1 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy.
3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
1-2 On your feet now—applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence.
3 Know this: God is God, and God, God. He made us; we didn’t make him. We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.
4 Enter with the password: “Thank you!” Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him.
5 For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever.
Questions for Reflection:
Spend some time pondering the Friend / Father character of God.
When is that last time you “acknowledged” God for Who He is in His “almighty-ness” in holy reverence and due respect? When is the last time you laughed and danced in His presence? Is He far off and distant and you are an orphan?
Is He close by and you are a child? Is your relationship with God one where you are “at home” with Him?
Prayer of the Week:
My dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now to be restored in You, to be renewed in You to receive Your love and Your life and all the GRACE and MERCY I so desperately need this day.
I praise You Jesus, that You have made union with my Father in heaven possible for me through Your life death and resurrection. Thank You for reconciling me to my Father in heaven who loves me very much. Thank You for the gift of prayer so that I might experience this deep relationship in the moments of my day.
Father, Son, Holy Spirit I love You, I worship You, I adore You and I embrace You in this time of prayer. Jesus, refresh the mindset I have about prayer, expand my understanding, fine tune my framework so that nothing (especially my own default thinking) gets in the way of experiencing You in prayer. Father, I confess my natural bent toward “self” rule. I can function so easily more as an “orphan” making demands out of my heart-wounds and scarcity mentality rather than as a “child of my Father in heaven” who loves me very much. I now turn away from this “natural bent” in humble repentance. I ask You for forgiveness of all my sin and sinfulness. I ask as a child with no shame. I ask for Your Holy Spirit to fill me. I am Your child and most of all I need You – fill me afresh with You.
Jesus, because I have You then the riches of Your reign are available to me so I come ASKing for all these needs and situations knowing I have a heavenly Father who loves me very much. Jesus, hear my prayer ..... (conclude prayer by taking whatever time you need to personally pray what is on your heart right now .... Prayers of praise or ASKing or thanksgiving or .... whatever. Just enjoy praying first, praying now, praying bold, praying through...)
Amen
