A Psalm of Joyful Praise

I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever;
    with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness

    to all generations.
I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;
    your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

(Psalm 89:1-2)

Praise for you fills my heart, O God,

and I can't contain myself.

"Spring up, O well, within my soul!"

Even in this season of pandemic,

when troubles and trials abound,

nevertheless my heart is light with joy.

Of course, I grieve for the world,

my heart aches for the brokenness 

that your people are experiencing.

But still, a song of joy fills my heart,

because I know your love is better than life.

As high as the heavens are above the earth – 

that’s how great is your love toward us.

When I consider the problems and troubles 

that fill our world right now,

as great and numerous and burdensome as they are,

they are no match for you.

For your power and might are unsurpassed:

  you are Creator of heaven and earth, and all that is in them;

  you are Sovereign Lord over all the world;

  you govern all things by the unsearchable mystery

     of your Providence.

Great is your faithfulness, O Lord,

great is your faithfulness.

Indeed, we are deep in the midst of troubling days,

but then, so are you, right in the depths with us.

So as I see it, "If God is for us, who can stand against us?"

I am confident of this:

I shall see the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living;

indeed I shall see the goodness of the Lord

every day.

While I have breath,

I will sing of your steadfast love forever, O Lord;

   with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness 

   to all generations.

My heart is light with joy;

praise for you fills my heart,

and I cannot keep it to myself.

Praise the Lord!

During the season of Lent, I am “Praying with David,” using prayers found in the psalms as inspiration for personal prayers.

Sacred Thirst

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; 

     I thirst for you, 

my whole being longs for you, 

    in a dry and parched land where there is no water. 

I have seen you in the sanctuary 

     and beheld your power and your glory. 

Because your love is better than life, 

     my lips will glorify you.

(Psalm 63:1-3)

Thank you, O Lord, for awakening in me

an unquenchable thirst.

If there is a silver lining in this pandemic

(and of course there is, 

because you are always working

all things 

for the good 

for those who love you),

then it is this:

It has turned countless hearts toward you.

And in these turbulent and troubling days,

my own heart is more and more urgent

in seeking you.

Earnestly I seek you, Lord;

     I thirst for you,

my whole being longs for you,

     as in a dry and parched land 

     where there is no water.

You, Lord, have shown me your goodness

in more ways than I can count.

You, Lord, have graced me with your presence,

and given me glimpses of your glory.

Every day, if only I have eyes to notice.

Having tasted of your goodness and mercy,

I long for more and more.

I find this to be true:

     In you I find satisfaction 

     for the thirst of my soul.

But I also find this to be true:

     The more of you that feeds my soul,

     the more I want, the more I need.

Today, I turn my heart toward you.

Today, I seek you.

Today, I will cling to you.

Today, I will praise you,

that others may find the same satisfaction 

and the same thirst

of a heart turned toward you.

Thank you, O Lord, for awakening in me

an unquenchable thirst.

Amen.

During the season of Lent, I am "Praying with David", using prayers in the psalms as inspiration for personal prayers.

Praise Is Always Appropriate

We praise you, God, 

     we praise you, for your Name is near; 

     people tell of your wonderful deeds.

(Psalm 75:1)

It is good and right, O Lord,

that praise should flow from our hearts

and over our lips

every day.

For you are good beyond measure,

your blessings falling upon us faster than we can count.

Praise is not reserved

only for those times when life is good;

for even in times of trouble,

your goodness far exceeds our trials.

We awoke this day with the rising of the sun – 

   which, by the way, is amazing to witness,

   a gift you paint for us every day on the horizon.

And you have breathed into us the breath of life,

and given us this day – 

   also, as a beautiful gift.

Indeed, there is beauty everywhere;

open our eyes, that we may behold your goodness.

We praise you, O God,

     we praise you, for your Name is near.

There may be fearful things in our lives:

    sickness

            economic cHaos

      jobs put on p-a-u-s-e

  more sickness (it is a pandemic, after all)

     social ------ distancing

isolation

loneliness

But your love casts out fear.

In our distancing, our isolation, our loneliness,

you have come near,

to dwell with us.

In your Presence there is peace.

We praise you, O God,

     we praise you, for your Name is near;

     people tell of your wonderful deeds.

Let it be said of us, O God,

that we are among those 

who tell of your wonderful deeds.

For our world can use good news today.

As we experience your goodness,

open our mouths to sing your praise;

and inspire us in the depths of our hearts

to show your grace and compassion and mercy,

so that even more people

will tell of your wonderful deeds.

We praise you, O God, we praise you.

Amen.

During the season of Lent, I am "Praying with David," using prayers found in the psalms as inspiration for personal prayers.

How Great Is Your Love

Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, 

     your faithfulness to the skies. 

Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, 

     your justice like the great deep. 

     You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.

(Psalm 36:5-6)

We do tend to be a worrying lot, don’t we, Lord?

We are anxious about many things:

  disease,

    economics,

      disaster,

        politics,

          relationships,

  did I mention disease?

And yet, as high as our anxiety is,

as great is our fear and worry,

we rejoice in this incredible truth:

YOUR LOVE IS GREATER!

Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens,     your faithfulness to the skies.

Your love is so far greater 

than we can possibly imagine.

In fact, good and loving God,

I have imagined your love to be infinite;

and against the laws of mathematics,

(or is it physics?),

your love even exceeds infinity.

It's. Just. That. Great.

Wow! Thank you, O Lord,

for loving us so much.

Thank you for caring about every detail

of our lives.

Thank you that, 

even before our anxieties and worries

invade our hearts and minds,

you are already present to us

to comfort us and help us.

Thank you that every time we are afraid,

your first words to us are,

"Do not fear. I am with you.”

Thank you, good and loving God,

that you have plans for us,

plans for our welfare.

We embrace this truth:

no worry, no fear, no circumstance,

nothing in this whole wide world,

can overcome 

your love,

  your justice,

    your righteousness.

You, O Lord, are 

our protector,

  our preserver,

    our sustainer,

      OUR SAVIOR.

Blessed be your name!

We will rejoice at the knowledge of

your goodness and your mercy

and your steadfast love.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

During the season of Lent, I am "Praying with David," using prayers from the psalms as inspiration for personal prayers.