1 I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the LORD, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
Questions for Reflection:
Where have you seen God show up and do something really unexpected in your life?
What area of your life needs to be so heavily covered in prayer on an ongoing basis?
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. Wow, to think that in this moment I am talking with my God on a deep and personal, sitting down over a cup of coffee, kind of way. You are amazing. You are available. You are the creator of the universe, Savior of the world, the King above all kings and You have time for me and everything that is important to me right now. Oh, Jesus thank you for making sure I am never alone. Come Holy Spirit and empower me to pray well and enjoy You this day.
Jesus, refresh the mindset I have about prayer, expand my understanding, fine tune my framework so that nothing (especially me) gets in the way of using this gift. Help me to keep from seeing prayer as another thing on the “to do” list but rather help me see prayer as the way to experience Your radically gracious availability.
Father, I want to “always pray and never give up” but I confess that so often I don’t even think of coming to You first – for the big things and the little things. Holy Spirit, I sincerely ask You to teach, guide, counsel and help me to Pray First, Pray Now, Pray Bold and Pray Through.
Jesus, hear my prayer ….. (conclude this prayer by taking whatever time you need to personally pray what is on your heart right now …. Prayers of praise or petition or thanks giving or …. just enjoy praying first, praying now, praying bold, praying through…)
Amen
