Category Archives: Psalms

Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside. I was so foolish and ignorant— I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you. Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.

Psalm 73:21-24

Dear God, I have three friends, in particular, who are going through trying times right now. I wonder how much this passage applies to all three of them. Each of them is facing a very different set of circumstances, but I thought of each of them as I read this piece of Psalm 73. How much of their responses to their respective situations are because their hearts are bitter? Do they seem like senseless animals to you?

Of course, now it is time to turn the mirror on myself. Am I seeking your counsel in real time when I face a challenge? Am I asking for your strength? Do my words and actions bring you glory? Are others drawn to you because of my life?

Father, where there is anger and/or bitterness in my heart, let there be love and selflessness instead. Where there is fear, let me instead seek the right balance of your power and your shelter. And for my friends, I pray that each one will hear from YOU today. Even though I know at least one of them isn’t accustomed to calling on you, I pray that all three will and that they will find that, even though they might seem like a senseless animal, they belong to you and you are holding their right hand. Thank you for holding my hand too, Father.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.

Psalm 90:12

Dear God, I just read an editorial about the unity/disunity in our country. It mentioned that we are descending into tribalism within our society and see other groups with differing opinions in our societies not so much as fellow Americans with different opinions, but as enemies who must be vanquished, even if the are fellow Americans. I started to wonder if that same thing doesn’t start to have some truth to it when it comes to members of churches too.

I found one set of statistics interesting. In 1994, apparently Republicans and Democrats saw each other strongly unfavorably at rates of 17% and 16%, respectively. Now those numbers are 43% and 38%. We have certainly lost a common enemy (in the country, we can’t even agree about whether or not Russia is the enemy, and in churches, we have lost sight of Satan as our enemy) and started to turn on those who disagree with us.

Father, taking this verse, I guess my desire is that you would help me to remember that life is short, make me an instrument of your peace, and the help us all to find common positive goals around which we all can rally. Unite us as a nation through constructive dialogue. I don’t want a prayer for unity to mean you have to give us enemies to achieve it. I’m hopeful (although not confident) that we can unite through positive forces and that you haven’t designed us to always need negative forces to unite us.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.

Psalm 103:1-2

Dear God, I confess to you that I am too blind to see half of the good things you do. I’m sorry for that. You deserve so much more gratitude and worship than you get from me.

I’m off work for a few days, and one of the things I really struggle with is knowing how to handle unstructured time. When I wake up in the morning on a day with a plan (whether it be work or just something else to do—even if it’s to drive to Waco for a football game) then I am usually good to go. But if I wake up and the day is before me and I don’t have anything to do then I am pretty worthless. What does all of this have to do with this passage? Well, I can’t help but wonder if some of that time shouldn’t be spent with you trying to see what you are doing beyond what I can see.

Father, I really don’t want to lose as you. I really don’t want to miss the moments when I can praise you. And I don’t want to miss the opportunities to hear your still small voice and respond.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands.

Psalm 119:143

Dear God, pressure and stress are such relative things. For someone like David (not necessarily the writer of this Psalm), he experienced a level of stress that I will never know. As king in that environment, I can’t imagine what he saw and had to live up to on a day-to-day basis. In my little life, on the other hand, I worry about the financial and operational well being of the place where I work, my own family’s financial situation, my wife, my children, my family, my friends, etc., but in comparison to others, my burden is not that bad. As I’ve taken to saying, my problems are first-world problems.

Yet, I can feel that pressure and stress. Worrying about those things I listed above can get to me. For example, I am constantly concerned about revenue at work. Will we be able to sustain our operations? I always worry about my children and I can’t imagine a day when I wouldn’t. No matter how well they are doing, they are my loves and I think of them constantly. I worry about the health and wellbeing of relatives and friends. But I am learning a little better to do a few things.

1. Turn it over to you, lay down my yoke and pick up your cross. I’m still learning, and as I’ve told some people before, there’s a fine line between living by faith and living in denial, but I’m getting better.
2. Being open about the burdens and sharing them as appropriately as possible helps. For example, as I’ve worried about work in the past, the more I share it with the board the better. The more I share with my wife the better I do. The more I confide in friends. The more I pray to and worship you. You get the idea. It is not good for man to be alone.

Father, I do indeed find joy in your commands because your commands are for my good. Help me to remember to be humble and bring others closer to you as I reach out to them through my own stress and pressure.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

The Lord is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant. My eyes are always on the Lord, for he rescues me from the traps of my enemies.Psalm 25:14-15 

Dear God, I tend to king of blow off verses–especially Psalms–that mention enemies because I just don’t have many people who are actively out to get me, but I think my thinking is too concrete. The truth is, I have demons out to get me. I have powers and principalities of this world who want me to fail and be ripped away from you. I am vulnerable to the without you, your love, your grace, and your protection. 

I haven’t normally included Satan and his minions as part of my enemy list, but the truth is that they are probably the leaders of it. I am always so limited in my thinking and my prayer life. I forget to look beyond what I can see and recognize the evil around me that comes only to steal, kill and destroy. 

Father, I will keep my eyes only on you. Please keep me from the traps of my enemies. 

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen 

Psalm 62:1-2 I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.

Dear God, it is hard for me to wait quietly. It’s hard for me to be patient. I’m more comfortable with the idea of being ok motion and purposeful. Strategic patience? That’s what I have to do. I journal these meditations on scripture because I don’t trust my mind to process my thoughts without the discipline of writing my thoughts down. 

So I guess this is how I wait quietly before you. I sit. I think about scripture. I try to hear if you have anything to say that me through it. And then I talk to you about it. Doing this has changed my life more than anything else I’ve ever done. 

Father, I wait before you. Give me what I need today. Give me this day, my daily bread. Feed me what you need me to have and love others richly through me. Make me wise and make me humble. But when it t comes to the things in my life that concern me, I lift them to you and ask that your kingdom will come and your will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen 

Psalm 143:10-11

¹⁰ Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God.
May your gracious Spirit lead me forward
on a firm footing.
¹¹ For the glory of your name, O Lord, preserve my life.
Because of your faithfulness, bring me out of this distress.

Dear God, am I being moody or is your Spirit moving in me? There have been times lately when there is just an unsettledness in my own spirit, and then there are moments like this one when I feel energized and ready to take on the world in your name and power. Why is that?

When I first read this passage, the verse I was supposed to read was verse 10, but the first part of verse 11 is what caught my eye: “For the glory of your name…” That’s what it’s all about. But as I think about the first paragraph I instinctively wrote here, I wonder if the part for me today isn’t the second part of verse 10: “May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.” I have important work to do at work. I have important work to do at home. I want to do it in my own power, but I cannot. I need you.

Father, may your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing. First, let whatever I do be Spirit generated. I don’t want it to be me doing my work in your name, but I want it to be me doing your work in your name. Second, I ask that the Spirit guide me on a path with firm footing. Let me act selflessly and for your glory’s sake. Finally, draw others to yourself through the life that you live through me.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

Psalm 94:18-19 When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. 

Dear God, I really like these two verses. The anxiety part especially. But you can only console us if we let you. You can only support us if we ask. I take that back. At any given time, you can support us without us realizing it or asking for it. But we will only realize it was you if we are tuned in enough to think about it. 

I probably need to be better about pointing people to you when they are anxious or their foot is slipping. I see clients at work every day who are in crisis. I need to purposefully point them to you more often. I have relatives who are struggling. I need to point them to you. 

Father, help me to both lead others to you in their distress and to remember to go to you myself from moment to moment. Please bring me the peace and joy that comes from turning my will over and submitting to your will. Please give me the lighter yoke for the one I try to carry on my own. And please show me how to lead others into your presence. 

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen