thoughts,” maybe we can learn about something for which we need to repent and from which we need to grow and change.

Father, point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.

Psalm 73:25-26

Dear God, there is amazing truth in these two verses. I mean, really, in heaven or on earth, whom have I but you? I’ve talked over the last couple of years about the idols in my life. My dependence upon the government and its provision, the military and its protection, my job and it stability, my bank account and its adequacy, my wife and her presence, or even my own health, as the psalmist says here–these are all idols I have in my life. Frankly, I’m not exactly sure how to completely purge them except to continuously acknowledge and confess to you that I know they are there and I don’t want them to be. I shutter to think of what it would be like if any or all of them were removed from my life.

Of course, I’m thinking about the people in Ukraine right now and how none of these things are available to them. Their government and military are not predictable. Their jobs. Their money. Their loved ones. Their own health. All of it is in jeopardy. Whom have they but you?

Father, please move in the world. Make this pain count. Protect people as they try to live their lives. Use this to draw us closer to you and unite us to each other. Help us each, especially those who call on you, to examine our own hearts and repent of the things we have pursued and of which we made idols. For my part, I worship you. I will work as unto you today. Live and be glorified in and through me.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

I have wandered away like a lost sheep; come and find me, for I have not forgotten your commands.
Psalm 119:176

Dear God, this psalm seems to have the same spirit behind it as the song “Come Thou Fount.” It’s longer, to be sure, but this very last verse referencing wandering away makes me think about the last words of “Come Thou Fount:” “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love. Here’s my heart, Lord, take a seal it, seal it for thy courts above.”

Going back to the man I spoke with this weekend that I mentioned yesterday. He was talking about shame he felt when he was younger for things he had done that, frankly, nearly everyone does. That conversation and this connection between the psalmist and Robert Robinson in the 1750s (not to mention the popularity of the hymn today) just reminds me how similar we all are. I’m very grateful you hug us and love us through all of this. I’m grateful for the comfort of your Holy Spirit. I’m grateful for a God who can cut through the knots I create and help me to move forward, asking only that I try to do better for my own sake and that I forgive others.

Father, there is truly new under the sun as far as the thoughts and desires of our hearts. Technology and the changes over the last 20 years has been a little scary. The temptations are much more accessible now than they’ve ever been before. It seems it’s easier to be evil (whether it’s lusting or as simple as slandering and gossiping). So I ask the when (not if) I wander away like a lost sheep you will come and find me. I know that in your presence is where peace is. Thank you for that.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions.
Psalm 119:18

Dear God, how many times have I asked you to open my eyes? Open my eyes to see your plan. Open my eyes so I can see suffering around me that you want me to help address. Open my eyes so I can see parts of myself that need to change. There is so much I cannot see. Please open my eyes.

But the psalmist here has an interesting request. Help me to see the truths (NLT) behind what you want me to do. Most other translations use the words things (NASB, NIV, ESV) which still represents the same idea: what is it in your law, plan for me, actions for me, or instruction for me that is good and wonderful for me, whether I realize it or not? Is this suffering a wonderful truth? Is the pain I see someone else experiencing something necessary that will lead to something wonderful?

Father, help me to have the attitude of the psalmist here. I don’t only want to see what is happening around me better. I want to see the wonder of you working in it. Also, help me to see your why. I was talking with someone the other day about pornography and masturbation and the guilt that one carries because we haven’t lived up to a pure standard. The why that a young person doesn’t realize is that it infiltrates and impacts the marital sexual relationship if it’s allowed to fester. That’s what I’m talking about here. Help me get to the why, the truth, and the good things about your law.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.
Psalm 63:1

Dear God, I want to catch the description given to this psalm that’s actually listed in this translation: A psalm of David regarding a time when David was in the wilderness of Judah. (NLT)

Isn’t it interesting that our best praise is usually done in our struggles. Yes, sometimes we remember to to worship you when something great has just happened, but for me, my best worship is done when I’m at the end of myself. I’m out of resources. I’m out of ideas. I’m out of ability. I’m out of hope. That’s when I’m reminded of who you are compared to me and I find myself saying words like David said here.

I talked with my son recently about a regret I have from his childhood. I was struggling through being unemployed and I decided to be transparent with my children and let them see my frustration and concern. Over the last 10 year or so, I’ve regretted that decision, thinking that young children, less than 10 years old, need to feel a sense of security and don’t need the burden of my stress. When we talked, however, he contradicted me and told me that as a man now, he appreciates what I did because he got to see me model how to deal with stress like that. He saw me praying. He saw me exercising a lot. He saw me trying and not quitting. So that ended up being a teachable moment to him, but it started with the struggle, followed by him witnessing how my faith in you integrated into my response to the struggle.

Father, there are struggles now that still keep me humble. Keep me hungry for you. Keep me thirsty for you. Thank you for reminding me during the hard times that you are my hope, comforter, and God. I search for you and cling to you in a dry and parched land. Right now, at least figuratively, our nation feels dry and parched. But I will rest in you and worship you.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen