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Praying the Psalms
200 meditations on the Psalms
Do you love the psalms yet find them difficult to use?
The purpose of these notes is to help you use the psalms in your daily prayers. They may also help you to learn how to pray.
You can use these notes in different ways. You could use a different ‘day’ for each day of the year. Or you could use the different themes to fit in with your interest or the Church festivals.
Each day begins with a verse with which you can praise and worship the Lord. It is often useful to repeat a verse several times until the words become a part of your own prayer and praise to God.
It is followed by a theme which follows verses in different psalms or in one particular psalm. You may wish to choose just one or two of the verses to repeat in your mind and lead you in your prayers. Or you may wish to read the psalm in your bible or prayer book.
You can spend as little as a few minutes, or use it to help you look more deeply at that psalm.
I hope that you will come to use the psalms more effectively through these notes, and so enrich your life of prayer with God.
Scripture is in bold type. I have used only the New International Version (NIV) under the copyright permissions as follows:
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, an Hachette UK company
All rights reserved.
‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica UK trademark number 1448790
Themes Days
Introduction to the psalms “delight” 1 – 6
Praising creator God 7 - 11
Seeking God 12 - 16
This is my faith 17 - 23
God is King 24 - 29
Praying for the world 30 - 36
God’s Word – Psalm 119 37 - 46
God knows everything 47 - 52
He sees Idols 53 - 54
He sees rebellion 55 - 57
He desires repentance 58 - 61
Forgiveness 62 - 70
Holy living 71 - 78
False Gods 79 - 82
Learning to pray 83 - 93
Psalms of importance to Christ 94 - 106
Judgment 107 - 109
The persecuted Church 110 - 113
Guidance 114 - 116
Trusting 117 - 124
Adoration 125 - 133
Your temple 134 - 139
Your Church 138 - 144
When it is difficult to trust 145 - 151
Questions about death 152 - 156
Testimony of answered prayer 157 - 163
Defeating temptation 164 - 174
Strengthening our spiritual lives 175 - 188
Come Lord Jesus 189 - 194
Thanksgiving and praise 195 - 200
The Church’s year
Advent 95 – 96, 189 - 194
Christmas 96 – 97
Lent 53 - 82
Holy Week 100 - 102
Easter - Ascension 18, 26, 103 -105, 154
Harvest 132 -133, 195 - 197
Days 1 – 6 Delight
Days 7 – 10 Praise
These first 6 days aim to introduce us to the psalms.
Many different emotions and experiences are reflected in the psalms from despair to rock like faith. But faith underlies all of them. In life today people make a choice whether to lead a life of faith or not. Psalm 1 introduces us to that choice. Those that choose to live a life of faith will be blessed. That blessing includes knowledge that God delights in them. That knowledge that we are cherished by God leads us to delight in the Lord and in the faith he has given us.
The most important outcome of that delight is that we want to praise God. Praise and worship is a main characteristic of the psalms, though not all of the psalms give us words of praise. Those psalms that do, give us the attitude that that praise is delightful; delightful to God who hears the praise, and delightful to us who give it. The psalms show us for what we should praise God. They also show us how to praise God.
In this book, we shall include words of praise or worship with each day. But in days 6 – 10 we shall also look at this as one of the most important themes of the psalms.
Day 1 Delight in God
Delight yourself in the Lord (37 v 4)
Spend a moment telling God how privileged you are to have faith in him.
Today we will pray some of the themes of Psalm 1. This psalm is often regarded as an introduction to all of the psalms. The writer knows that he has made the right choice in putting his faith in God. As you pray, thank God for your faith.
Blessed is the man whose ….
delight is in the law of the Lord …
On his law he meditates …
He is like a tree planted by streams of water (v 1 - 3)
‘Thank you Lord for nourishing me over the years’.
Which yields its fruit in season … (v 3)
‘All I am and all I have done begins and ends in you’.
The Lord watches over the way of the righteous (v 6)
‘Lord I am blessed by you. I would not follow any other person nor walk on any other paths but yours’ (v 1).
Delight in God and everything he means to you.
Day 2 The God in whom I delight
My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song (28 v7) Thank God for being your God. Sing a few lines of a favourite song or hymn of worship.
The psalms are often thought of as the hymnbook of the Bible. Many of them express worship and praise his name.
Today we will use Psalm 148 to focus our worship on him.
Praise the Lord. … Praise him, sun and moon … Praise him you highest heavens (v 1-4)
Think about the sun, the sky, the stars and the universe. They all proclaim the glory of God. Praise God for who he is.
Praise the name of the Lord for he commanded and they were created. He set them in place for ever … (v 5-6) Also think about our planet earth, all living things. Look out of your window, what do you see? This also proclaims the glory of God.
Praise the Lord … you great sea creatures … wild animals … clouds … all hills … trees … small creatures and flying birds … (v 7-10)
His splendour is above the earth and the heavens (v 13).
Praise God for who he is.
Praise the Lord (v 14)
Day 3 Delighting in his word
I rejoice in your promise (119 v 162)
Tell God what he and his message means to you.
Many of the psalms also show appreciation of how God speaks to us through the scriptures.
Your statutes are my delight; they are my counsellors (119 v 24)
How has God guided you recently?
The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul (19v7)
How has God strengthened you through his word?
Blessed is the man you discipline … you teach from your law (94 v 12)
How has God spoken to you recently?
How has God spoken to you in the past?
Thank God for his word, for his promises, his guidance and his correction.
Blessed is the man who … finds great delight in his commands (112 v 1)
You give them drink from your river of delights (36 v 8)
Choose one of these verses to memorise and repeat throughout the day.
Day 4 Delighting in what God has done for you
The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations (98 v 2)
Praise God that he is active in the world today, and that the gospel is for all.
My heart rejoices in your salvation (13 v 5)
Thank God for what he has done for you.
My soul will … delight in his salvation (35 v 9)
This verse is in the context of knowing that God will continue to act for us as he has done in the past
If you are going through hard times, you can ask God for reassurance:
Say to my soul “I am your salvation” (35 v 3)
Or if you feel that your life recently has cut you off from God, you can confess your sins with this prayer:
Restore to me the joy of your salvation (51 v 12)
Delight in what God has done in your life, and recommit your life to him today.
The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom then shall I fear? (27 v 1)
Day 5 The Lord delights in us, too.
In the morning I will sing of your love (59 v 16)
Spend a moment celebrating God’s love.
Many of the psalms are God’s assertion that we belong to him, and that he delights to see us leading lives that fulfil his purposes for us. Think about the truth of one or two of these verses below.
The Lord delights in those who fear him (147 v 11)
He is our God and we are the people of his pasture
(100 v 3)
Whoever is wise let him … consider the great love of the Lord (107 v 43)
He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me (18 v 19)
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever (23 v 6)
He will give you the desires of your heart (37 v 4)
I am the Lord your God … open wide your mouth and I will fill it (81 v 10)
May the Lord rejoice in his works (104 v 31)
For the Lord has chosen … Israel to be his treasured possession (135 v 4)
Day 6 The Lord is delightful
Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever (145 v 2)
Praise him! Tell him how great he is.
Psalm 145 praises the Lord for his wonderful personality and character. As you praise and thank him through the words of this psalm your joy will increase.
Great is the Lord … his greatness no one can fathom (v 3)
(We) will celebrate your abundant goodness …
The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love …
The Lord is good to all: he has compassion on all he has made …
All you have made will praise you, O Lord (v 7 – 10)
The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving to all he has made (v 13)
The eyes of all look to you … you open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing
The Lord … is loving to all he has made (v 15 - 17)
He fulfils the desires of those who fear him (v 19)
Recommit your life to him today:
My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord (v 21)
Day 7 Lord of the universe
Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him (147 v1)
Joyfully worship creator God.
Often our minds are filled with the cares of the world. Sometimes our God is too small in our imagination!
Our God is in heaven (115 v 3)
It is helpful to lift our minds and hearts to God, the creator of the universe.
The heavens declare the glory of God (19 v1)
… their voice goes out into all the earth (19 v 4)
You have set your glory above the heavens (8 v 1)
The heavens are the work of your hands (102 v 25)
He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name (147 v 4)
As you give him glory and marvel at his splendour, join with all creation in praising him.
Praise him all his heavenly hosts …
Praise him all you shining stars (148 v 2- 3)
Day 8 An amazing God
Be exalted O Lord above the heavens (57 v 5, 11)
Lift his name far above the problems of the world.
Whom have I in heaven but you? (73 v 25)
We can learn so much about the character of God as we wonder at his creation.
Blessed is … the maker of heaven and earth … the Lord who remains faithful for ever (146 v 5-6)
Righteousness looks down from heaven (85 v 11)
Give thanks to the Lord … who by his understanding made the heavens, his love endures for ever (136 v 5)
The heavens praise your wonders, O Lord, your faithfulness too … for who in the skies above can compare with the Lord? (89 v 5-6)
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made …
Their starry host by the breath of his mouth (33 v 6)
Give thanks to the Lord for his wonderful character that you see as you look at his creation.
Day 9 The earth praises him
Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights above (148 v 1)
Join with all in heaven to praise God.
As we praise our way through more of Psalm 148, we think about the earth. All creatures which depend on the climate, - and the light heat and gravity of the sun and moon.
Praise him sun and moon (v 3)
Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths …
Lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding …
You mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars …
Wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds (v 7 - 10)
Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted (v 13)
Day 10 And everything in it
Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and all that moves in them (69 v 34)
Praise him with all creation.
Look out of the window and open your eyes to see God at work in every living thing.
He makes springs pour water into the ravines …
they give water to all the beasts of the field …
wild donkeys …
the birds of the air nest by the waters …
They sing among the branches …
The earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work
(104 v10 – 13)
All depend on him.
The Lord does whatever pleases him …
In the heavens and on the earth …
In the seas and all their depths (135 v 6)
To wonder at God’s creation is to give him glory. So, wonder at God’s creation now. Give him the glory.
May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord (104 v 34)
Days 11 – 16 Seeking God
Days 17 – 23 This is my faith
The story of our separation from God which begins with Adam and Eve who are expelled from the garden, leaves us with confusion. On the one hand, we need to begin with the truth that God has made us the climax of his creation, and on the other hand that we can now only know him if he chooses to reveal himself to us. We soon realise that he wants us to seek him, and to seek to know him better each day of our lives. The psalms encourage us to know God. They show us that God can be known.
That is not only the way in which we find faith. It is also the way in which we grow in our faith. We are also confused about how to understand our world, our life and our purpose. The psalms show us that without God we will never grow beyond that confusion. Faith begins with a simple looking in God’s direction.
Our faith grows as we understand better God’s will for our world, and how he wants us to look to him always. The psalms encourage us to be faithful. They also show us that we grow as we struggle with life, fail sometimes, yet experience God lifting us up and carrying us through. We see that he has never deserted us. God is faithful.
Day 11 What is man?
In Psalm 8, we think first of the greatness of the universe, and then how small is man! That should keep us humble.
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens (8 v 1)
Sometimes we need to stop what we are doing and think about who we are and why God has made us. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars … (v 3)
Psalm 8 gives us some questions to think about:
What is man …?
… that you care for him? (v4)
… you crowned him with glory and honour (v 5)
… you made him ruler over the works of your hands
… flocks, herds, birds, fish (v 6 – 8)
Often we can get both our questions and our answers wrong. We should honour all men because God honours us as the climax of his creation. But man should also be aware that we are so small and insignificant in the universe. We need to depend on him always.
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth (v 9)
Day 12 Seeking to know God
Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice (105 v 3)
Tell the Lord that you seek him.
Many psalms help us to seek to know God, or to know him better. The next few days will help us in that part of our spiritual journey.
God looks down from heaven … to see if there are any … who seek God (14 v 2; 53 v 2)
Offer yourself as one who is seeking to know God.
Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you (9 v 10)
Ask to know God more, and to be able to trust your future to him.
My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, O Lord, I will seek (27 v 8)
As you turn to other scriptures in order to understand the Lord better, rejoice that your faith is alive. Know that it is when we seek the Lord with all of our heart, that he gives us joy; and our joy leads us to praise him more!
They who seek the Lord will praise him – may your hearts live for ever! (22 v 26)
Day 13 Seek him through the scriptures
Praise be to you, O Lord; teach me your decrees (119 v 12) Thank the Lord that he wants to teach us.
One of the themes of Psalm 119 is seeking God through his word.
Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart … they walk in his ways (v 2, 3)
I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands (v 10)
Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law (v 18)
There is no other way of knowing God’s ways – his will and purpose for our lives, - than through his word. Seek to know his ways through his word. My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times (v 20)
It is obvious that the more we love him with all of our heart, the easier it will be to defeat temptation. And yet it is difficult living in this world, surrounded by so many things that will lead us away from God.
I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me (v 19)
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you (v 11)
Day 14 Seek only the Lord
Praise the Lord O my soul; all my inmost being praise his holy name (103 v 1)
Place God above everything in your life.
There may be several things in our lives which we are ‘seeking’ (e.g., prosperity). If we want to ‘find’ God, we need to seek only him.
My soul finds rest in God alone (62 v 1)
The Lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord, lack no good thing (34 v 10)
Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face … (24 v 6)
What are the things which get in the way of your seeking to know God better?
The poor will see and be glad – you who seek God, may your hearts live! (69 v 32)
Seek God from an empty heart. We cannot find God if we are full of ourselves.
May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you (40 v 16; 70 v 4)
Our joy and happiness blossom when we seek him alone.
Taste and see that the Lord is good (34 v 8)
Day 15 Seek him where he lives
You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary …
Praise be to God! (68 v 35)
Lift your spiritual eyes to where God is in his heavenly temple. Praise him there.
We sometimes need to lift our eyes above the concerns of our daily life, and seek God where he alone is worshipped.
This is what I seek …
To seek him in his temple (27 v 4)
Look to the Lord and his strength …
Seek his face always (105 v 4)
Ask God to increase your desire to be with him.
Ask God to show you what it means to be close to him and in his presence.
Blessed are those you choose …
And bring near to live in your courts! …
We are filled with the good things of your house …
of your holy temple (65 v 4)
Day 16 Earnestly I seek you
I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands (63 v 4)
Worship God, and God alone.
Psalm 63 speaks of a faith where God is to be found and God is at the centre of our lives. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me (v 8)
First, let us praise God that he is everything we need.
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you (v 3)
My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods … with singing lips my mouth will praise you (v 5)
Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings (v 7)
Now, let us recommit ourselves to seek him always.
I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory (v 2)
On my bed I remember you …
I think of you through the watches of the night (v 6)
You might want to repeat this prayer from v 1 throughout the day.
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you
Day 17 This is my faith
My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and make music with all my soul (108 v 1)
Thank God joyfully for your faith.
Many of the psalms express the faith of the writers. Especially when weak, when there are troubles and opposition, their faith in God is solid. In the next days we will use their words to declare our own commitment to God.
In you I trust, O my God (25 v2)
I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken (16 v 8)
My eyes are fixed on you, O sovereign Lord; in you I take refuge (141 v 8)
I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? …
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth (121 v 1 -2)
As you read those verses again, think about what the Lord has meant to you. Thank him for what he has done, and worship him for what he means to you.
Day 18 I keep my life burning
As for God, his way is perfect, the word of the Lord is flawless (18 v 30)
Thank God that he is faithful.
In Psalm 18 David writes about what his faith means to him. Choose a few of the verses below to say to God what your faith means for you.
You, O Lord, I keep my lamp burning …
My God turns my darkness into light (v 28)
It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect (v 32)
I have kept the ways of the Lord …
I have not done evil by turning from my God …
All his laws are before me …
I have not turned away from his decrees (v 21 - 22)
The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness (v 24)
He is a shield for all who take refuge in him …
Who is God besides the Lord? …
Who is the Rock except our God? (v 30 - 31)
Day 19 I have kept faith with you
O Lord God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you (89 v 8)
The Lord is faithful. Praise him for his faithfulness.
We also try to be faithful to him. Here are some prayers which express to God how we desire to be faithful, how we do not want to sin.
I have kept myself from the ways of the violent …
My steps have held to your paths (17 v 4 - 5)
I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin (18 v 23)
Thank God for your faith in him.
Recommit yourself to him as you pray these words.
Give ear to my prayer – it does not rise from deceitful lips …
May your eyes see what is right (17 v 1 – 2)
Here is a truth about the rewards of faithfulness.
From everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him (103 v17)
Day 20 The benefits of faithfulness
Praise the Lord O my soul, and forget not all his benefits (103 v 2)
Thank God for your faith in him.
Verses 2 – 5 of Psalm 103 remind us of the benefits of having faith.
Who forgives all your sins …
Thank God for that peace of mind which comes from his forgiveness.
Who heals all your diseases …
Thank God for your health.
Who redeems your life from the pit …
Thank God for your salvation, for eternal life.
Who crowns you with love and compassion …
Thank God for the joy of belonging to him.
Who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like an eagle’s
Thank God for renewal of your faith in him.
Day 21 A life of faith
Before you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God (90 v 2)
Worship God who existed before anyone believed in him!
It can be helpful to remind ourselves how long we have been Christians. For some it began in childhood.
From birth I have relied on you … I will ever praise you (71 v 6)
Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvellous deeds (71 v 17)
Lord you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations (90 v 1)
My eyes are ever on the Lord (25 v 15)
Also, we can see how our faith is different from those who live around us.
Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust …
Who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false Gods (40 v 4)
Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you … who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord (89 v 15)
Recommit your life to God as you pray these words:
I hate those who cling to worthless idols; I trust in the Lord (31 v 6)
Day 22 My faith will flourish
How great are your works … You, O Lord are exalted for ever (92 v 5, 8) Praise him!
Psalm 92 is full of the joy of having a real faith.
It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O most High …
To proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night (v 1 - 2)
What do you appreciate most about being able to worship God?
I sing for joy at the works of your hands …
How profound your thoughts! (v 4 - 5)
Does your faith help you to see the greatness and wonder of his creation? Does it help you to see God at work?
A consequence of seeing God at work in our lives is that we become even more sure about our faith.
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree …
They will flourish in the courts of our God …
They will stay fresh and green (v 12 - 14)
End your time declaring your faith in God
The Lord is upright, he is my rock, and there is no wickedness in him (v 15)
Day 23 My faith is based on your word
Your word is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens
(119 v 89)
Thank God for the scriptures.
Psalm 119 is a psalm full of the experience of living by God’s word. As we read a few of these verses, we can reflect on our own life.
If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction …
I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life (v 92 – 93)
I have more understanding than all my teachers for I meditate on your statutes (v 99)
I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me (v 102)
Though I constantly take my life in my hands, I will not forget your law (v 109)
Your statutes are my heritage forever, they are the joy of my heart …
My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end (v 111 - 112)
Choose one verse to make your own prayer as you recommit yourself to God’s service today.
Days 24 – 29 God is King
Days 29 - 36 Praying for the world
The psalms show us how to pray. Before we pray for our own needs we should pray for the things that are on God’s own heart. And before we pray for those things, we need to get our theology right. The Lord is King; Lord of the universe, King of kings, Lord of the world and Lord of our lives.
That is what Christ taught when he prayed “Thy kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven”. The psalms show us a lot about praying for God’s kingdom, especially that want him to return in judgement. But we shall just introduce this theme here by seeing how we can pray for refugees, exiles, and all who are oppressed by the evils of war and tyrants. We pray for God’s kingdom to come.
We shall return to this theme again later in this book. Also we shall see how this theme weaves in and out of other themes. Often we shall find ourselves praying for the nations.
Day 24 The Lord is my King
I will exalt you, my God the King (145 v 1)
Our Christian commitment begins by acknowledging God as King. Praise him as your King today.
The King is mighty … Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool; for he is holy (99 v 4, 5)
The footstool is the stool on which the King puts his feet when he is sitting on his throne, and is a symbol of his authority. When we worship, we are acknowledging that God has authority in our lives.
Another symbol of God’s Kingship was when the Ark of the covenant was brought through the gates of Jerusalem by King David.
Lift up your heads you gates; be lifted up you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. (24 v 7, 9)
Who is this King of glory? The Lord Almighty – he is the King of glory (24 v 10)
As we picture the people shouting these words, watching as the Ark comes through the gates, we can also picture ourselves welcoming the Lord through the doors of our own life. They are shouts of joy. Joyfully welcome Christ the King into your life.
You are my King and my God (44 v 4)
Day 25 My King from of old
You, O God, are my King from of old … you bring salvation upon the earth (74 v 12)
Praise God for his plan of salvation.
The destruction of Jerusalem in 597BC is the setting for Psalm 74, when it appears that God has rejected his people. But in the middle of the psalm he looks back in faith. God has always been King. Here is the evidence:
It was you who slit open the sea by your power …
It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathin (v 13 - 14)
Thinking back to God’s rescue of his people from Egypt
It was you who opened up springs and streams (v 15)
Thinking back to the wilderness wanderings
The day is yours, and yours also the night …
You established the sun and the moon …
It was you who set the boundaries of the earth …
You made both summer and winter (v 16 - 17)
Worship God as the creator of life on earth. If your faith has been weakened, you can rebuild it here, as you worship your King from of old.
Now we have confidence to ask God the King to act.
Rise up, O God, and defend your cause …
Remember how fools mock you all day long (v 22)
Day 26 We are proud of our King
Shout for joy before the Lord, the King (98 v 6)
Worship God the King of the earth. Be joyful that he is the King of the universe.
Let Israel rejoice in their maker …
The people of Zion be glad in their King (149 v 2)
Be joyful that Christ is also Lord of his Church. He is our King.
The Lord sits enthroned as King forever (29 v 10)
Christ has ascended to be our King.
Your throne O God will last for ever and ever (45 v 6)
The Lord is King for ever and ever (10 v 16)
His throne cannot be overthrown.
Worship Christ our Lord.
This is our message for the world.
Say among the nations “The Lord reigns” (96 v10)
This is our confidence when we bring our intercessions to him.
Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God (5 v 2)
Day 27 King above all gods
The Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods (95 v 3)
Other gods only exist in the imagination of those who cannot or will not see the majesty of God in his universe. Worship him in his greatness.
Psalm 95 inspires us in our worship.
In his hand are the depths of the earth …
And the mountain peaks belong to him …
The sea is his, for he made it …
And his hands formed the dry land …
Come let us bow down in worship …
For he is our God …
And we are the flock under his care (v 4 - 7)
Respond in worship. You can use the opening words of this psalm:
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord …
Let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation (v 1)
Let us come before him with thanksgiving …
And extol him with music and song (v 2)
Day 28 King of the nations
Sing praises to our King, sing praises (47 v 6).
Worship Christ who is your saviour and Lord.
When Sennacherib of Assyria besieged Jerusalem, he claimed to be “the great King”. Hezekiah remained faithful. Only God is “the great king” (v 2). Psalm 47 can inspire us to worship God as King of the nations.
How awesome is the Lord Most High …
The great King over all the earth! (v 2)
For God is the King of all the earth …
Sing to him a psalm of praise …
God reigns over the nations …
God is seated on his holy throne (v 7 - 8)
Also, we worship Christ as King of the Church.
As the people of the God of Abraham … belong to God … he is greatly exalted (v 9)
God has ascended amid shouts of joy (v 5)
Look forward to that day when all nations will worship Christ as Lord.
Clap your hands all you nations …
Shout to God with cries of joy (v 1)
Day 29 Thy Kingdom come
You are exalted far above all gods (97 v 9)
Lift your eyes above the world and all who claim power. Worship God the King.
Psalm 97 is inspired by the experience of when the Hebrews arrive at Mt. Sinai. God’s revelation of himself is frightening and awesome.
Clouds and thick darkness surround him …
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne (v 2)
His lightning lights up the world …
The earth sees and trembles (v 4)
This truth is for all people everywhere.
The heavens proclaim his righteousness and all the peoples see his glory …
All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols – worship him, all you gods! (v 6 - 7)
Pray ‘Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven’
As we worship the King, we are filled with joy.
Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous …
And praise his holy name (v 12)
The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad (v 1)
Day 30 On earth as it is in heaven
Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous … it is fitting for the upright to praise him (33 v 1) As we praise the Lord, we wish that all on earth would worship him as we do.
In these next days we will use the psalms to help us to pray for the world. Today we begin with Psalm 33.
From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind … he who considers everything they do …
No king is saved by the size of his army (v 13 - 16)
Pray for rulers of nations who think that power and armies are the solutions to their problems. The answer lies in worship of the Lord.
Let all the earth fear the Lord …
Let all the people of the world revere him …
The Lord foils the plans of the nations …
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord (v 8 - 12)
The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him …
On those whose hope is in his unfailing love (v 18)
Place your hope and trust in God alone.
We wait in hope for the Lord …
He is our help and shield. In him our hearts rejoice …
May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord …
Even as we put our hope in you (v20 – 22)
Day 31 Praying for the afflicted
My soul will boast in the Lord … may the afflicted hear and rejoice (34 v 2) Praise God who cares for all.
Psalm 10 is a cry for the afflicted. When God does not intervene it sometimes looks as if he does not care (v 1). But the Lord does see and hear.
You, O God, do see trouble and grief …
You consider it to take it in hand …
You are the helper of the fatherless (v 14)
You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted …
You encourage them, and you listen to their cry …
Defending the fatherless and the oppressed …
In order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more (v 17 – 18)
Arise Lord! Lift up your hand, O God …
Do not forget the helpless (v12)
Pray for those whose voice is not being heard by their rulers.
In his pride the wicked does not seek him …
In all his thoughts there is no room for God …
His ways are always prosperous (v 4 – 5)
Pray that they may know that God hears them.
Pray for those trying to help them, and trying to publicize their plight.
Day 32 Praying for those in conflict zones
Praise be to the Lord, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city (31 v 21)
Praise him!
Psalm 31 was written after deliverance from a siege. The desperate situation of those who fear for their lives is brought before God.
The trap that is set for me (v 4)
I am in distress …
My eyes grow weak with sorrow …
My strength fails …
I am forgotten …
There is terror on every side (v 9 - 13)
Hold such people in conflict zones today before God.
Pray for an end to the conflict, and for their oppressors.
Let the wicked be put to shame …
Let their lying lips be silenced …
For with pride and contempt they speak arrogantly against the righteous (v 17 - 18)
Pray that they may know that God sees and hears
For you (God) saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul (v 7)
Day 33 Words of hatred
With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord (109 v 30) Praise God who is a righteous God and will judge all evil.
Psalm 109 speaks to a righteous God, asking for retribution against those whose words of hatred bring curses not blessing (v 17 – 18). In all nations today, we know of people who speak hatred and curses on minority groups who are often unjustly blamed for the problems of their nation. Hold them in sympathy and prayer today.
I am poor and needy …
My heart is wounded within me (v 22)
They have spoken with lying tongues …
With words of hatred they surround me …
They attack me without cause (v 2 - 3)
They may curse, but you will bless (v 28)
Ask God’s blessing on these people.
Pray to God for judgement against such hatred
When he is tried let him be found guilty (v 7)
May a creditor seize all he has …
May their names blotted out …
May their sins always remain before the Lord (v 11 - 15)
Day 34 Murderous tyrants
The God of glory thunders (29 v 3)
Worship God who is a God of wrath and judgment.
Psalm 94 prays to a God who sees and hears, knows the thoughts of man, and will punish (v 9 – 11). God is against corruption (v 20). This is what God sees hears and knows:
They pour out arrogant words (v 4)
They crush … they oppress …
They slay … they murder … (v 4 – 6)
They condemn the innocent to death (v 21)
Speak to God about what you see and hear in the news that is happening in countries where the rulers are imprisoning and murdering the innocent.
Imagine those people crying out “Who will rise up for me against the wicked?” (v 16). Just as God answered that first prayer of the Hebrews under the oppression of Pharaoh by sending Moses, pray that he will raise up redeemers who will rescue oppressed peoples.
O Lord, the God who avenges … shine forth (v 1)
Also, we can pray for justice and judgment.
Rise up, O Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve (v 2)
Day 35 Praying for exiles
I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart … before the “gods” I will sing your praise (138 v 1) Praise him!
Sadly, the histories of nations are full of times when people have been exiled. Psalm 137 helps us to enter into their feelings:
We sat and wept when we remembered …
There on the poplars we hung our harps …
How can we sing … while in a foreign land? (v 1 - 4)
Pray for those exiles today in their bereavement and their loss of hope.
If I forget you, … may my right hand forget its skill …
May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you (v 5 - 6)
We pray to God, the judge of all the earth, for retribution and that the perpetrators of such evil will be brought to court.
Remember O Lord, what (they) did when on the day (the city) fell. “Tear it down” they cried …
O daughter of Babylon, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us (v 7 - 8)
This psalm was written after the exiles had returned and Babylon had fallen. This gives us hope in our praying.
Day 36 A vision for the future
May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you (67 v 3).
As you praise him this morning, picture Christians everywhere, from all nations, also praising him. Long for that day when all people will worship God.
Today, we will use prayers from Psalm 67 to lead us.
Only God, through Christ, will bring a perfect rule.
May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth (v 4)
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us (v 1)
Pray for Christ to come and reign:
… that your ways may be known on earth (v 2)
Pray that all will accept his gospel of salvation:
… your salvation among all nations (v 2)
This prayer and vision is repeated in v 5:
May the peoples praise you, O God …
May all the peoples praise you
Take this vision with you into your day.
Days 37 – 46 God’s word
Psalm 119 is one of the greatest poems in the Bible. A lot of the poetry is lost to us because of translation. There are 22 sections each one beginning with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet, followed by each of the 8 lines beginning also with that letter. In addition to that beauty there is also a beauty of expression of love and appreciation for God and his word.
Several different words are used: law, commandment, statute, precepts, decrees, promise, truth. The difference between the meaning of each of those words is not important to us. They remind us that God speaks in many different ways. The Bible is his ‘word’.
There are also many different applications, all of them pointing us to share in the appreciation of the psalmist.
Love, delight, meditate, awe, teach, obey, follow, trust, and many more!
It is an amazing psalm. All of it is spoken as our prayer to, and statement of faith in God. Perhaps when you understand its themes better, you may be encouraged to read it, and pray it, verse by verse.
Day 37 God’s righteous word
Righteous are you, O Lord … and your laws are right (119 v 137)
Praise God, whose character is righteous.
God is the answer to our prayers for the world. He is righteous. Psalm 119 speaks of his laws as righteous:
All your righteous laws are eternal (v 160)
I know, O Lord, that your laws are righteous (v 75)
Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true
(v 142)
Pray that the world may know God’s righteous laws.
Thank God for the gift of his law:
I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws (v 62)
Often our prayers begin to be answered with our own lives. We vow to lead righteous lives:
I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws (v 106)
I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws (v 7)
Pray this for yourself, all Christians, and for the world.
Day 38 God’s word is a gift
To all perfection I see a limit … but your commands are boundless (119 v 96)
Worship God who is perfect.
We continue praying through psalm 119, following the theme of God’s word as a gift to us. Choose one or two of the verses below to think about, - how true they are. Thank God for his word.
Your statutes are wonderful …
Therefore I obey them (v 129)
Your commands make me wiser than my enemies … They are ever with me (v 98)
You are my refuge and my shield …
I have put my hope in your word (v 114)
I stand in awe of your laws (v 120)
I remember your ancient laws, O Lord …
And I find comfort in them (v 52)
I will walk about in freedom …
For I have sought out your precepts (v 45)
My comfort in my suffering is this …
You preserve my life (v 50)
Day 39 Our trust is strengthened
The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold (119 v 72)
Tell God how much you appreciate him and his word.
Psalm 119 tells us not only how much God’s word strengthens our faith, but it also challenges us to trust him more and more. Choose one or two verses below to strengthen your faith.
See how I love your precepts …
Preserve my life, O Lord, according to your love (v 159)
Great peace have they who love your law …
Nothing can make them stumble (v 165)
I rise before dawn and cry for help …
I have put my hope in your word (v 147)
I will answer the one who taunts me …
For I trust in your word (v 42)
Remember your word to your servant …
For you have given me hope (v 49)
Preserve my life according to your love …
And I will obey the statutes of your mouth (v 88)
Day 40 Grace
Your faithfulness continues through all generations … you established the earth, and it endures (119 v 90) Praise our God who has a loving plan of redemption.
The Bible is a story of God’s grace; faithfully loving us despite our rebellion and sin. Today we also experience that undeserving love. Choose one or two of the verses below (from Psalm 119) to help you think about God’s grace. Worship him with a grateful heart.
May your unfailing love come to me, O Lord …
Your salvation according to your promise (v 41)
Let your compassion come to me that I may live …
For your law is my delight (v 77)
Your compassion is great, O Lord …
Preserve my life according to your promise (v 156)
The earth is filled with your love …
You are good, and what you do is good …
Teach me your decrees (v 64, 68)
May your unfailing love be my comfort …
According to your promise to your servant (v 76)
Day 41 We love God
I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold (119 v 127)
Tell God how much you love him and appreciate his word.
Many verses in Psalm 119 speak words of love and appreciation for God’s word. It is through the scriptures that God reveals his love for us. We also express our love for him as we love his word. Choose one or two of the verses below to express your own love of God.
How sweet are your words to my taste …
Sweeter than honey to my mouth! (v 103)
I open my mouth and pant …
Longing for your commands (v 131)
I delight in your commands because I love them (47)
I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love …
And I meditate on your decrees (v 48)
I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly (v 167)
Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge (v 54)
Day 42 Seeking God through his word
Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long (119 v 97)
Thank God that he reveals himself through his word.
Psalm 119 encourages us to seek God that we may know him more and more. Choose one or two of the verses below to help you to seek, know and love him more.
I have sought your face with all my heart …
Be gracious to me according to your promise (v 58)
I seek you with all my heart …
Do not let me stray from your commands (v 10)
Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart (v 2)
My soul faints with longing for your salvation …
But I have put my hope in your word (v 81)
Let me understand the teaching of your precepts …
Then I will meditate on your wonders (v 27)
Accept, O Lord, the willing praise of my mouth …
And teach me your laws (v 108)
Day 43 His word guides us
In the night I remember your name, O Lord (119 v 55).
Worship the Lord who has revealed his name in ‘Jesus’.
God does not think like we do. We can understand his will and thoughts only as we think about his words. Then, as we make decisions and meet people, he guides us. Choose one or two verses from Psalm 119 below, and pray for a deeper understanding of the mind of Christ.
Your word is a lamp to my feet …
And a light for my path (v 105)
Direct my footsteps according to your word …
Let no sin rule over me (v 133)
Direct me in the path of your commands …
For there I find delight (v 35)
Teach me knowledge and good judgement (v 66)
I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes (v 125)
Because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path (v 128)
Day 44 Make me pure
Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws (119 v 164) Worship the Lord whose word is righteous.
God’s Holy Spirit sanctifies us as we make his word part of our lives. Psalm 119 encourages us to continually be changed by God’s word. Choose one or two verses below, and ask God to continue to work in us and change us.
May my heart be blameless towards your decrees …
That I may not be put to shame (v 80)
How can a young man keep his way pure? …
By living according to your word (v 9)
Blessed are they whose way is blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord …
They do nothing wrong: they walk in his ways (v 1, 3)
I run in the paths of your commands for you have set my heart free (v 32)
I meditate … and consider your ways (v 15)
I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes (v 59)
Day 45 Take my life and let me be
Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you (119 v 91)
Worship the Lord whose word is eternal.
Psalm 119 ends first with four prayers of recommitment. “My cry”, “my supplication”, “my lips”, “my tongue”.
Use each prayer to recommit your life today.
May my cry come before you, O Lord …
give me understanding according to your word (v 169)
May my supplication come before you …
deliver me according to your promise (v 170)
May my lips overflow with praise …
For you teach me your decrees (v 171)
May my tongue sing of your word …
For all your commands are righteous (v 172)
Day 46 Only through your word
I have chosen the way of truth … I have set my heart on your laws (119 v 30)
Recommit your life as you worship him with all of your heart.
The final 4 verses of Psalm 119 look towards what God can do in our lives. “Your hand”, “your salvation”, “let me live”, “seek your servant”. As you pray each verse, thank God for his faithfulness and grace, that he wants to bless us always and in all circumstances.
May your hand be ready to help me …
For I have chosen your precepts (v 173)
I long for your salvation, O Lord …
And your law is my delight (v 174)
Let me live that I may praise you …
And may your laws sustain me (v 175)
I have strayed like a lost sheep …
Seek your servant …
For I have not forgotten your commands (v 176)
Days 47 – 51 God knows everything
Days 52 – 54 God sees idols
Days 55 – 57 God sees rebellion
When we pray we do not need to inform God. He sees everything. He already knows about it. But we can tell God about what we feel about a situation.
To some, that can be quite frightening. The psalms call unbelievers “fools”. It is certainly foolish for anyone to think that they can behave how they want to; - that God will not see it, or know it!
That can also be reassuring. God knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows our failures, our sins, our weaknesses. He also knows our heart and our desires to put him at the centre of our lives. The psalms show us all of that. It is a better way of praying. More than that, we can pray for those things which God sees; especially idolatry – which takes on many forms today, and rebellion. Rebellion sums up all sinfulness since Adam and Eve. Sin is firstly rebellion against the Kingship of God. We were rebels before we turned to God in repentance. As saved sinners, we can pray for all those foolish people who are still in rebellion against their creator.
Day 47 From conception you have known me
The Lord is good and his love endures for ever (100 v 5) Worship the Lord whose love is perfect.
Psalm 139 has some amazing truths. One of them is that God has known us from conception.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made … your works are wonderful, I know that full well (v 14) Praise him now.
He has known the dreams and fears of our mothers, but has had his own dreams for what we might become.
You created my inmost being …
you knit me together in my mother’s womb …
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place …
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth … your eyes saw my unformed body (v 13,15)
Think about this, and be reassured of God’s love.
We can be reassured that the Lord has a plan for our life, if we want to let him lead us.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be (v 16)
Thank God that he has dreams and plans for you.
Day 48 You know everything about me
I love you O Lord, my strength (18 v 1)
How true is that for you? Tell God now.
Often the Lord gives us what we need before we even ask for it. This is because he knows everything about us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. Some people are frightened about this; there are some things they want to keep secret. But it can be reassuring.
You know when I sit and when I rise …
You perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and lying down …
You are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely (139 v 2 – 4)
Thank God for the assurance that he loves us so much that he is interested in every aspect of our lives.
God is there to care for us in need.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want (23 v 1)
Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life (23 v 6)
Day 49 You are always there
I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever (89 v 1)
Sing of God’s love for you and all those you love.
Some people can be frightened that God is everywhere, that they cannot get away from him. It is as if God is pursuing them. But it can also be reassuring.
Where can I go from your spirit? …
Where can I flee from your presence? …
If I go up to the heavens you are there …
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there …
If I rise on the wings of the dawn …
if I settle on the far side of the sea … even there your hand will guide me …
Your right hand will hold me fast (139 v 7 – 10)
Thank God that wherever our lives take us, he is still willing to listen to our prayers.
The Lord is near to all who call on him …
To all who call on him in truth …
He watches over all who love him (145 v 18, 20)
Day 50 You know my weaknesses
You are resplendent with light (76 v 4)
Worship the Lord, the Light of the world.
When we go through times of darkness, we can feel that even God has forgotten us or cannot find us. These verses give us hope.
When my spirit grows faint within me …
It is you who know my way (142 v 3)
If I say: “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me” …
Even the darkness will not be dark to you …
The night will shine like the day …
For darkness is as light to you (139 v 11 – 12)
Praise the Lord … who redeems your life from the pit (103 v 2, 4)
I am poor and needy …
Come quickly … you are my deliverer (70 v 5)
Pray for those who are in a place of darkness.
Day 51 Examine me
The word of the Lord is right and true (33 v 4)
Worship the Lord whose wisdom is perfect.
Since the Lord knows everything, we can ask him to examine our hearts. He can show us what is unholy, and also what is righteous.
Test me, O Lord, and try me …
Examine my heart and mind (26 v 2)
Who can discern his errors? …
Forgive my hidden faults (19 v 12)
You know my folly, O God …
My guilt is not hidden from you (69 v 5)
O Lord, you have searched me and know me …
Search me, O God, and know my heart …
Test me and know my anxious thoughts (139 v 1, 23)
Ask him to examine your heart. What does he see?
Ask him to lead you away from error guilt and anxiety.
See if there is any offensive way in me …
And lead me in the way everlasting (139 v 24)
Day 52 He sees wickedness
You are great and do marvellous deeds … you alone are God (86 v 10)
Praise God for what he has done in your life.
God knows how we feel about wickedness. It often seems that he does nothing; yet he does see.
They show no regard for the works of the Lord and what his hands have done (28 v 5)
These words could be spoken by God or by us.
They are corrupt … there is no one who does good
(14 v 1; 53 v 1)
All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt …
There is no one who does good, not even one
(14 v 3; 53 v 3)
God sees what we see; we see what God sees.
This now is our prayer to the God who sees everything.
O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts …
Bring to an end the violence of the wicked …
And make the righteous secure (7 v 9)
Day 53 Idols
Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord … no deeds can compare with yours’ (86 v 8)
Praise the Lord who alone is God.
We can feel anger that worship that ought to be presented to the only creator God, is presented to idols made by men.
For all the gods of the nations are idols …
But the Lord made the heavens (96 v 5)
Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men … they have mouths, but cannot speak … eyes, but they cannot see … ears, but cannot hear … noses but cannot smell … hands but cannot feel … feet but cannot walk … those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them (115 v 4 – 8)
And we long for that day when all will worship the only God.
All who worship images are put to shame … those who boast in idols – worship him, all you gods! (97 v 7)
How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?
(4 v 2)
Day 54 Disbelievers
I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; before the “gods” I will sing your praise (138 v 1)
Worship God, the only God who has created all things.
The fool says in his heart “There is no God”
(14 v 1; 53 v 1)
In the Bible a “fool” is someone who does not believe in God, and whose life is corrupt. Today, there are many who disbelieve. They fill that empty space with modern-day idols such as wealth and celebrity status. Christians need to remind themselves that we are different.
I know that the Lord is great …
That our Lord is greater than all gods (135 v 5)
Blessed is the man … who does not look … to those who turn aside to false gods (40 v 4)
I hate those who turn to worthless idols …
I trust in the Lord (31 v 6)
Choose one of those verses to recommit yourself to the Lord.
Day 55 Rebellion
May those who love your salvation always say “Let God be exalted!” (70 v 4)
Thank God today for his salvation. Be joyful that you have accepted his gospel message.
The psalms help us to understand that the root of man’s sinfulness is rebellion. Man rejects God’s rule and God’s word.
Some sat in darkness …
For they rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High (107 v 10, 11)
Pray for anyone you know who ‘sits in darkness’.
Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities (107 v 17)
“Fool” is a biblical word for those who do not believe. The problems and suffering in the world are a consequence of turning away from God. Pray for all nations that they may hear the gospel and turn back to God.
Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works on man’s behalf! …
He rules forever by his power …
His eyes watch the nations …
Let not the rebellious rise up against him (66 v 5, 7)
Day 56 Lessons from history
The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord ! (146 v 10)
Join with Zion, - God’s people, to praise the Lord that he reigns in their hearts and yours’.
Some psalms give a summary of the history of God’s redemption of the Hebrews from Egypt, and their journey through the wilderness to the promised land. In one sense their story is like that of all people everywhere.
In spite of his wonders, they did not believe … how often they rebelled against him in the desert (78 v 32, 40)
They put God to the test and rebelled against the Most High … they did not keep his statutes … they were disloyal and faithless (78 v 56, 57)
They despised the pleasant land … they did not believe his promise … they grumbled … and did not obey the Lord… They ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods …
They provoked the Lord to anger by their wicked deeds … they rebelled against the Spirit of God (106 v 24 – 33)
As you think of these lessons, pray that all people may come to see their rebellious nature towards God.
`Day 57 This is also my own story
You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness
(86 v 15)
Thank and worship God for his loving mercy.
At one time we were among the rebellious. As we look back at their history of rebellion, we want to make sure that we do not turn back to those attitudes again.
Many times he delivered them but they were bent on rebellion (106 v 43)
Again and again they put God to the test …
they did not remember his power…
the day he redeemed them from the oppressor
(78 v 41, 42)
Here is a good prayer for us, as we seek not to slip back, as they did.
Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways …
according to your love remember me …
For you are good, O Lord …
Good and upright is the Lord …
Therefore he instructs sinners in his ways (25 v 7, 8)
Day 58 Knowing the Lord’s anger
Give thanks to the God of heaven … His love endures forever (136 v 26) Thank God for his mercy and love, that continues even though we rebel against him.
Sometimes, people become aware of how their rebellion has caused a break in their relationship with God. It is good to be reminded of this. As you follow this prayer in Psalm 38 express your sorrow for your sin.
O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger …
Your hand has come down upon me …
Because of your wrath there is no health in my body …
My bones have no soundness because of my sin …
My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly …
I am bowed down and brought very low …
There is no health in my body …
I feel feeble and utterly crushed …
I groan with anguish of heart …
All my longings lie open before you, O Lord (v 1 – 9)
I wait for you, O Lord …
You will answer, O Lord my God …
For I am about to fall …
I confess my iniquity, I am troubled by my sin ….
Come quickly to help me, O Lord my saviour (v 15– 22)
Days 58 – 61 He desires repentance
Days 62 – 70 Forgiveness
Just as a coin has two sides, so our repentance and God’s forgiveness belong together. That is especially clear in Psalm 51, which is the clearest summary in the Old Testament, of that gospel message.
Some psalms show us that repentance is a turning away from sin, and a desire to live differently. Without repentance, we must expect to face God’s anger and judgement.
Equally, the psalms encourage us to repent because God wants to forgive us. Grace means undeserved love, undeserved forgiveness. The whole story of the Bible is a story of grace. This is especially true of the psalms. The reason that the psalmist has repented and can write about being forgiven, is because he has experienced God’s grace. He is both surprised; - why does God want to save him rather than punish him? And he is not surprised – because this is God’s wonderful character. God always has been loving, merciful and compassionate. And always will be. If you have never expressed repentance or experienced the joy of forgiveness, these psalms will lead you in prayer.
Day 59 Turn from evil
Praise the Lord, you his servants who do his will
(103 v 21)
As you praise God, recommit your life to obeying him.
Be warned, you rulers of the earth …
Serve the Lord with fear (2 v 10 – 11)
All peoples and nations need to understand their rebellion against God, and turn from their evil. Pray for those people as you think about this call from God.
Come, my children, listen to me …
I will teach you the fear of the Lord …
Whoever loves life …
keep your tongue from evil …
And your lips from speaking lies …
Turn from evil and do good …
seek peace and pursue it (34 v 11 – 14)
Turn from evil and do good …
for the Lord loves the just (37 v 27 – 28)
Pray for those bringing them the gospel message.
Many are the woes of the wicked …
But the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him (32 v 10)
Day 60 Blind to our faults
Let the name of the Lord be praised both now and forevermore (113 v 2) As you praise God, desire that day when all shall come to know and worship the Lord.
Psalm 50 reminds us that many people are blind to their rebellion. Think about the truth of these words from God applied to our world today.
You hate my instruction …
When you see a thief, you join with him …
You throw in your lot with adulterers …
You use your mouth for evil …
You slander …
These things you have done and I kept silent …
You thought I was altogether like you …
I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face …
What right have you to … take my covenant on your lips? …
Consider this, you who forget God (v 16 – 22)
Pray for a turning of hearts in repentance. But pray with humility – that we will not be blind to our own sins.
He who sacrifices thank offerings honours me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God (v 23)
Day 61 No fear of God
Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies (36 v 5)
Respond to this amazing truth by worshipping the Lord with all of your heart.
Sadly, there are many who stubbornly refuse to acknowledge God. They are puffed up with pride. Psalm 36 reminds us of such people.
There is no fear of God before his eyes …
For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his own sin …
The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful…
He has ceased to be wise and to do good …
Even on his bed he plots evil …
He commits himself to a sinful course …
And does not reject what is wrong (v 1 – 4)
As we read these verses, let us recommit ourselves to the way of righteousness.
For with you is the fountain of life …
In your light we see light …
Continue your love to those who know you …
Your righteousness to the upright in heart (v 9, 10)
Day 62 The Lord knows we have come from dust
Give thanks to the Lord of Lords … his love endures forever (136 v 3) Praise God for his love.
Psalm 103 shows us that God’s forgiving heart springs from his knowledge of our frailty and mortality. He reaches out to bring us into a covenant relationship with him.
As a father has compassion on his children …
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear him …
For he knows how we are formed …
He remembers that we are but dust …
As for man, his days are like the grass …
He flourishes like a flower of the field …
The wind blows over it and it is gone …
And its place remembers it no more …
But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him …
And his righteousness with their children’s children … With those who keep his covenant …
And remember to obey his precepts (v 13 – 18)
Think about God’s character and worship him.
Day 63 Infinitely forgiving
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures for ever (107 v 1)
Thank God for his grace and salvation.
God’s loving character is seen by how he deals with our sins when we turn to him. We continue with some more truths in Psalm 103.
The Lord is compassionate and gracious …
Slow to anger abounding in love …
He will not always accuse …
He does not treat us as our sins deserve …
Or repay us according to our iniquities …
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him …
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us … (v 9 – 12)
Think about each of those truths.
Thank him for what he has done for you.
Worship him!
Day 64 There is forgiveness
Great is your love, higher than the heavens, your faithfulness reaches to the skies (108 v 4)
How wonderful is God’s love! Tell him!
We have a gospel to proclaim. People can approach God in repentance and faith, knowing that he is a forgiving God. Pray for the spread of the gospel as you think about these verses.
If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, who could stand? …
But with you there is forgiveness (130 v 3 – 4)
When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions (65 v 3)
You forgave the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins …
You set aside all your wrath (85 v 2,3)
The Lord is gracious and righteous …
Our God is full of compassion (116 v 5)
Thank God for his grace. May God use your own testimony of how he gave you salvation.
I said, “O Lord have mercy upon me…
Heal me, for I have sinned against you” (41 v 4)
Day 65 The blessing of forgiveness
Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing all you who are upright in heart (32 v 11)
Praise him with heartfelt joy.
There is no greater blessing than to be a forgiven sinner. Psalm 32 has a lot to say about this.
Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven …
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him (v 1 – 2)
Until we are forgiven our guilt is a heavy burden.
… my groaning …
Your hand was heavy upon me …
My strength was sapped … (v 3 – 4)
The next step is confession of sin.
I acknowledged my sin to you …
I said “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord” (v 5)
Then we receive God’s forgiveness.
You forgave the guilt of my sin (v 5)
If this is your testimony, ask that God may use it. Thank him for his grace and worship him.
Day 66 Sliding back into sin
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever (106 v 1) Give thanks that he never gives up loving us, even when we turn our back on him.
Sometimes believers slide away from God, and back into sinful ways. King David broke 5 commandments before he repented. Psalm 51 is his personal testimony. Three words for sin describe the extent of his slide. These words include ‘rebellion’, ‘breaking commandments’ and ‘sinful nature’.
My transgressions … my iniquity … my sin … (v 1 – 4)
People tend to minimize their sin. It makes it sound less sinful!
Three words about the kind of forgiveness to ask for.
Blot out … wash away … cleanse me … (v 1 – 2)
Three words about God
Mercy … unfailing love … compassion … (v 1)
Thank God for who he is. Worship him.
Pray that we will have a proper attitude about our sinfulness. Pray for any you know who have slid away from God.
Day 67 Now I understand
For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave (86 v 13)
Thank God for his salvation.
When David repented, he came to understand much more about himself and his broken relationship with God. Psalm 51 gives us some truths to think about.
Against you, you only, have I sinned …
And done what is evil in your sight …
I was sinful at birth …
Sinful from the time my mother conceived me …
You are proved right when you speak … (v 4 – 5)
Can you make David’s insights true also for your own life?
Often, we are blind to the effects of our lives on our relationship with God. We cannot see our relationship as God sees it. Pray that the Lord will open your eyes.
Surely you desire truth …
You teach me wisdom (v 6)
Day 68 The solution must be God’s solution
How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you (31 v 19)
Thank the Lord for his mercy compassion and love.
Psalm 51 also points to what God alone can do once we are forgiven. Only we can confess and repent; only God can save. Pray through each of these prayers of David.
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow …
Let me hear joy and gladness …
Create in me a pure heart, O God …
Renew a steadfast spirit within me …
Do not cast me away from your presence …
Or take your Holy Spirit from me … (v 7 – 11)
Thank God for his amazing grace!
Day 69 Lessons to learn
Praise the Lord, you angels of his, who do his bidding, who obey his word (103 v 20)
As you praise God, desire to be as willing to listen and to obey as his angels.
True repentance involves learning lessons. Why did we sin? What do we need to help us not to repeat that sin? Psalm 51 leads us forward to live a new life.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation …
Ask the Lord to restore the joy of your faith.
Grant me a willing spirit to sustain me …
Ask God to give you the willingness to follow him.
You do not delight in sacrifice …
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit …
A broken and contrite heart … you will not despise
(v 12, 17)
Pray that you may remain humble in your walk with the Lord.
Day 70 May others learn from my mistakes
I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High (7 v 17)
Thank God that he has revealed himself to you.
A good test of how much we have learned our lessons, is how we can share those lessons with others. King David showed humility by wanting his nation to learn from his sin, confession and restoration. God wants us to be a light to the nations. Choose one or two of David’s prayers to be your own prayer.
I will teach transgressors your ways …
Sinners will turn back to you …
Save me … and my tongue will sing of your righteousness …
O Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise … (51 v 13 – 15)
Pray that the gospel will be heard in all nations.
Days 71 – 78 Holy Living
Days 79 – 82 False Gods
God is righteous. He thinks and acts righteously. Man often thinks and acts selfishly. When we pray we must desire to become like God, - to think and act righteously. This is both a decision which we need to repeat often each day, and a work which we ask the Holy Spirit to do in us each day. An act of commitment from us. A work of grace from God.
The psalms reflect both of those things. Many prayers are words of recommitment to live righteously. Many prayers are reminders of the benefits and blessings of living God’s ways.
Sometimes it is a struggle to keep on that holy path. We are surrounded by false gods crying out for us to worship and follow them. The more we recommit ourselves to righteous living, the easier we will find it to pray - as the psalmist prays, - to be separate from the idolatry around us.
Day 71 The Lord is righteous
Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy (99 v 9 & 5) Worship him in his holiness.
The character of God is different from the character of man. He keeps himself separate from sin. He is holy. When God acts he acts from righteousness.
The Lord is righteous in all his ways (145 v 17)
Your ways, O God, are holy (77 v 13)
Worship him in his holiness
We need to be committed to living holy lives if we wish to approach God and speak to him.
Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? … Who may stand in his holy place?…
He who has clean hands and a pure heart …
who does not lift up his soul to an idol …
or swear by what is false … (24 v 3 – 4)
Recommit yourself today to living a holy life.
Thank the Lord for the generosity of his heart. He rewards those who come to him in righteousness.
He will receive blessing from the Lord (24 v 5)
Day 72 The gates of righteousness
Let them praise your great and awesome name – he is holy (99 v 3)
Worship the Lord who is holy.
At Jewish festivals pilgrims came to the holy city, Jerusalem to meet with God at his temple. As they came to the city gates they cried out:
Open for me the gates of righteousness …
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord (118 v 19)
As you desire today to come into the Lord’s presence, echo those pilgrim shouts. You want to come to give thanks for all that he has done for you.
At the festival the gate keepers shout back:
This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter (118 v 20)
Thank God that we are invited in.
The pilgrims then respond with these words:
You have become my salvation (118 v 21)
Thank God for saving us and making us righteous through Christ’s work on the cross.
Thank Christ that he is our gate to the sheepfold.
Day 73 Who may live on your holy hill?
Praise the name of the Lord … you who minister … in the courts of the house of our God (135 v 1 – 2) Praise him!
We want to be in God’s presence and serve him. Psalm 15 tells what is expected of us.
Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? …
Who may live on your holy hill? (v 1)
David is picturing the tabernacle at its final resting place on the highest point of Jerusalem. It is a most holy place.
Here are some of the answers that are given about the holy life.
He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous …
Who speaks the truth from his heart …
Has no slander on his tongue …
Who does his neighbour no wrong …
Honours those who fear the Lord …
Who keeps his oath even when it hurts …
Who lends his money …
And does not accept a bribe (v 2 – 5)
Choose one or two to pray about.
Thank the Lord for your faith and godly life.
He who does these things will never be shaken (v 5)
Day 74 The desire to keep God’s laws
Sing to the Lord you saints of his; praise his holy name (30 v 4)
You desire to lead a holy life (meaning of the word ‘saints’). Worship the Lord in his holiness.
As one of his ‘saints’, which of these verses is especially true of you and your faith?
The righteous give generously (37 v 21)
The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just …
The law of his God is in his heart …
his feet do not slip (37 v 30 - 31)
I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches (119 v 14)
To ‘fear’ the Lord, means to be willing to listen to his word and to live a holy life.
The Lord examines the righteous (11 v 5)
The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever (19 v 9)
Recommit yourself today to listen to his word and obey it.
Day 75 Joyful
Let … those who love your name … rejoice in you (5 v 11)
You love God’s holy character. Praise him joyfully.
When we live holy lives, we have a joyful and loving relationship with God.
The Lord loves the righteous (146 v 8)
Let those who love the Lord hate evil for he guards the lives of his faithful ones …
light is shed upon the righteous and joy to the upright in heart …
Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name (97 v 10 – 12)
Surely the righteous will praise your name and the upright will live before you (140 v 13)
God is present in the company of the righteous (14 v 5)
Choose one or two verses to respond joyfully to God.
Day 76 Secure
Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him … let all the upright in heart praise him! (64 v 10)
Praise him and turn to him joyfully.
When we live righteous lives we can be secure that God hears our prayers.
The Lord upholds the righteous (37 v 17)
I have never seen the righteous forsaken (37 v 25)
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you …
He will never let the righteous fall (55 v 22)
The righteous will flourish (72 v 7)
The horns of the righteous will be lifted up (75 v 10)
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry (34 v 15)
The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord …
He is their stronghold in time of trouble (37 v 39)
Choose one or two promises to ask for.
Day 77 Flourishing
Your righteousness reaches to the skies O God, you who have done great things … who is like you, O God?
(71 v 19)
Extol the Lord in his holiness. Lift up his name above the world. Tell him that there is no God like him.
Our lives will flourish when we are one with our holy God.
God is good to … those who are pure in heart (73 v 1)
For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous …
You surround them with your favour as with a shield
(5 v 12)
Fine oils have been poured over me …
The righteous will flourish … like a cedar of Lebanon …
Planted in the house of the Lord …
They will still bear fruit in old age ...
proclaiming “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock and there is no wickedness in him”
You, O Lord, are exalted for ever (92 v 8 - 15)
Thank God that you are growing in faith.
Proclaim the goodness and righteousness of the Lord.
Day 78 Blessing
Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad! (53 v 6)
Thank God for all the blessings won by Christ.
Psalm 112 shows the blessing of living holy lives.
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord (v 1)
Here, ‘fear’ is described by the next line:
Who finds great delight in his commands (v 1)
Think about how blessed you are to have found faith.
Here are some other blessings to thank him for.
The generation of the upright will be blessed …
His righteousness endures for ever …
Even in darkness light dawns for the upright …
Good will come to him who is generous …
He will never be shaken …
A righteous man will be remembered …
He will have no fear of bad news …
His heart is secure …
His horn (meaning his dignity) will be lifted high in honour (v 2 – 9)
Gain assurance from these truths and promises.
Day 79 No other gods
The Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods (95 v 3)
Worship the Lord; raising his name above all false religions. Christ has the name that is above all names.
Our world is full of false religions. There is only one God who has created the universe, our world, and all human beings.
You shall have no foreign god among you …
You shall not bow down to an alien god (81 v 9)
All the gods of the nations are but idols (96 v 5)
Feel sorrow and anger that Creator God is replaced by so many false gods.
This is what God is thinking and saying:
How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame? …
How long will you love delusions and false gods? (4 v 2)
Feel God’s sorrow and anger that his morality and worship is replaced by immorality and worship of false gods.
Recommit your belief and life to the Lord today.
I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods (135 v 5)
Day 80 Boasting
Before the “gods” I will sing your praise (138 v 1)
Praise him with all of your heart. Proclaim that he is far above all false gods.
Pride, boasting and arrogance put man against God. We replace worship of God with worship of man.
The arrogant cannot stand in your presence …
You hate all who do wrong (5 v 5)
They think that God does not exist, or does not see them.
They say “who can hear us?” …
But you, O Lord, laugh at them (59 v 7 – 8)
This is what God says to them:
To the arrogant I say: ‘Boast no more …
Do not lift up your horns against heaven …
Do not speak with outstretched neck’ (75 v 4 – 5)
We can pray about attitudes and desires that we see in our nation or local community.
Do not grant the wicked their desires, O Lord … or they will become proud (140 v 8)
Also we can recommit ourselves to get rid of pride in our own attitudes and desires.
Day 81 Pride gives birth to sin
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods (96 v 4)
Praise him for all of his greatness. Worship him in his holiness.
Idolatry, false religion and pride lead people away from the godly life. Think about the truth of these verses.
He who is pregnant with evil … gives birth to disillusionment (7 v 14)
Men of perverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with evil (101 v 4)
Whoever slanders his neighbour … whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, him I will not endure (101 v 5)
We must not doubt our faith. We must not envy.
The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods. (16 v 4)
Rather, we can feel the Lord’s own sorrow that the world has turned against him and his laws.
Streams of tears flow from my eyes for your law is not obeyed (119 v 136)
Pray for our world and our nation to turn back to the Lord.
Day 82 Do not despair
Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvellous deeds (72 v 18)
Praise God, whose actions are always righteous.
When we are surrounded by so much idolatry and evil it is easy to give up or despair. We feel that Christians are a tiny and insignificant minority. Psalm 12 begins with that prayer:
Help, Lord, for the godly are no more …
The faithful have vanished …
Everyone lies to his neighbour …
Their flattering lips speak with deception …
The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honoured (v 1 – 2, 8)
Especially he prays about those who flatter themselves and boast, who say: We will triumph with our tongues – meaning, that there is no one who will call them to account for what they say.
May the Lord cut off … every boastful tongue (v 3 – 4)
We too, can pray that prayer. And we know that the Lord will protect us.
O Lord, you will keep us safe and protect us (v 7)
Days 83 - 93 Teach us to pray
The disciples asked Jesus that question: ‘Lord, teach us to pray’. Disciples today often have the same question saying that prayer is the most difficult part of their faith. The psalms are not only the hymnbook of the bible, but also the prayer book. All of the psalms are prayers. Often we read words such as ‘hear’, ‘cry’, ‘call’, ‘petition’, ‘answer’, ‘prayer’, ‘listen’.
The psalms show us that we can pray to God, that he does care, does listen, does answer. They show us that we can pour out our heart to God even telling him the worst of our feelings. Many psalms cry out in desperation: ‘How long?’ It seems that there is nothing that we should exclude from our prayers. We can even be open to God about our hatred, our weakness, our sins, our doubts and our fears.
Jesus answered the question of the disciples by giving them ‘the Lord’s prayer’. It is both a model of how to pray, and a prayer we use. In a similar way, the psalms show us how to pray, and give us prayers that we ourselves can use.
Day 83 Speak humbly
I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise (18 v 3)
Tell God that he is worthy of your praise. Tell him why.
It is amazing that we can pray to God at all: when I consider your heavens … what is man that you are mindful of him? (8 v 3 – 4)
We should pray with humility, remembering that our Father is in heaven, that he is the Lord of the universe.
We do not come demanding, we come in poverty, as mere human beings, weak and sinful. Even King David prayed that he was poor and needy.
Hear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy (86 v 1)
I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God (70 v 5)
This is how we should pray:
As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master … so our eyes look to the Lord …
till he shows us his mercy (123 v 2)
Bring yourself and your petitions in the status of a humble servant. Ask the Lord how we may serve him today.
Day 84 Undeserving
You, O Lord, sit enthroned forever …
You will arise and have compassion on Zion
(102 v 12 – 13)
Tell God how amazing is his love.
Grace is the most important truth about God’s love. We do not deserve that he should even listen to our prayers. That is what we pray when we ask him to be merciful.
Be merciful to me and hear my prayer (4 v 1)
Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help (28 v 2)
O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger …
Be merciful to me, Lord for I am faint (6 v 1 – 2)
Hear my voice when I call, O Lord …
Be merciful to me and answer me (27 v 7)
Remember O lord, your great mercy and love (25 v 6)
Do not withhold your mercy from me, O Lord …
May your love and truth always protect me (40 v 11)
Choose one or two of those verses to make your own prayer.
Thank God for his grace, for his mercy, - that he will even listen to your prayer.
Day 85 Only God can heal
Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits … - who heals all your diseases (103 v 2 – 3)
Thank the Lord for his healing work in your life your body and mind.
The Lord … heals the broken hearted (147 v 3)
Thank God for the testimony of countless people before us – that encourages us to know God as our healer.
He sent forth his word and healed them …
He rescued them from the grave (107 v 20)
Thank the Lord for those times in the past that you have experienced his healing.
O Lord, my God, I called … and you healed me (30 v 2)
Pray for yourself or someone you know who needs healing. Use one of these verses to help you pray.
O Lord, heal me, for my bones are in agony (6 v 2)
The Lord … binds up their wounds (147 v 3)
Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning (30 v 5)
I am in pain and distress …
May your salvation, O God, protect me (69 v 29)
Day 86 Pray with confidence
I Love you, O lord my strength (18 v 1)
Thank God that he is strong when you are weak.
In prayer, we move from weakness to strength, as we bring our needs and seek his help.
In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice (5 v 3)
I call on you, O God, for you will answer me (17 v 6)
In the day of my trouble I will call out to you, for you will answer me (86 v 7)
The action of praying changes us from weakness to strength. When we have finished praying we are like soldiers, ready to go out to do battle. However, it is the Lord who is our strength! In many psalms David gives us this picture of faith in God:
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer …
in whom I take refuge …
He is my shield …
My stronghold (18 v 2)
The Lord has become my fortress …
My God the rock in whom I take refuge (94 v 22)
Pray with confidence and go out into this day with confidence.
Day 87 Listening
I will praise the Lord who counsels me, even at night my heart instructs me (16 v 7)
Praise the Lord who guides you and teaches you his way.
God’s way of thinking is different from ours’. So, it is important to find out his will for our lives. But the hardest part of praying is listening to God.
O my people, hear my teaching …
Listen to the words of my mouth (78 v 1)
Hear, O my people, and I will speak …
I am God, your God (50 v 7)
Be still, and know that I am God (46 v 11)
Tell God that you want to know his will.
I will listen to what God, the Lord will say (85 v 8)
Show me your ways, O Lord (25 v 4)
Ask that as you read his word, you will hear him.
Pray that you, the Church and leaders will seek to know God’s will and want to listen to God.
May all the kings of the earth praise you, O Lord, when they hear the words of your mouth (138 v 4)
Day 88 Pouring out how we feel
The Lord is my strength and my shield … my heart trusts in him and I am helped (28 v 7)
Worship the Lord who is above the troubles of the world.
In prayer we do not have to pretend that we are strong when we feel weak. The psalms are full of verses where the writer pours out the depths of his distress and fear. Here are just a few of the many examples:
Hear me and answer me … my thoughts trouble me and I am distraught … my heart is in anguish … fear and trembling have beset me (55 v 2 – 8)
My heart is blighted and withered like grass …
I forget to eat my food (102 v 4)
As we grow in confidence in prayer we will learn to pour out our heart to God
The troubles of my heart have multiplied …
Free me from my anguish (25 v 17)
I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice (55 v 17)
Before him, I tell my trouble (142 v 2)
What things have been troubling you? – In your own life or in the lives of family and friends, or in the world? Pour out your heart, perhaps using one of the verses above.
Day 89 A broken heart
I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving (69 v 30)
Give God the glory for all the times he has rescued you.
Psalm 69 may have spoken for David Jeremiah and Jesus among others. It can also speak for us if we reach what we think is the end.
Do not let the floodwaters engulf me (v 15)
I sink in the miry depths where there is no foothold (v 2)
I am worn out calling for help …
My eyes fail, looking for my God …
My throat is parched (v 3)
Scorn has broken my heart (v 20)
Choose one or more of the prayers below.
Save me, O God (v 1)
Rescue me …
Do not let me sink (v 14)
Come near and rescue me, redeem me (v 18)
Answer me … out of the goodness of your love (v 16)
Respond in praise as you look back at answered prayer.
The Lord hears the needy …
And does not despise his captive people (v 33)
Day 90 Be at rest once more
I love the Lord, for … he heard my cry for mercy … Praise the Lord (116 v 1, 19)
Worship God who is Love and hears our prayers.
Psalm 116 is a thanksgiving for answered prayer.
The chords of death entangled me …
I was overcome by trouble and sorrow (v 3)
Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, save me!” (v 4)
You, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling (v 8)
Thank God for answered prayer.
Here is an example of thanksgiving:
How can I repay the Lord? (v 12)
O Lord, truly I am your servant (v 16)
I will sacrifice a thank offering to you (v 17)
I will fulfil my vows to the Lord (v 14, 18)
That I may walk before the Lord (v 9)
How do you want to thank the Lord? Choose one or two of the verses above. Ask the Lord for his peace.
Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you (v 7)
Day 91 Rescue me
I will praise your name … for he has delivered me from all my troubles (54 v 6,7)
Thank God for those times he has rescued you, as you pray through another psalm of desperation, Psalm 143.
Come to my relief (v 1)
My spirit grows faint within me …
My heart is dismayed (v 4)
Bring me out of trouble (v 11)
Rescue me (v 9)
David’s prayer is simple.
Listen to my cry for mercy (v 1)
I spread out my hands to you …
My soul thirsts for you like a parched land (v 6)
Let the morning bring me hope of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you (v 8)
He also wants to know and do God’s will for his life.
I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done (v 5)
Show me the way that I should go (v 8)
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God …
May your good spirit lead me on level ground (v 10)
Day 92 Strength and safety
The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my saviour! (18 v 46)
Lift up your voice to the Rock of your salvation.
In many of the psalms where the prayer is one of deep distress and despair, you will also find words of faith. As we pour out our heart, we are given a peace that passes all understanding. Here are a few of the many examples.
I call as my heart grows faint …
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I (61 v 2)
You have been my refuge, a strong tower (61 v 3)
He alone is my rock and my salvation …
He is my fortress, I will not be shaken (62 v 6)
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble (46 v 1)
As you pour out your troubles, ask the Lord to give you strength for the day.
Hear us, O shepherd of Israel (80 v 1)
Be my rock of refuge (31 v 2)
Guard my life … for I take refuge in you (25 v 20)
Grant your strength to your servant (86 v 16)
Day 93 Waiting
O my strength, I sing praise to you …
You, O God, are my fortress, my loving God (59 v 17)
Worship the Lord, remembering all those times when he has held you up.
Often, we must be persistent and keep on praying for the same thing. When the answer seems a long way off, look back at examples of answered prayer.
I waited patiently for the Lord …
He turned to me and heard my cry (40 v 1)
Thank him for answered prayer.
Encouraged, we ask for patience as we wait in hope.
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits …
In his word I put my hope (130 v 5)
Wait for the Lord, and keep his way (37 v 34)
I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation
(5 v 3)
Choose one or two of the verses above to help you pray again and again, to persevere, not to give up.
Psalms of importance to Christ
Jesus will have known the psalms well. He may have used them himself in his daily prayers. Sometimes, as we pray, it is encouraging for us to think that Jesus and the apostles, also prayed a similar way, using the same words.
Jesus certainly used psalms in his teaching to the disciples. Some psalms applied to him, as the Christ, the ‘anointed one’. You may find it helpful to do some bible study, and look up the quotations in the New Testament – especially of Psalm 110. We can see how God fulfilled some of the hopes and prophecies of psalms in the person of Jesus. We can use these verses to give reason for our worship.
Also, some verses, were important to Jesus as he suffered on the cross. They expressed his suffering. Also, when those words are set in their original context, we can see that they expressed his faith.
You can use the following 12 ‘Days’ to accompany your prayers during the Church seasons: Advent, Christmas, Holy week and Easter. Look up the theme from the list at the front of this book.
Day 94 The anointed King
Praise the Lord …
I will extol the Lord with all my heart (111 v 1)
Lift up the Lord in your mind and heart and worship him.
Psalm 2 was first used when new Kings of Israel were crowned. They were God’s ‘anointed’. Now, we see it fulfilled in Christ (which means ‘anointed one’). The world is plotted against him:
The kings of the earth take their stand against the Lord and against his Anointed One (v 2)
Pray for the Church in places where they are persecuted for Christ.
Pray also that Christ will come again.
I will make the nations your inheritance …
You will rule them with an iron sceptre (v 8 - 9)
Therefore, you Kings, be wise …
Blessed are all who take refuge in him (v 10, 12)
Give thanks that Jesus became the Christ. Honour the one whom God honoured at his baptism and transfiguration in these words:
You are my Son, today I have become your Father (v 7)
Day 95 A wedding song
My heart is stirred by a noble theme … for the King …
My tongue is the pen of a skilful writer (45 v 1)
Joyfully worship Christ, using these words from Psalm 45 as if we wrote them ourselves.
This Psalm was sung at the King’s wedding. In Christ we look forward to his return to rule and to the wedding banquet to which his Church is invited.
You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace …
You love righteousness and hate wickedness …
Therefore God … has set you above …
Anointing you with the oil of joy (v 2, 7)
Pray for Christ to return to judge and rule the world.
Gird your sword …
Clothe yourself with splendour and majesty …
In your majesty ride forth victoriously in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness (v 3 – 4)
Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the King’s enemies …
Let the nations fall beneath your feet …
a sceptre of justice will be the sceptre of your kingdom (v 4 – 6)
Day 96 Prophecy of the Messiah
In the beginning … the heavens are the work of your hands … your years will never end (102 v 25 – 27 quoted in Hebrews chapter 1) Worship Christ who was there at the beginning and reigns eternally.
Jesus could easily have said Psalm 102 as if they were his own prayers.
He broke my strength … he cut short my days (v 23)
Do not hide your face … when I am in distress (v 2)
All day long my enemies taunt me (v 8)
It also looks ahead to a coming messiah:
Let this be written for a future generation …
that a people not yet created may praise the Lord (v 18)
The appointed time has come (v 13)
The nations will fear the name of the Lord (v 15)
The Lord … will appear in his glory (v 16)
He will respond to the prayer of the destitute (v 17)
And release those condemned to death (v 20)
Thank God that he had a plan to send Jesus to be our messiah, and release us from sin and death.
Day 97 Name him Jesus
I will ever sing praise to your name (61 v 8). Worship the name of Jesus, that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess ….
Joseph, the fiancée of Mary was given these words to explain why he should give the baby the name ‘Jesus’.
The Lord … himself will redeem Israel from all their sins (130 v 8)
Psalm 130 can become our prayer response to Jesus.
O Lord, hear my voice … to my cry for mercy (v 2)
If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins … who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness (v 3 – 4)
O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption (v 7)
Thank the Lord that he came to bring you forgiveness of sins.
Put your hope in Jesus, your saviour and redeemer.
I wait for the Lord .. and in his word I put my hope …
My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning (v 5 – 6)
Day 98 The Servant King
I will declare that your love stands firm forever (89 v 2) Praise God for his love and faithfulness.
Much of Psalm 89 is about David, my servant (v 20) and his successors whom God punished – along with all Israel, for their rebellion against God. But God turned their failure into his opportunity to bring about a new covenant in the person of Jesus Christ. Praise God for his promises.
You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, ‘I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.’” (v 3 – 4)
I will appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth (v 27)
My covenant with him will never fail (v 28)
His line will continue forever and his throne endure before me … it will be established forever …
The faithful witness in the sky (v 37)
As we thank the Lord for his promise fulfilled in Christ, we can recommit ourselves to follow Jesus, the Servant King.
Love and faithfulness go before you …
Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord (v 14 – 15)
Day 99 Saviour and Redeemer
Sing to the Lord a new song … his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation (98 v 1)
With a thankful heart, worship Christ as our Saviour.
God knew our struggle with sin, and hopelessness that our sins would result in our spiritual death.
The Lord looked down … to hear the groans of prisoners and release those condemned to death (102 v 20).
Thank God for his plan of salvation that gave us Jesus to be our Saviour and Redeemer.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God (98 v 3)
Jesus himself, knew God’s purpose for his life, ministry and death:
He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry …
The Lord sets prisoners free …
The Lord gives sight to the blind …
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down …
The Lord watches over the alien (146 v 7 – 9)
Worship Jesus who accepted God’s plan for his life. Worship Jesus as the fulfilment of Israel’s hopes.
Day 100 Hosanna
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord
(118 v 26)
Worship Jesus who was acclaimed to be the Messiah.
Psalm 118 was being sung by the pilgrims entering Jerusalem on ‘Palm Sunday’. They believed this psalm was becoming true in the person of Jesus.
The Lord is my strength and my song and has become my salvation (v14)
This is the gate of the Lord …
I will give you thanks, for you answered me …
You have become my salvation …
This is the day the Lord has made …
Let us rejoice and be glad in it (v 17 – 24)
With boughs (palms) in hand, join in the festal procession (v 27)
Join them as you worship Jesus. Use the Hebrew word ‘Hosanna’ – which means: O Lord, save us (v 25).
We know that the acclamation of ‘Palm Sunday’ was soon replaced by rejection. Jesus saw that another verse applied to him: The stone which the builders have rejected has become the capstone … (v 22)
Worship Jesus, who was willing to be rejected.
Day 101 The passion
All who go down to the dust will kneel before him … they will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn – for he has done it (22 v 29 – 31)
Worship Christ who was righteous yet died for our sins.
Psalm 22 helped Jesus through his suffering on the cross. The words and experiences of David applied to his own suffering. Think about the suffering of Jesus on the cross as you read these words.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? …
I cry out by day, but you do not answer (v 1 – 2)
I am a worm … scorned by men and despised by the people ... all who see me mock me; they hurl insults … “He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him” (v 6 – 8)
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint … my heart is turned to wax …my strength is dried up … you lay me in the dust of death … they have pierced my hands and my feet … I can count all my bones … people stare and gloat over me (v 14 – 17)
In sadness that he suffered in this way worship Jesus, who did not give up his faith. Psalm 22 is spoken in faith.
For he (God) has not despised … the suffering of the afflicted one … the earth will remember and turn to the Lord (v24 – 27)
Day 102 Prophesied
I will praise you forever for what you have done (52 v 9) Thank Jesus for his willingness to die on the cross for our salvation.
Jesus and the apostles understood that the humiliation of crucifixion was prophesied in the psalms.
Even my close friend … who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me (41 v 9)
They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing (22 v 18)
I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads (109 v 25)
They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst (69 v 21)
He (God) protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken (34 v 20)
As you think of these verses, thank God for his plan of salvation.
Thank God also, for the faith of Jesus, and that God would not abandon him in the grave.
Into your hands I commit my spirit (31 v 5)
Day 103 Leading captivity captive
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens (68 v 19)
Thank the Lord for the message of Easter.
Thank God for his plan to raise Christ from the grave.
I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done (118 v 17)
Therefore my heart is glad … my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay (16 v 9 – 10)
Thank God that Easter is for us victory over sin, the devil and death.
I will look on triumph on my enemies (118 v 7)
Our God is a God who saves … from the sovereign Lord comes escape from death (68 v 20)
When you ascended on high you led captives in your train (68 v 18)
Worship Christ, victorious, risen and ascended.
Give him the gift of your worship.
You received gifts from men, even from the rebellious (68 v 18)
Thank him that at Pentecost, he gave us a greater gift, - his Holy Spirit.
Day 104 King and Priest
The Lord is in his holy temple …
The Lord is on his heavenly throne (11 v 4)
Worship Christ who is both our High Priest and our King.
Psalm 110 is one of the most important Old Testament passages about the promised messiah, quoted in many New Testament books. King David writes about another, far greater King: The Lord says to my Lord. This King will have the highest status in heaven next to God:
“Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet” (v 1)
Worship Christ who is our Lord, the great King.
The Lord will extend your mighty sceptre from Zion … You will rule in the midst of your enemies (v 2).
He will judge the nations … crushing the rulers of the whole earth (v 6).
Christ is also our great High Priest. The significance of this next verse is explained in Hebrews chapters 4 – 8.
You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek (v 4)
Therefore come to our great High Priest, Jesus the Son of God, able to sympathise with our weaknesses; whose death enables us to approach the throne of grace with confidence that we may receive help in our time of need.
Day 105 Hail to the Lord’s anointed
Praise be to his glorious name forever … may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen (72 v 19)
Give glory to Christ’s name.
Psalm 72 began as a coronation prayer (perhaps for King Solomon). The prayer was finally fulfilled in the person of Christ. Praise God for his answered prayer.
Endow … the royal son with your righteousness (v 1)
He will defend the afflicted … save the children of the needy … crush the oppressor … He will endure as long as the sun (v 4 – 5)
All Kings will bow down to him and all nations shall serve him (v 11)
He will deliver the needy who cry out … he will save the needy from death … he will rescue them … for precious is their blood in his sight (v 12 – 14)
All nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed (v 17)
Respond in worship.
Long may he live! May gold … be given him (v 15)
May his name endure forever … may it continue as long as the sun (v 17)
May the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen (v 19)
Days 106 – 109 Judgment
Days 110 - 113 Pray for the persecuted
The truth that the Lord is righteous and will bring perfect judgment is one of the foundational beliefs on which many of the psalms have been based. This makes us sure that our prayers about injustice and tyranny will be answered one day. When we are surrounded by examples of wickedness and evil, it is easy to doubt this truth, or lose hope that we will see any justice in our lifetime. The psalms will help us to pray as Jesus taught us: “Thy kingdom come on earth, as it is in heaven”.
We can also pray for those who are oppressed, persecuted and suffering injustice. Before David was King he spent many years as a fugitive. He was being hunted down by King Saul’s men. Many times he feared for his own life. It is for our benefit, that many of his prayers have been written as psalms. We can use these cries of desperation to intercede for others who may feel too weak to pray for themselves.
Day 106 The Lord reigns
The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad …
Let the distant shores rejoice (97 v 1).
Rejoice that the Lord is Lord of the heavens and the earth.
Psalm 97 exalts God above the earth, its rulers and its false Gods. The universe that we can see today through astronomy gives us similar pictures to these verses.
Clouds and thick darkness surround him …
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne …
Fire goes before him and consumes his foes …
His lightning lights up the world …
The earth sees and trembles …
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord …
Before the Lord of all the earth …
The heavens proclaim his righteousness …
And all the peoples see his glory (97 v 1 – 5).
As you think about the beauty, yet terror of stars in the universe and volcanoes and lightning on earth, you can be pleased of these signs that the Lord will come and judge the world. Praise God for his righteousness and promise of judgment.
Day 107 Do not doubt his character
Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing for joy …
Let them sing before the Lord for he comes to judge the earth (98 v 8 – 9)
Join with all creation in joyful worship of the Lord who will judge.
When we see few signs of his judgment, it is easy to doubt. As you think about these statements of faith, thank God for these truths and be encouraged.
He will judge the world in righteousness (9 v 8).
Your righteousness is like mighty mountains …
Your justice like the great deep (36 v 6).
For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice …
Upright men shall see his face (11 v 7).
All the trees of the forest will sing for joy …
They will sing before the Lord, for he comes … to judge the earth …
He will judge the world in righteousness …
And the peoples in his truth (96 v 12 - 13).
Praise God for his righteous character.
Pray that he will come soon to judge the nations.
Day 108 Come!
The Lord has established his throne in heaven …
And his kingdom rules over all (103 v 19)
Worship the Lord whose Kingdom is in heaven.
The psalm writers often respond to the evil and wickedness they see around them by praying for God to come and judge the earth.
Arise, O Lord, let not man triumph …
Let the nations be judged in your presence (9 v 19)
Pour out your wrath on them (69 v 24).
You alone are to be feared …
Who can stand before you when you are angry? …
From heaven you pronounced judgment (76 v 7 – 8).
Rise up, O God, judge the earth (82 v 8).
Repay them … for their evil work … (28 v 4).
Rule over them from on high …
Let the Lord judge the peoples (7 v 7 - 8).
Use one or two of the verses above to express your own prayer that his kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven.
Day 109 God will act
I will sing of your love and justice (101 v 1)
Love and justice belong together. Thank the Lord, that he will bring about justice because he loves us.
Although we still await the return of Christ, there are many examples in history of tyrants and evil nations who have been brought down. These examples are signs that God’s kingdom will come on earth.
You, O God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land (76 v 8 – 9)
You have rebuked the nations …
You have blotted out their name for ever (9 v 5)
The Mighty One … the Lord, speaks and summons the earth … a fire devours before him …
He summons the heavens above and the earth, that he may judge … for God himself is judge (50 v 1 – 6)
He will judge the world in righteousness …
And the peoples with equity (98 v 9)
Choose one or two of the verses above to praise God who has acted in history and will continue to act.
Day 110 Praying for the persecuted
Sing to God, sing praise to his name …
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows
(68 v 4 & 5)
Thank the Lord that he is a God who cares for those who have lost family.
Psalm 79, like many of the psalms, writes about the experience of being persecuted. We can use their prayers to pray on behalf of those who are persecuted today, especially those who are persecuted for their faith.
Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Here is a prayer we can pray:
Before our eyes, make known among the nations that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants …
May the groans of the prisoners come before you …
By the strength of your arm preserve those condemned to death (79 v 10 – 11)
Pray for justice. Pray for those from other nations who are also wanting to bring justice.
And pray with the persecuted as they pray in faith.
Help us, O God our Saviour for the glory of your name …
Deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake
(79 v 9)
Day 111 They are not forgotten
I will praise you … for your faithfulness, O Holy One of Israel (71 v 22)
Thank the Lord that he is faithful to his people.
They are not forgotten. We will not forget them, but pray for them. Here are some prayers that will be the kind of prayers on their hearts.
Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help (22 v 11)
Help me, for men persecute me without cause (119 v 86)
Rescue me from the mouth of the lions (22 v 21)
Choose one of those prayers, and speak to God about those who are being persecuted.
“Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise” says the Lord
(12 v 5)
Pray also that their faith will become stronger.
Though the wicked bind me with ropes, I will not forget my law (119 v 61)
The Lord … will not forsake his faithful ones (37 v 28)
Day 112 Desperate
In God we make our boast all day long …
And we will praise your name for ever (44 v 8)
These words were said at a time of oppression. Worship God along with all Christians who are being oppressed.
The persecuted go through times of desperation similar to that of David. They can feel a loss of hope. Use these cries of desperation to lift them up to God.
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me? (13 v 1-2)
Pray that they will renew their hope.
Why are you downcast, O my soul? … Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my saviour and my God
(42 v 11 & 43 v 5)
Pray for those who are refugees and are grieving for their lost land and livelihoods.
How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? (137 v4)
By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion (137 v 1)
Day 113 Facing death
I will praise you among the nations, O Lord, I will sing praises to your name (18 v 49)
Lift up God’s name, that all nations may know he is Lord.
Each day, - somewhere in the world, there are Christians who live in fear of death. David lived with such fear for many years as King Saul hunted him. Choose one of these prayers to pray today for Christians who fear death.
Strangers are attacking me …ruthless men seek my life – men without regard for God (54 v 3)
Do not take away my soul along with sinners, my life with bloodthirsty men (26 v 9)
I have no refuge; no one cares for my life (142 v 4)
The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground … he makes me dwell in darkness like those long dead
(143 v 3)
Pray that they may have that assurance that even if they die, that they belong to the Lord for ever.
Pray for international leaders and aid agencies who seek to bring an end to conflicts.
Blessed are they who maintain justice (106 v 3)
Days 114 - 116 Guidance
Days 117 - 124 Trusting
People make one of two choices: either to look to God to lead them and guide them, or to live independently of God. That is part of what Jesus taught when he said that we should begin our prayers with “Our Father in heaven”. We should look to God. He will not lead us into temptation. He will lead us away from all that is harmful.
In prayer, we are learning to trust God, rather than ourselves. The psalms give us many images and words about trusting God: ‘Rock’, ‘fortress’, ‘refuge’, ‘shield’, ‘shelter’, ‘strength’.
The psalms encourage us to put our trust in God. This is such a wonderful gift of grace from God. The world without God is such a frightening place. God can take away that fear. We can know that he has always loved us, and always will.
We can easily summarize our faith: it is a life of trusting in God.
Day 114 Guide me
In God, whose word I praise … in God I trust (56 v 10)
Thank God that he is there to guide us through his word.
Often the psalms seek to know God’s will because God will lead them away from wrong doing. Choose one or two of the verses below and ask God to lead you in his direction.
Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me (43 v 3)
Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me (31 v 3)
For this is our God for ever … he will be our guide even to the end (48 v 14)
I am always with you … you hold me by my right hand … you guide me with your counsel (73 v 23 – 24)
May your good spirit lead me on level ground (143 v 10)
Talk to him about the difficult questions of your life. Also ask him to guide you in your conversations today, - that you will say the right thing.
Day 115 Teach me
Sing for joy to God our strength (81 v 1)
Praise God who strengthens you to do his will.
God shows us our strengths and our weaknesses, and his will and purposes for our lives as we read the scriptures.
Teach me your paths …
Guide me in your truth and teach me (25 v 4 - 5)
The Lord confides in those who fear him (25 v 14)
Teach me your way, O Lord …
Lead me in a straight path (27 v 11)
I will not neglect your word (119 v 16)
Choose one of those verses and ask God to give you a better understanding of his will and purposes.
Often our heart is ‘divided’, between loving God and loving the world. David wanted the same heart as God.
Teach me your way, O Lord …
And I will walk in your truth …
Give me an undivided heart …
I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart …
I will glorify your name for ever (86 v 11 – 12)
Pray David’s prayer as your own prayer.
Day 116 Shepherd me
My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you – I, whom you have redeemed (71 v 23)
Thank the Lord for redeeming you from the world of darkness.
In psalm 23, David who was a shepherd knows that God has that same desire to shepherd, guide and protect us.
Thank God for shepherding you.
He makes me lie down in green pastures …
He leads me beside quiet waters …
He restores my soul …
He guides me in paths of righteousness …
Look to the Shepherd who will provide and protect you.
I shall not be in want …
I will fear no evil …
You are with me …
Your rod and your staff comfort me …
Worship the Shepherd who has your future in his hands.
You anoint me head …
My cup overflows …
Goodness and love will follow me …
I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Day 117 Trusting
Not to us, O Lord … but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness (115 v 1)
Give God the glory for all you have achieved in your life.
Psalm 115 shows a simple trusting in the Lord.
You who fear him, trust in the Lord – he is their help and shield …
The Lord remembers us and will bless us…
He will bless those who fear the Lord – small and great alike (v 11 - 13)
Ask God to increase your trust in him. ‘Fear’ does not mean to be afraid. It means to submit to God as Lord of your life. Tell Christ that you want him to be your Lord, and that you will serve and obey him.
Psalm 125 shows the strength that comes from trusting the Lord.
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever …
As the mountains surround Jerusalem so the Lord surrounds his people both now and evermore (v 1 – 2)
Ask God to increase your trust in him.
Day 118 Your wings
Glorify the Lord with me … let us exalt his name together (34 v 3). Give the Lord glory for his salvation.
When the Lord brought his people safely out of Egypt, he pictured himself as an eagle. This act in history encourages us to trust ourselves to God. The picture of the eagles’ wings help us to believe in his love and care for us especially when going through a time of trial.
Give ear to me and hear my prayer …
Show the wonder of your great love …
Keep me as the apple of your eye …
Hide me in the shadow of your wings (17 v 6 – 8)
How priceless is your unfailing love! …
Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings (36 v 7)
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge (91 v 4)
Read these three sections through several times, until they become your own prayer.
Day 119 Your rock
Praise be to the Lord my Rock …
He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer …
My shield in whom I take refuge (144 v 1 – 2). Praise and thank God for being the rock of your faith.
In the psalms, God is often referred to as our ‘Rock’. That is why we can trust our daily lives to him. Our ‘faith’ is about trusting him.
He set my feet on a rock …
And gave me a firm place to stand (40 v 2)
He alone is my rock and my salvation …
He is my fortress, I will never be shaken (62 v 2)
Thank God for being the rock of your faith.
Also, we know that we can always go to him, not just in time of need, but to ask him to guide our daily thoughts and conversations.
Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go (71 v 3)
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my redeemer (19 v 14)
Choose one of those prayers to be your prayer for today.
Repeat it several times, perhaps during the day also.
Day 120 Your choice
Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength (29 v 1)
Praise God for his strength which he gives you. Give him glory for who you are, and what you have achieved.
It is a strange and wonderful truth, that God chose us from conception onwards. Some people can look back through their lives and see that they have always believed.
You brought me out of the womb …
You made me trust in you …
Even at my mother’s breast …
From birth, I was cast upon you …
From my mother’s womb you have been my God
(22 v 9 – 10)
Praise God for this truth.
Renew your faith and trust in him today as you repeat these words
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty …
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust” (91 v 1 – 2)
Day 121 My choice
In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust (56 v 4). Praise God for your trust in him.
Many psalms speak of the choice we have made to lead the righteous life that God desires.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God …
They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm (20 v 7 - 8)
O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you (84 v 12)
As for me, I trust in you (55 v 23)
Thank God that you have chosen this life.
Thank God that he is trustworthy.
All your commands are trustworthy (119v 86)
Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them (119 v 140)
Look to the Lord for your needs today.
Blessed are those whose strength is in you (84 v 5)
Day 122 My commitment
He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God …
Many will see … and put their trust in the Lord (40 v 3)
Thank God that he has put praise in your heart.
When we say that we trust God, we mean that we are committed to live our lives his way. This is part of our witness. This brings blessing.
The Lord God is a sun and shield …
The Lord bestows favour and honour …
No good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless (84 v 11)
Trust in the Lord and do good …
Commit your way to the Lord … trust in him …
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn
(37 v 3, 5 – 6)
Trust in him at all times …
Pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge
(62 v 8)
Renew your commitment to walk in the footsteps of Christ, to be a good disciple.
Day 123 My devotion
Let them praise his name with dancing (149 v 3)
Imagine you are dancing with the Lord, full of joyful love for him.
We trust God because we love him and he loves us.
Guard my life, for I am devoted to you …
You are my God … save your servant who trusts in you (86 v 2)
In you they trusted and were not disappointed (22 v 5)
Jesus taught that you cannot love both God and money.
Though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them …
Two things have I heard … that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving …
You will reward each person according to what he has done (62 v 10 – 12)
If my people would but listen to me …
You would be fed the finest of wheat …
With honey from the rock I would satisfy you
(81 v 13, 16)
Pray for those who are pulled away from God by the love of riches. May they know that God alone can satisfy.
Day 124 Do not trust in yourself
I will extol the Lord at all times …
His praise will always be on my lips (34 v 1)
Tell God that he is the most important person in your life.
Psalm 49 is more like a sermon than a prayer. Those who choose not to trust themselves to God lose everything.
All can see that … the foolish and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others (v 10)
Man, despite his riches, does not endure (v 12)
This is the fate of those who trust in themselves …
They are destined for the grave (v 13 – 14)
We must not envy them. Our trust in God will deliver incomparable riches of a different kind.
Why should I fear when … deceivers surround me – those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? (v5 – 6)
Do not be overawed when a man grows rich … for he will take nothing with him when he dies (v 16 – 17)
But God will redeem my life from the grave, he will surely take me to himself (v 15)
Pray for that the world may choose to trust in God.
Hear this … all who live in this world … my mouth will speak words of wisdom (v 1, 3)
Days 125 – 133 Adoration
Adoration is the deepest expression of worship. To worship God means to put him first, above all things. Worship is the foundation on which all of the psalms have been written. Every ‘day’ of every theme in this book begins with a verse of worship. We put God first.
Some of the psalms express an intimate relationship – as between a Father and child, summed up in the English word: ‘adoration’. We aim to deepen our worship so that it becomes adoration. Jesus taught that the first and “greatest” of the 10 commandments is to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.
Different words are used to help us to express our adoration: E.g., “praise”, “extol”, “love”, “sing”, “dance”, “exalted”, “majesty”, “glory”, “heavenly”, “proclaim”, “bless”, “fear”, “ascribe”, “great”, “give thanks”.
A few of the psalms are especially psalms of worship and adoration. Some of them are included in this next section. They help us focus on this, the most important of themes.
Day 125 Worship with God’s people
Psalm 100 reminds us that when God brought the Hebrews to Mt. Sinai, it was to make them into his ‘people’. Their first activity was to worship in the tabernacle. The same is true for us today; - every time we meet together. Our first duty is to worship. As you use these words, look forward to the next opportunity you will have to worship with others.
Repeat each line a few times, before reading the next one.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth …
Worship the Lord with gladness …
Come before him with joyful songs …
Know that the Lord is God …
It is he who made us, and we are his …
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture …
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise …
Give thanks to him and praise his name …
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever …
His faithfulness continues through all generations
Day 126 Worship in the beauty of holiness
Today, we will use Psalm 93. There are some key words that take us through this psalm.
Picture his royal majesty. Worship him.
The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty…
The Lord is robed in majesty and is armed with strength
Declare that his throne is firmly established.
The world is firmly established … it cannot be moved …
Your throne was established long ago …
You are from all eternity …
Join with the picture of waters, - that speak of God’s power, whose voice has lifted up, and worship God.
The seas have lifted up, O Lord, the seas have lifted up their voice, the seas have lifted up their pounding waves
Worship the Lord who is mighty.
Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea – the Lord on high is mighty
Sum up your worship as you praise God for his word and worship him in his holiness.
Your statutes stand firm …
Holiness adorns your house for endless days, O Lord.
Day 127 Magnify
Often we need to step back to see the smallness of our world, so that we can make the Lord bigger. Psalm 111 reminds us of a few of the reasons why we worship him. Repeat each section a few times before reading the next line. Make the Lord bigger in your mind. Magnify him, - extol his name.
Praise the Lord. I will extol the Lord with all my heart …
Great are the works of the Lord …
They are pondered by all who delight in them …
Glorious and majestic are his deeds …
And his righteousness endures forever
The Lord is gracious and compassionate …
He provides food for those who fear him …
He remembers his covenant forever …
The works of his hands are faithful and just …
He provided redemption for his people …
He ordained his covenant forever –
Holy and awesome is his name …
All who follow his precepts have good understanding …
To him belongs eternal praise.
Day 128 So high … so low
In Psalm 113 we first see how high above the world is our God. Consequently, we see how amazing it is that he stoops so low! Say each of these two sections a few times, so that they become your own worship.
First, in your mind lift him higher and higher.
Praise the Lord. Praise, O servants of the Lord …
Praise the name of the Lord …
From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised …
The Lord is exalted over all the nations …
His glory above the heavens ….
Now think about his grace, - how he chooses the most despised and humble to be the objects of his love.
Who is like the Lord our God? …
The One who sits enthroned on high …
Who stoops down to look on the heavens
and the earth …
Raises the poor from the dust and lifts up the needy …
Seats them with the princes of their people …
Settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children …
Praise the Lord!
Day 129 The gift of song
Sing to him, sing praise to him … tell of all his wonderful acts (105 v 2)
Many psalms encourage us to sing our worship. Song is a gift we can use in many ways: in making or listening to music, writing or appreciating poetry; together, or on our own; to express our joy and our desire to glorify his name. Psalm 96 (v 1 – 9) is one example. This could inspire you to find a song of worship to listen to or sing along with.
Sing to the Lord a new song …
sing to the Lord, all the earth …
Sing to the Lord, praise his name …
proclaim his salvation day after day …
Declare his glory among the nations …
For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise …
Splendour and majesty are before him …
strength and glory are in his sanctuary …
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength …
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name …
Bring an offering and come into his courts …
Worship the Lord in the splendour of his holiness …
Day 130 In splendour
Praise the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God …
You are clothed with splendour and majesty (104 v 1)
Part of God’s splendour is when we speak to him and others of what he has done. This brings glory to God. The psalms show us how to do this.
Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done … The things you planned for us no one can recount to you … were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare (40 v 5)
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name ...
Worship the Lord in the splendour of his holiness (29 v 2)
I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart …
I will tell of all your wonders …
I will be glad and rejoice in you …
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High (9 v 1,2)
Proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds (26 v 7)
Choose one or two of those verses to give glory to God. Tell him what he has done for you and others.
Day 131 Thanksgiving
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good …
His mercy endures forever (118 v 1 & 29)
Our adoration becomes richer the more we can fill it with thanksgiving. The psalms show a heart always full of thanksgiving, even when life is difficult.
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever (30 v 12)
I will give you thanks … among throngs of people I will praise you (35 v 18)
We give thanks to you, O God …
We give thanks, for your Name is near …
Men tell of your wonderful deeds (75 v 1)
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love … For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things (107 v 8)
Choose one or two of those verses to make your own thanksgiving. Think of those things for which you want to give thanks. Spiritual things, - such as your salvation; and blessings, - such as family, home and food. Whom can you tell?
Day 132 Harvest
I will sing a new song to you, O God …
Our barns will be filled with every kind of provision …
Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord
(144 v 9, 13, 15).
Thank God for the continual harvest in different parts of the world.
When we recognise God’s hand in the harvest, we receive the joy of being blessed. To recognise food as a blessing, is to recognise that there are many other ways in which God wants to bless us.
Give thanks … to the one who gives food to every creature (136 v 25)
May all the peoples praise you …
Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us …
God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him (67 v 5 – 7)
Thank God for his blessings.
You have filled my heart with greater joy than when the grain and new wine abound (4 v 7).
Tell God how much he has blessed you.
Day 133 Care for the land and all creatures
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving …
He covers the sky with clouds …
He supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills …
He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call (147 v 7 – 9)
Thank God for rain on which plants and creatures thrive.
Like the passage above, Psalm 65 (v 9 – 16) focus on the caring God who is behind the balance of our climate.
You care for the land and water it …
You enrich it abundantly …
The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain …
You soften it with showers and bless its crops …
You crown the year with your bounty …
The hills are clothed with gladness …
The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain …
They shout and sing for joy!
Thank God. Ask him to open your eyes to see more and more of how much he cares for the environment. Confess the sins of humanity which destroys the environment.
Days 134 - 139 Your temple
Days 138 - 144 Your Church
Many psalms were written to be said or sung by pilgrims coming to the temple in Jerusalem, or as part of temple worship. The temple reminded them of God’s holiness and glory, a place they dare not enter without preparation and sacrifice. It was the place where God came to dwell. In time, other words came to signify the same message: ‘Zion’, - the mountain on which the temple was built, ‘Jerusalem’, - the city in which the temple stood. Later, it came to speak of another temple, - in heaven. Today, we can think of eternal life as being in God’s heavenly temple, - where he dwells. The psalms increase our desire to be in God’s presence, forever.
Zion and Jerusalem also came to represent the people of God. Much of what we value about the church today has its roots in the people gathered in the temple: gathered to worship, listening to God’s word, living in fellowship and unity and enjoying God’s blessing. As we pray for the church, and pray for our own part in the church, we can be led by those prayers we find in the psalms.
Day 134 The holy temple
I, by your great mercy, will come into your house; in reverence will I bow down to your holy temple (5 v 7)
Come into God’s heavenly temple. Bow down in worship to him. Thank him that by his grace you are invited into his presence.
The temple in Jerusalem was a symbol of God’s glory.
In his temple all cry, “Glory!” (29 v 9).
It was a holy place.
The holy place where the Most High dwells (46 v 4)
Worship the Lord who is holy. Join with the angels and heavenly hosts in crying out “Glory”.
For the Lord has chosen Zion , he has desired it for his dwelling (132 v 13)
Thank God that Christ has opened the way for us to come into God’s holy presence. Ask forgiveness for your sins.
Adore Christ.
Long to be and stay in his presence for ever.
I love the place where you live, O Lord, the place where your glory dwells (26 v 8)
Day 135 North, south, east and west.
Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise (48 v 1). Give glory to God for all of creation. He is greatest.
The themes of Psalm 48 are based on the four points of the compass. Compared with the mountains to the “north”, where idols are exalted, Mt. Zion – the temple, is small. Yet, - It is beautiful … the joy of the whole earth … the city of the great King (v 1 – 2). Praise God’s greatness.
“East” represents times past. Israel remembers when God miraculously saved the temple from destruction by Sennacherib: When the kings … advanced together, they saw her … they fled in terror … you destroyed them … by an east wind (v 4 – 7). Praise God that no one can destroy his heavenly temple where he reigns eternally.
The “right hand” is south, the focus of God’s covenant. Within your temple … we meditate on your unfailing love … your right hand is filled with righteousness (v 9 - 10). Thank God for his love.
West is behind, symbolizing the next generation.
Walk about Zion … view her citadels, that you may tell … to the next generation (v12 – 13). Pray for your witness.
Day 136 I love your place
Extol the Lord, O Jerusalem …
Praise your God, O Zion (147 v 12).
Lift up God’s name. Give him glory. Praise him!
Psalm 84 is a love song; love for the temple, desire to be in God’s presence. It pictures the temple as a place that the worshipper does not want to leave.
How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns for the courts of the Lord …
Even the sparrow has found a home …
And the swallow a nest for herself …
Where she may have her young …
- a place near your altar, O Lord Almighty, my King and my God …
Blessed are those who dwell in your house …
they are ever praising you …
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere…
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God tan dwell in the tents of the wicked (v 1 – 4, v 10)
Read this through a few times. Make it your own love song! Yearn to be in God’s presence.
Day 137 A place to live forever
Praise be to the Lord from Zion, to him who dwells in Jerusalem (135 v 21). Praise God that he lives for ever.
God is eternal. Some psalms include prayers asking to be with God for ever.
I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (23 v 6)
I long to dwell in your tent forever (61 v 4)
One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek …
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life …
To gaze upon the beauty of the Lord …
And to seek him in his temple (27 v 4)
Choose one or two of the verses above to repeat again. Ask to be with the Lord for eternity.
The Lord responds to that desire by promising to be with us, too. Thank God for your faith as you repeat this verse.
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever (125 v 1)
Day 138 A place to worship
Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who minister by night in the house of the Lord …
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord
(134 v 1 – 2)
Together with all of Christ’s Church everywhere in the world praise the Lord.
The highest form of worship is when all believers meet together to praise him.
Let us go to his dwelling place, let us worship (132 v 7)
I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord” (122 v 1)
I remember … how I used to go … leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng (42 v 4)
Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion (65 v 1)
Pray that your Church may become like the temple, - a place where God is truly worshipped. Pray that all believers will want to come together to worship God.
Day 139 A place to hear
I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name … for you have exalted above all things your name and your word (138 v 2)
Praise God that he speaks through his Church today.
God has spoken from his sanctuary (60 v 6; 108 v 7)
Psalm 78 also reminds us that the temple is a place where God speaks, and his people listen, vowing to pass this on to the next generation.
Listen to the words of my mouth …
I will utter things from of old …
We will not hide them from their children, we will tell the next generation ...
His power, and the wonders he has done …
So the next generation would know them …
And they in turn would tell their children …
Then they would put their trust in God …
They would not be like their forefathers – a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God (78 v 1 – 8)
Pray for those who speak and teach God’s word in your Church.
Day 140 A place of joyful fellowship
Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints (149 v 1)
With Christ’s Church everywhere, praise him.
The Church, like the temple, is a place where God meets with his people and has fellowship with them.
It is you … with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God
(55 v 14).
Thank God for ‘sweet fellowship’.
As you read the verses below, pray for your Church, including its’ leaders and pastors.
Let the people of Zion rejoice in their King …
For the Lord takes delight in his people (149 v 2, 4)
Save your people and bless your inheritance …
Be their shepherd and carry them forever (28 v 9)
May your priests be clothed with righteousness …
May your saints sing for joy … (132 v 9)
Then, God answers the prayer:
“I will clothe her priests with salvation and her saints will ever sing for joy” (132 v 16)
Day 141 A place of blessing
In the courts of the Lord our God …
Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good …
Sing praise to the Lord, for that is pleasant (135 v 2, 3)
Thank Christ for his Church, a place where acts of worship please the Lord and his people.
Some psalms ask God to bless his people.
May the Lord … bless you from Zion (134 v 3)
He blesses your people within (Jerusalem) you (147 v 13)
As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore …
Do good to those who are good …
To those who are upright in heart …
Peace be upon Israel (125 v 2 - 5)
May the Lord bless you from Zion …
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem …
Peace be upon Israel (128 v 5 - 6)
Thank God that he still wants to bless his people today.
Day 142 A place of unity
Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength …
We will sing and praise your might (21 v 13)
With all of Christ’s Church, praise God for his strength.
He strengthens the bars of your gates (147 v 13)
Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labour in vain (127 v 1)
When we pray for the Church to be strong, we are praying for unity, for the Church to look to her Lord.
How good and how pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! … (133 v 1)
Thank the Lord that we have brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world and across denominations. Pray for a strengthening of our commitments to one another.
It is like precious oil poured … running down … (133 v 2)
Thank God for the pleasing fragrance (like the perfume of the oil) of fellowship.
It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mt. Zion …
For there the Lord bestows his blessing (133 v 3)
Pray for spiritual life to burst forth (like the dew) from the Church. Thank God for his blessing that comes from unity.
Day 143 A place of peace
My feet stand on level ground …
In the great assembly, I will praise the Lord (26 v 12) Praise God for those times when we enjoy the peace of being on ‘level ground’.
In Psalm 122 prayer for peace follows on from prayer for unity.
Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem …
Jerusalem is built like a city … compacted together ...
That is where the tribes go up …
To praise the name of the Lord …
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure …
May there be peace within your walls …” (v 2 – 7)
Pray for unity and peace in Christ’s Church where you meet to worship, and everywhere in the world.
Use the last two verses to pray that the Lord may use you in building up unity and peace in his Church.
For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say “Peace be within you” …
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your prosperity (v 8 – 9)
Day 144 The place of belonging
Sing praises to the Lord, enthroned in Zion …
Proclaim among the nations what he has done (9 v 11) Praise the Lord. Pray that all nations may hear the gospel.
Many hymns have been based on psalm 87. It speaks of God’s choice to establish a people that are his.
He has set his foundation on the holy mountain …
The Lord loves the gates of Zion …
Glorious things are said of you, O city of God (v 1 – 3)
Thank God that has chosen the Church to be his people.
By grace, Christ has chosen people from many different nations – including those who used to be enemies of Israel, to be grafted into his Church. God says:
“I will record Rahab (Egypt) and Babylon among those who acknowledge me - … along with Cush (representing distant nations at the ends of the earth) – and will say, ‘This one was born in Zion’” (v 4)
Thank God for the spread of the gospel to all nations.
Indeed, of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one were born in her” … “This one was born in Zion” …
As they make music they will sing, “All my fountains are in you” (v 5 – 7)
Bless the Lord that he has adopted us into his Church.
Days 145 – 151 When it is difficult to trust
Days 152 – 156 Questions about death
Days 157 – 163 Testimonies of answered prayer
Many psalms include personal experiences of suffering. Some of them relate to David’s experiences when he was being hunted as an outlaw, but many of them we do not know the context. However, we can relate to them. The experiences of anguish, pain, fear and loneliness are common to us all. Sometimes when we are overcome by our suffering, it is helpful that the psalms put into words what we are feeling.
All of those psalms are written and used by those who believed that God loved them. God had already answered their prayer, and their faith is stronger. They want others to be built up and encouraged. Their honesty in prayer, - about their pain and doubts is there to help us.
Those who experience great suffering, may also feel that they are about to die. Some will welcome that, others will not. Also, all of us experience bereavement sometime in our lives. Several psalms struggle with the questions surrounding life and death. And they speak of hope.
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Day 145 Taking refuge
I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations (57 v 9)
Praise God. Desire that his name will be exalted throughout the world.
Psalm 57 reflects David’s prayer of desperation, - when he had to hide in a cave, fearing that he would be discovered by Saul’s men, and be discovered. Like the cave, God is his refuge.
Have mercy on me, O God … for in you my soul takes refuge … I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed (v 1)
Thank God that we can pray to him in times of difficulty.
David receives strength from knowing God has a purpose for his life, and knowing God’s love.
I cry out to God Most High … who fulfils his purpose for me … He sends from heaven and saves me (v 2 - 3)
Thank God that he has a purpose for your life.
Praise him that his love for you is greater than the skies!
God sends his love and faithfulness … (v 3)
I will sing of you among the peoples …
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens …
your faithfulness reaches to the skies (v 9 – 10)
Day 146 When I am afraid
In the Lord, whose word I praise …
I will not be afraid (56 v 11)
Praise God for the promises in his word.
Psalm 56 is about David’s prayers when the Philistines had seized him in Gath. He was afraid for his life.
Be merciful to me, O God … many are attacking me in their pride (v 1 – 2)
All day long they twist my words … they conspire …
they watch my steps … eager to take my life (v 5 – 6)
Record my lament … list my tears on your scroll (v 8)
Thank God that we can turn to him when we are afraid, and when we feel our situation is hopeless.
Ask the Lord to fill you with faith.
When I am afraid, I will trust in you ...
What can mortal man do to me? (v 3 - 4)
Thank him that he rescues us, and that we can serve him.
I am under vows to you, O God …
I will present my thank offerings to you …
For you have delivered me from death …
And my feet from stumbling …
That I may walk before God in the light of life (v 12 – 13)
Day 147 I will not fear
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens …
Let your glory be over all the earth (57 v 11)
Praise God who is above the troubles of this world.
David wrote psalm 3 when he had to flee with his life from his son Absalom. He had a lot to fear, yet he trusts.
O Lord, how many are my foes! …
Many are saying “God will not deliver him” …
But you are a shield around me, O Lord …
You bestow glory on me and lift up my head …
I lie down and sleep …
I wake again, because the Lord sustains me …
I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side …
Arise, O Lord! … deliver me, O my God! (v 1 – 7)
Bring your fears for the present and the future to the Lord. Ask him to give you simple trust like David.
From the Lord comes deliverance … (v 8)
David was even able to pray positively for those who were against him, as did Christ when he prayed “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
May your blessing be on your people (v 8)
Day 148 Why are you downcast?
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my saviour and my God (42 v 5)
Praise God, your saviour, in whom you place your hope.
Psalms 42 & 43 belong together. They show us that we can be honest to God about our feelings:
Why have you forgotten me? (42 v 9)
Why must I go … oppressed by the enemy? (42 v 9)
Why are you downcast, O my soul? (42 v 6, 11; 43 v 5)
Pour out to God any feelings of doubt which you have.
Thank God that we can be honest with him.
Psalms 42 & 43 point us in the right directions.
I say to God my rock (42 v 9)
You are God my stronghold (43 v 2)
Vindicate me, O God … plead my cause …
Rescue me from deceitful and wicked men (43 v 1)
Thank God that we can turn to him when downcast.
Praise God for his reassuring love.
By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me – a prayer to the God of my life (42 v 8)
I will go to the altar of God … my joy and my delight … I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God (43 v 4)
Day 149 Has God forgotten?
You are the God who performs miracles (77 v 14)
Praise God who acts and intervenes in our world.
In Psalm 77, at times he is too troubled to pray.
I groaned … my spirit grew faint … I was too troubled to speak (v 3 – 4)
In desperation he felt that God has abandoned him.
I cried out to God for help … to hear me …
When I was in distress, I sought the Lord …
And my soul refused to be comforted (v 1 – 2).
Thank God that when we feel abandoned, he is still there.
If you have any doubts, bring these to God now.
“Will the Lord reject forever? …
Will he never show his favour again? …
Has his unfailing love vanished forever? …
Has his promise failed for all time? (v 7 & 8)
Praise God that he renews our faith even in the darkest times. Praise God for all he does now as in the past.
I will meditate on all your works … your mighty deeds … Your ways … your power … your mighty arm …
Your thunder … your lightning …
Your path … your way … your footprints …
You led your people like a flock (v 11 – 20)
Day 150 In despair
Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy (28 v 6)
Praise God, that in compassion he hears our cries.
There are many psalms which speak honestly about the despair felt by those going through suffering.
My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me “Where is your God?” (42 v 10)
Why have you rejected us forever, O God? (74 v 1)
Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted …
Look upon my affliction and my distress (25 v 16, 18)
How long, O Lord, how long? …
Turn, O Lord, and deliver me …
save me because of your unfailing love …
no one remembers you when he is dead …
Who praises you from the grave? …
I am worn out from groaning (6 v 3 – 6)
If you are in despair, you can let these words speak for you. If not, use these words to imagine the suffering of someone you know, and in love pray for them.
Day 151 Stubborn faith
To you I call, O Lord my rock (28 v 1)
Praise God that we can call upon him, that he is our rock.
The psalms often tell that in the past God has been on their side. Therefore, they refuse to give up their faith in the face of trouble. As we read some examples below, we can give thanks to God that these words of faith are true.
My God is my rock (18 v 2)
My salvation and my honour depend on God …
He is my mighty rock, my refuge (62 v 6 – 7)
My shield is God Most High (7 v 10)
O house of Israel, trust in the Lord …
– he is their help and shield (115 v 9)
The Lord is the strength of his people …
A fortress of salvation (28 v 8)
Choose one of these prayers below, to repeat again.
You are my help and my deliverer …
O my God, do not delay (40 v 17)
Deliver me from my enemies, O God … from evildoers … O my strength, I watch for you …
You, O God, are my fortress, my loving God (59 v 1,2 & 9)
Day 152 The broken hearted
I will sing of your love and justice …
To you, O Lord, I will sing praise (101 v 1)
Worship the Lord who is loving and just.
When we are suffering, we are comforted when we remind ourselves of God’s character and love.
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them …
He delivers them from all their troubles …
The Lord is close to the broken hearted …
And saves those who are crushed in spirit (34 v 17 – 18)
My flesh and my heart fail …
But God is the strength of my heart (73 v 26)
I call to God, and the Lord saves me (55 v 16)
Let your face shine on your servant …
save me in your unfailing love (31 v 16)
Save me for I am yours …
I have sought out your precepts (119 v 94)
Thank God for his character; that we can rely on him, even when we are suffering.
Day 153 Is life meaningless?
Before the mountains were born … you are God (90 v 2)
Worship the Lord, creator of all things.
Especially in times of long suffering, it is common to ask what is the meaning of life. Psalm 39 (v 4 – 13) helps us ask these questions directly in our prayers, without questioning our faith. Make this psalm your own prayer.
Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days … let me know how fleeting is my life ...
The span of my years is as nothing before you …
Each man’s life is but a breath …
He bustles about, but only in vain …
He heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it …
But now Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you …
Save me from all my transgressions … I am overcome by the blow of your hand … you rebuke and discipline men for their sin … you consume their wealth like a moth …
Hear my prayer, O Lord … be not deaf to my weeping … For I dwell with you as an alien, a stranger …
Look away from me, that I may rejoice again before I depart and am no more
Day 154 When I die
As for me, I will always have hope …
I will praise you more and more (71 v 14)
Praise the Lord who gives hope.
We all know that one day we shall die. Here are some words of hope. Choose one or two to repeat, thanking God that he gives us hope as we face death.
You have made known to me the path of life …
You will fill me with joy in your presence …
With eternal pleasures at your right hand (16 v 9 – 11)
In righteousness I will see your face, when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness (17 v 15)
The plans of the Lord stand firm forever …
To deliver them from death (33 v 11, 19)
Afterword you will take me into glory (73 v 24)
Praise God for the message of Easter. Praise him that Christ defeated death and offer to us eternal life. Pray for someone you know who does not have this hope.
Day 155 Afraid to die
You are forgiving and good, O Lord …
Abounding in love to all who call to you (86 v 5)
Worship our ever-loving God.
Here are some prayers we can use with those who know they are dying.
The cords of death entangled me …
The torrents of destruction overwhelmed me …
The cords of the grave coiled around me …
The snares of death confronted me …
In my distress I called to the Lord …
My cry came before him, into his ears (18 v 4 - 6)
You sweep men away in the sleep of death …
Like the new grass of the morning … by evening it is dry and withered …
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love …
That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days
(90 v 5 – 6, 14)
Pray for anyone you know who is dying
Day 156 Praying to live
My mouth will tell of your righteousness …
Of your salvation, all day long …
Though I know not its measure (71 v 15)
Praise God for his love which cannot be measured.
Some who struggle with illness or disability, want to pray to live longer rather than die now. Here are some prayers they can use. Pray today for someone who is struggling.
Look on me and answer, O Lord my God …
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death (13 v 3)
O Lord, you brought me up from the grave …
You spared me from going down into the pit (30 v 3)
To the Lord I cried for mercy: “What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? …
Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me …
O Lord, be my help”
You turned my wailing into dancing …
You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy
(30 v 8 – 11)
Day 157 In bereavement
Great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever … Praise the Lord (117 v 2)
Worship the Lord, whose steadfast love is eternal.
Psalm 88 can help us speak to God, putting into words our feelings and thoughts about our loss.
You have taken from me my closest friends …
I am confined and cannot escape …
My eyes are dim with grief (v 8 – 9)
You have taken my companions and loved ones …
the darkness is my closest friend (v 18)
Why, O Lord, do you reject me and hide your face from me? (v 14)
I call to you, O Lord, every day …
I spread out my hands to you … (v 9)
I cry to you for help, O Lord (v 13)
My life draws near the grave …
I am counted among those who go down to the pit …
I am like a man without strength (v 3 – 4)
O Lord, the God who saves me,
day and night I cry out before you (v 1 – 2)
Use this prayer with someone who is bereaved. Use it also to help you think about what they may be feeling.
Day 158 God answered me
My mouth is filled with your praise …
Declaring your splendour all day long (71 v 8)
Praise God’s majesty.
When we recall answered prayer, our trust in God increases. When we face crisis again, we remember the past. Choose one or two of the verses below to repeat again, thanking the Lord for answered prayer.
I call on the Lord in my distress …
And he answers me (120 v 1)
I sought the Lord, and he answered me …
he delivered me from all my fears (34 v 4)
In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from your sight!” …
Yet you heard my cry for mercy …
When I called to you for help (31 v 22)
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him …
He saved him out of all his troubles …
The angel of Lord encamps around those who fear him …
And he delivers them (34 v 6, 7)
Day 159 God helped me
Praise our God, O peoples …
He has preserved our lives …
And kept our feet from slipping (66 v 8 – 9)
Worship the Lord who is always there when we need him.
There are many testimonies in the psalms of how God has acted on behalf of his people. As you read these verses, think of times when the Lord has rescued or helped you.
Unless the Lord had given me help …
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death …
When I said “My foot is slipping” …
Your love, O Lord, supported me …
When anxiety was great within me …
Your consolation brought joy to my soul (94 v 17 – 19)
You gave abundant showers, O God …
You refreshed your weary inheritance (68 v 9)
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens … (68 v 19)
Now thank the Lord for what he has done for you.
Day 160 By grace he listened
Praise be to God who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me! (66 v 20)
Thank God for his grace, - that he listens to our prayers.
Why does God answer our prayers? – By grace alone! Psalm 66 is a song of praise. After a time of trial, he wants to tell the world how God delivered them.
Come and listen …
let me tell you what he has done for me …
I cried out to him with my mouth …
his praise was on my tongue … (v 16 – 17)
Thank God for those times of trial through which he brings you safe.
It is important though, that we kept faith with God.
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened …
but God has surely listened …
And heard my voice in prayer (v 18 – 19)
Think about your faith in God, - how important it is to you. Pray that you will resist sin, and remain faithful to God.
Day 161 Reason to rejoice
Shout for joy all the earth …
Burst into jubilant song with music (98 v 4)
Think of one blessing for which you can thank the Lord.
The Lord often answers prayers in unexpected ways. Think of ways he has answered your prayers as you read these testimonies.
He turned the sea into dry land …
Come let us rejoice in him (66 v 6)
You have upheld my right and my cause …
The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed …
A stronghold in times of trouble …
He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted …
Have mercy and lift me from the gates of death …
That I may … rejoice in your salvation (9 v 4, 9, 12 – 14)
The Lord has done great things for us …
And we are filled with joy …
Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy
(126 v 3, 5)
Thank God for answered prayer. Rejoice in God’s help.
Day 162 Opportunity for stronger faith
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good …
His love endures forever (118 v 1)
Thank the Lord for his goodness and love.
Like many psalms, Psalm 118 is full of confidence. As we read a few of those verses, we can ask the Lord to build up our confidence in him.
Let those who fear the Lord say: “His love endures forever” …
In my anguish I cried to the Lord …
And he answered by setting me free … (v 4 – 5)
I was pushed back and about to fall …
But the Lord helped me (v 13)
Have you been through a trial? Thank God that he saw you through it.
I will give you thanks, for you answered me …
The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid …
What can man do to me? …
The Lord is with me; he is my helper …
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man (v 21, 6 – 8)
How has your faith become stronger? Ask that God may use your testimony to help others.
Day 163 Opportunity to talk about him
I will sing … with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations (89 v 1)
Praise God for his faithfulness down the years. Ask that you may have opportunities to talk about him.
Here are some examples of confidence and testimony. Choose one of them to repeat a few times.
I do not hide your righteousness in my heart …
I speak of your faithfulness and salvation …
I do not conceal your love and your truth (40 v 10)
Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself …
The Lord will hear when I call to him (4 v 3)
O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come (65 v 2)
My eyes grow weak with sorrow, they fail …
The Lord has heard my weeping …
The Lord has heard my cry for mercy …
The Lord accepts my prayer (6 v 8 – 9)
What is your own testimony? Decide that you will tell others. Ask the Lord to give you an opportunity one day.
Day 164 Opportunity in every generation
I will praise your name for ever and ever (145 v 1)
Think about how great is God. Worship him!
Psalm 145 is enthusiastic with wanting every generation and all creation to speak of God’s acts.
One generation will commend your works to another …
They will tell of your mighty acts …
They will speak of the glorious splendour of your majesty …
And I will meditate on your wonderful works …
They will tell of the power of your awesome works …
And I will proclaim your great deeds …
And joyfully sing of your righteousness (v 4 – 7)
Your saints will extol you …
They will tell of the glory of your kingdom …
And speak of your might
So that all men may know of your mighty acts …
And the glorious splendour of your kingdom (v 10 – 13
Repeat these words a few times. Ask that you may be part of that global testimony. Use the words that begin with “And I will …” to make your personal response:
And I will meditate on your wonderful works …
And I will proclaim your great deeds …
Day 165 - 174 Defeating temptation
The Psalms give us the clear choice between two different lifestyles. On the one hand, there are those who are seen by God as ‘wicked’, ‘evil doers’, ‘unrighteous’ and ‘fools’ (meaning unbelievers). On the other hand, there are those whose aim is to live righteously. And yet, it is clear that those whose aim is not to sin face many temptations. E.g., the wicked prosper, and sometimes the righteous remain poor or suffer. It is easy to envy their lifestyle. The world today seems no different.
The Psalms also point to God’s willingness to help us. He guides and counsels. Often in the psalms comes the prayer “Teach me”. If we want to be taught, we must be willing to listen, and also to learn from our mistakes. We must resist temptation and aim to live blameless lives.
God knows that there will be times when we ‘fall’ or ‘stumble’. The psalms show us that God will forgive, pick us up and stand us back on our feet again. He is a God of grace.
And in the light of the New Testament, we look to Christ, who has broken the power of sin, and given us the means of victory when tempted.
Day 165 Your shield of victory
I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies (18 v 3)
Worship the Lord who sets us free from sin and death.
In Psalm 18 David gives God the glory for the victory over his many enemies. This psalm can speak to us about our spiritual enemies. Through the cross, we have victory.
He reached down from on high and took hold of me …
He drew me out of deep waters …
He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me …
They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support (v 16 – 18)
Thank God for his salvation.
Now ask him to give you victory over the evil one.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer …
He enables me to stand on the heights …
He trains my hands for battle …
You give me your shield of victory …
And your right hand sustains me …
You stoop down to make me great …
You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn (v 33 – 36)
Day 166 The power of envy
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently (37 v 7)
Take a moment of quiet and ask him to build up your trust in him and the life he has given to you.
Psalm 37 gives words of wisdom about the power of envy. We can pray that we will heed the words, “Do not fret”.
Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong …
For like grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away (v 1 – 2)
Do not fret when men succeed in their ways …
When they carry out their wicked schemes …
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath …
Do not fret – it only leads to evil …
For evil men will be cut off but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land (v 7 – 9)
Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked … (v 16)
The days of the blameless are known to the Lord (v 18)
Choose some of these lines to repeat and turn into prayer, to resist the power of envy.
Day 167 This is what they are like
Earth has nothing I desire, besides you (73 v 25)
Worship the Lord, telling him that he is all- important in your life.
We can envy some people because we forget what they are like. Psalm 73 tells us how God sees them.
My feet had almost slipped … for I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked …
They have no struggles …
They are free from the burdens common to man …
Pride is their necklace …
They clothe themselves with violence …
From their callous hearts comes iniquity …
They scoff, and speak with malice …
They threaten oppression …
Their tongues take possession of the earth …
They say “How can God know?” …
This is what the wicked are like – always carefree, they increase in wealth …
Then I understood their final destiny …
Those who are far from you will perish …
You destroy all who are unfaithful to you
(v 2 – 12, 17, 27)
Pray for insight, - not to live like them.
Day 168 I don’t want to slip
Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard …
He has preserved our lives, and kept our feet from slipping (66 v 9).
Praise God that he has helped you live righteously.
Many psalms speak of how God helps us to live his way. As you read these examples, choose a verse that is relevant to you. Make it your own prayer.
Who can discern his errors? …
Keep your servant also from wilful sins …
May they not rule over me …
Then will I be … innocent of great transgression (19 v 13)
If the Lord delights in a man’s way …
He makes his steps firm …
Though he stumble he will not fall …
For the Lord upholds him with his hand (37 v 23 – 24)
I have resolved that my mouth will not sin (17 v 3)
Blessed are all who fear the Lord …
Who walk in his ways (128 v 1)
Day 169 His faithfulness
In the congregation, I will praise you …
You who fear the Lord praise him! (22 v 22 – 23)
Praise God. Look forward to praising him alongside other Christians when you meet to worship.
In Psalm 91 one believer encourages others to dwell with God.
Make the Most High your dwelling – even the Lord who is my refuge (v 9)
God will protect us from the evil one.
He will save you from the fowlers’ snare …
His faithfulness will be your shield …
You will no fear … the arrow that flies by day …
A thousand will fall at your side … but it will not come near you …
You will … see the punishment of the wicked …
No harm will befall you …
He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you in all ways …
They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone …
You will trample … the serpent (v 3 – 13)
Thank God for the ways he protects you from the evil one and gives you victory over him.
Day 170 Lead us not into temptation
Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war (144 v 1)
Praise God who makes us strong and victorious.
Each day we need to be prepared so that we will not fall into sin.
Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord …
Keep watch over the door of my lips …
Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds …
My prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers …
Keep me from the traps … set by evildoers
(141 v 3 – 4, 8 - 9)
Choose one or two lines that are relevant for you. Repeat them and make into your own prayer.
Pray that today you will have victory over temptation.
Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless …
With God, we will gain the victory …
And he will trample down our enemies (108 v 12 - 13)
The Lord is righteous … he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked (129 v 4)
Day 171 I am listening to you
You who fear him, praise the Lord (135 v 20)
To ‘fear’ God means to put him first. Put God first in your life as you praise him.
In these two verses God pleads with us. He wants us to open our lives to him, to be willing to listen and be taught by him. Listen to God as he speaks to you.
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go …
I will counsel you and watch over you …
Do not be like the horse or mule which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you (32 v 8 - 9)
Are you ready to respond to him? If so, you can use these next verses as your prayer
Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees …
Then I will keep them to the end …
Give me understanding, and I will keep your law …
And obey it with all my heart …
Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain …
Turn my eyes away from worthless things (119 v 33 – 37)
Day 172 I want to be a good example
I trust in you, O Lord … I say, “You are my God” (31 v 14)
As you worship the Lord, tell him that he is your God, praying that your life will show how much you trust him.
Psalms often compare the lives of the wicked with those of the righteous. Sometimes today, it is spiritually healthy for us to decide on what kind of people we want to be.
I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a green tree in its native soil …
But he soon passed away and was no more …
Though I looked for him, he could not be found …
Consider the blameless, observe the upright …
There is a future for the man of peace (37 v 35 – 37)
Pray that you will always aim to be blameless.
Now declare to him your loving desire to give him glory in what you do and say today, and to set an example to the next generation.
Your love is ever before me and I walk continually in your truth (26 v 3)
Love the Lord, all his saints! (31 v 23)
Day 173 Warn me
Your statutes are forever right …
Give me understanding that I may live (119 v 144)
Thank God for his word that guides us each day.
Pray that as you read his word today, that he will warn you about temptations, and guide you to do what is right.
They are more precious than gold …
they are sweeter than honey …
by them is your servant warned …
in keeping them there is great reward (19 v 10 - 11)
It is good to pray about the day ahead, the people you will meet, and ask the Holy Spirit to warn you of temptations to speak or act wrongly.
I recounted my ways and you answered me …
Think about your day ahead.
Keep me from deceitful ways …
Ask the Lord to warn you about wrong paths.
Do not let me be put to shame (119 v 26, 29, 31)
Ask the Holy Spirit to warn you throughout the day.
Day 174 Do not sin
My tongue will speak of your righteousness ...
And of your praises all day long (35 v 28)
Praise God for his righteous character.
None of us is perfect, but a disciple is one who is committed to righteousness, and trying not to sin.
Choose one or two of the prayers below, and repeat a few times. Desire to overcome temptation.
You have set our iniquities before you ...
Our secret sins in the light of your presence (90 v 8)
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me (51 v 10)
In your anger do not sin ...
When you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent (4 v 4)
I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin
(39 v 1)
Day 175 - 188 Strengthening our spiritual lives
Day 189 - 194 Come Lord Jesus
Day 195 - 200 Thanksgiving and Praise
As you have prayed through the psalms you will see that they have been written by people who were mature in their faith. They teach us how to pray. They overflow with worship of God, even in adversity.
In this section we draw together some of those themes. In the psalms there is an emphasis on “seeking” the Lord, of being faithful to God, making and keeping vows and being committed to live righteous lives.
We have already seen that a frequent prayer of the psalms is that God should come to judge. In the light of Christ’s salvation and promised return to judge the earth, we echo the prayer at the very end of the New Testament: Come, Lord Jesus!
Our prayers end where they should always begin, - with thanksgiving and praise.
Day 175 Waiting
Praise be to the Lord …
we have escaped …
Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth (124 v 6 – 8)
Worship the Lord, your redeemer, who rescues you in times of trouble.
Being patient, as we wait for prayers to be answered is an important aspect of our spiritual growth. Use one of the prayers below to ask or thank him for patience.
I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living …
Wait for the Lord ...
Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord
(27 v 13 – 14)
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you …
My soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you …
In a dry and weary land where there is no water (63 v 1)
Then they believed his promises and sang his praise
(106 v 12)
Day 176 Humility
I lift my eyes to you …
To you whose throne is in heaven (123 v 1)
Bow down in worship before the Lord of heaven.
Psalm 131 is a prayer of humility, desiring not to be filled with human pride, picturing ourselves as dependant and loving children. Pray this prayer slowly, repeating each line a few times.
My heart is not proud, O Lord …
My eyes are not haughty …
I do not concern myself with great matters …
Or things too wonderful for me …
But I have stilled and quieted my soul …
Like a weaned child with its mother …
Like a weaned child is my soul within me …
The last verse is a prayer that all of God’s people will turn to the Lord.
O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and evermore
Day 177 Zealous
I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations ...
I will sing of you among the peoples (108 v 3)
As you worship God, desire that more people throughout the world will come to know him and worship him.
A mark of maturity is wanting our lives to be useful and fruitful for the Lord. Here is one prayer, and one answer to prayer.
Since my youth, O God, you have taught me …
Even when I am old and grey, do not forsake me …
Till I declare your power to the next generation …
Your might to all who are to come (71 v 17 – 18)
All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant ...
Who, then, is the man who fears the Lord? …
He will instruct him in the way chosen for him
(25 v 10, 12)
Ask to be zealous, like Christ. When Jesus prayed this prayer, he was aware of the sacrifice he would be making.
Zeal for your house consumes me ...
The insults of those who insult you fall on me (69 v 9)
Day 178 Rooted
I will exalt you, O Lord …
For you lifted me out of the depths …
You spared me from going down to the pit (30 v 1, 3)
Worship the Lord who has saved you and put your feet on a firm place.
Our wisdom comes from being rooted in God’s word.
The words of the Lord are flawless ...
Like silver refined in a furnace ... purified seven times
(12 v 6)
This has been my practice …
I obey your precepts (119 v 56)
Thank God for his word.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy …
Making wise the simple …
The precepts of the Lord are right …
Giving joy to the heart …
The commands of the Lord are radiant …
Giving light to the eyes …
The ordinances of the Lord are sure …
And altogether righteous (19 v 7 – 9)
Ask him to help you grow in his wisdom.
Day 179 Wise
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live (146 v 2)
Express your desire to worship the Lord all your life.
Wisdom comes from being rooted in God’s word and listening to God rather than the world. Here are some truths about wisdom. Pray that you may live by them.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
(111 v 10)
Those who look to him are radiant (34 v 5)
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (90 v 12)
Choose a prayer to respond to these truths.
I trust in your unfailing love ...
I will sing to the Lord for he has been good to me
(13 v 5, 6)
Let all who take refuge in you be glad ...
Let them ever sing for joy ...
Spread your protection over them (5 v 11)
O Lord, my God, I take refuge in you (7 v 1)
Day 180 Flourishing
Praise be to the Lord forever! Amen and Amen (89 v 52)
Worship the Lord with all of your heart.
The more we seek God, the more we will find his will for our lives. Choose two or three of the prayers below and make them your own prayer.
Let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found (32 v 6)
Bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell (43 v 3)
I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God ...
I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever (52 v 8)
The righteous … will flourish in the courts of our God
(92 v 12 – 13)
I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings (61 v 4)
I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety (44 v 8)
Day 181 Reflecting
Shout with joy to God, all the earth!
Sing the glory of his name …
Make his name glorious! (66 v 1 - 2)
Give glory to God for all he has done in your life.
God’s character is summed up in his ‘name’. God will reveal himself to those who want to reflect his character in their own lives.
To the faithful you shew yourself faithful …
To the blameless you show yourself blameless …
To the pure you show yourself pure …
You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty …
You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning (18 v 25 – 28)
Let the light of your face shine upon us, O Lord (44 v 6)
I will declare your name to my brothers (22 v 22)
Turn to me and have mercy on me …
As you always do to those who love your name …
Make your face shine upon your servant (119 v 132, 135)
Ask the Lord to help you reflect the light of his character as you go about your work today.
Day 182 Dependent
O Lord my God, you are very great ...
You are clothed with majesty (104 v 1)
Worship the Lord. In your mind lift him above the world.
The secret of discipleship is to come to the Lord often, asking for his help and guidance rather than relying on our own strength. Here are some examples of prayers which spring from dependence.
Your hands made me and formed me (119 v 73)
Remember the people you purchased from of old …
- Mount Zion, where you dwelt (74 v 2)
Be not be far off …
O my strength, come quickly to help me (22 v 19)
O Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer …
Who shields my head (140 v7)
Pray to be more dependent and aware of your shortcomings.
I lead a blameless life ...
Redeem me and be merciful to me (26 v 11)
Day 183 Faithful
Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting…
Let the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord (106 v 48)
Praise him along with all of Christ’s Church everywhere.
Can you say that the Lord is the most important person in your life? If ‘yes’, you can use these words to express your prayer.
As for me, it is good to be near God …
I have made the sovereign Lord my refuge …
I will tell of all your deeds (73 v 28)
Here is a similar prayer. It also expresses joy in meeting with God’s people. We are those “saints” – people who have dedicated our lives to righteousness.
Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge …
I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing” …
(God replies)…
As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight (16 v 1 – 3)
Day 184 Faithful in the desert
As for me, I will always have hope ...
I will praise you more and more (71 v 14)
Thank God that he always gives you hope of his love and salvation.
Psalm 42 is an honest prayer from one whose “soul” is “downcast”. Such times can also be times of spiritual growth.
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God …
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God …
When can I go and meet with God? …
My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” (42 v 1 – 3)
Has this ever been you own experience?
Many testify that they know God is with them. Use this prayer as you seek to deepen your faith today.
By day the Lord directs his love …
At night his song is with me …
A prayer to the God of my life (42 v 8)
Day 185 Faithful in prayer
Praise the Lord with the harp ... make music to him …
Sing to him a new song … and shout for joy (33 v 2 – 3) Worship him joyfully. Tell him he is your Lord.
The Lord appreciates faithfulness in prayer. It becomes a form of daily communion.
O Lord, I call to you …
Hear my voice …
May my prayer be set before you like incense …
May the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice (141 v 1 – 2)
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord (19 v 14)
May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord (104 v 34)
My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord (145 v 21)
Choose one or two of the prayers above, and make them your own.
Day 186 Faithful in intercession
Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love for me! (66 v20)
Thank God for his faithfulness.
When we pray for the weak and oppressed, we share God’s own burden for them.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne (89 v 14)
Love and faithfulness meet together ...
Righteousness and peace kiss each other (85 v 10)
The Lord upholds all those who fall …
And lifts up all who are bowed down (145 v 14)
Blessed is he who has regard for the weak (41 v 1)
Use these prayers to recommit your life to praying for them.
The needy will not always be forgotten ...
Nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish (9 v 18)
Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord (31 v 24)
The meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace
(37 v 11)
Day 187 Vows of faithfulness
My tongue will tell of your righteous acts all day long
(71 v 24)
Praise God for all he has done in your life and others’.
Several psalms speak of making vows to God. It reminds us that a daily promise to serve the Lord is part of our worship. Choose one or two of the verses below to express your own recommitment to the Lord.
I have taken an oath … that I will follow your righteous laws (119 v 106)
Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfil them
(76 v 11)
Then I said, “Here I am” …
I desire to do your will, O my God …
Your law is within my heart (40 v 7 – 8)
I have resolved that my mouth will not sin …
My steps have held to your paths …
My feet have not slipped (17 v 3 – 5)
(God speaks) “I have no need for a bull … or of goats … fulfil your vows to the Most High” (50 v 9, 14)
Day 188 Thankful and faithful
You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name …
Then will I ever sing praise to your name ...
And fulfil my vows day after day (61 v 5, 8)
Worship the Lord as you recommit your life to him today.
From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth …
(God speaks) “Gather to me my consecrated ones, who made a covenant with me” (50 v 2, 5)
Sacrifice thank offerings to God (50 v 14)
The greatest thanks offering we can make is to recommit our lives to the Lord, - to vow to obey him always.
Recommit your life to him in these prayers below.
How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me? …
I will lift up the cup of salvation …
And call on the name of the Lord …
I will fulfil my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people (116 v 12 – 13, 18)
I will come to your temple …
And fulfil my vows to you (66 v 13)
Day 189 Come, faithful servant
Praise God in the great congregation (68 v 26)
Worship the Lord in company with all God’s people on earth, and through all time.
None of us have led perfect lives, but at our death we expect to hear Jesus’ words: “Good and faithful servant”. Use these prayers to express your own commitment to his way and to give you assurance of your salvation.
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints
(116 v 15)
The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness ...
to the cleanness of my hands in his sight (18 v 24)
In my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever (41 v 12)
I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word (119 v 101)
I have trusted in the Lord, without wavering (26 v 1)
I wait for your salvation, O Lord (119 v 166)
Day 190 Come in strength
With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord (109 v 30)
In your mind, lift the Lord high. Praise him!
Psalm 29 pictures a thunder storm in terrifying beauty. We can see this as a sign. God speaks to us. He will come.
The Lord thunders over the mighty waters …
The voice of the Lord is over the waters …
The voice of the Lord is powerful …
The voice of the Lord is majestic …
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars …
The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning …
The voice of the Lord shakes the desert …
The voice of the Lord strips the forests bare (v 3 – 9)
Pray for the Lord to come. Pray that people will see signs of his coming.
Give thanks that the Lord gives strength and hope to his own, as we wait for Christ’s second coming. Praise him!
The Lord gives strength to his people …
The Lord blesses his people with peace (v 11)
Praise the Lord, all you nations …
Extol him, all you peoples (117 v 1)
Day 191 Come with your kingdom
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom ...
Your dominion endures through all generations
(145 v 13)
Worship the Lord whose Kingdom is perfect.
When we hear news of governments that are full of violence and injustice, we can despair. In the light of Christ’s promised return, we can use Psalm 58 to express our prayer and longing for God’s kingdom to come.
Do you rulers indeed speak justly? …
No, in your heart you devise injustice …
Your hands mete out violence on the earth …
Even from birth the wicked go astray …
From the womb they are wayward and speak lies …
Their venom is like the venom of a snake …
Like that of a cobra … that will not heed the tune of a charmer, however skilful the enchanter be …
Let them vanish like water that flows away …
The righteous will be glad when they are avenged …
Then men will say, “Surely the righteous still are rewarded …
Surely there is a God who judges the earth”
Day 192 Come now!
All the earth bows down to you ...
They sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name (66 v 4)
As you worship the Lord, long for that day when every knee shall bow and tongue confess that Christ is Lord.
Many psalms pray for God’s judgement now. We can use the same prayers, as we ask God to bring an end to the evil we see in our own times.
Confuse the wicked, O Lord, confound their speech …
For I see violence and strife in the city …
Malice and abuse are within it …
Destructive forces are at work in the city (55 v 9 – 11)
May God arise, may his enemies be scattered …
As smoke is blown away by the wind, may you blow them away …
As wax melts before the fire, may the wicked perish before God (68 v 1 – 2)
Come and see the works of the Lord ...
He makes wars cease ...
“Be still and know that I am God ...
I will be exalted in the earth (46 v 8, 10)
Day 193 Come to judge
The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble …
He sits enthroned … Great is the Lord in Zion ...
He is exalted over all the nations (99 v 1 – 2)
Worship the Lord who is above all authorities and will come to judge the earth.
As you think through the verses below, pray for Christ to come and judge the earth.
Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord (114 v 7)
At the time of your appearing you will make them like a fiery furnace (21 v 9)
The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth ...
Our God comes and will not be silent ...
A fire devours before him ...
He summons the heavens above, and the earth ...
The heavens proclaim his righteousness ...
For God himself is judge (50 v 1 – 6)
Charge them with crime upon crime (69 v 27)
Scatter the nations who delight in war (68 v 30)
When I tried to understand … it was oppressive to me …
Till … I understood their final destiny (73 v 16 – 17)
Day 194 Come, Lord Jesus!
Sing praise to the Lord, to him who rides the ancient skies above …
Proclaim the power of God, whose majesty is over Israel (68 v 32 – 34)
As you picture the coming of Christ, worship him!
In the light of Christ’s salvation and promise to return, we can add the words “Come, Lord Jesus” to these prayers.
Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad! (14 v 7)
All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord ...
They will bring glory to your name (86 v 9)
All mankind will fear …
They will proclaim the works of God ...
And ponder what he has done (64 v 9)
Pray that your own life will prepare for his coming.
“He who sacrifices thank offerings honours me ...
He prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God” (50 v 23)
Day 195 They all look to you
Praise the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord (104 v 35)
Use the truths below to praise God for his creation.
Psalm 104 is a worshipful response to the truths of Genesis 1. Creator God has thoughtfully put together seasons, weather and all life. Repeat these words with a heart of worship and thanksgiving.
He waters the mountains …
The trees of the Lord are well watered …
There the birds make their nests …
The high mountains belong to the wild goats …
The moon marks off the seasons …
How many are your works, O Lord! …
In wisdom you made them all …
The earth is full of your creatures …
There is the sea, vast and spacious …
Teeming with creatures beyond number – living things both great and small …
These all look to you to give them their food …
When you give it to them, they gather it up …
When you open your hand they are satisfied with good things …
When you send your spirit, they are created …
And you renew the face of the earth (v 13 – 30)
Day 196 A life of work
Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever (145 v 21)
Join with all creation in giving glory to God.
It becomes night … the sun rises …
Then man goes out to his work … (104 v 20, 23)
Work was intended to be fulfilling and a blessing. At the ‘fall’, work became a curse. Let us thank God for his good and redeeming order as we meditate on these truths.
You give them their food at the proper time (145 v 15)
He makes grass grow for the cattle …
And plants for man to cultivate …
Bringing forth food from the earth …
Wine that gladdens the heart …
Oil to make his face shine …
And bread that sustains his heart (104 v 14 – 15)
The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it ...
The world and all who live in it ...
For he founded it upon the seas (24 v 1)
Day 197 A life of blessing
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad …
the sea resound, and all that is in it …
the fields be jubilant, and everything in them
(96 v 11 – 12)
Let us joyfully thank God for the blessing of his creation.
God’s people often thought about how God brought the Hebrews into the promised land. He wanted to bless their flocks, herds, vineyards, fields and all of their lives.
There he brought the hungry to live …
They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest …
He blessed them …
He did not let their herds diminish (107 v 36 – 38)
Thank God for the blessings that come from agriculture.
Pray that you may see these blessings more clearly.
Let the sea resound, and everything in it ...
The world and all who live in it (98 v 7)
Pray that your life may become a blessing from God.
May he give you the desires of your heart ...
And make all your plans succeed (20 v 4)
Day 198 A life of thanksgiving
Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere ...
Praise the Lord, O my soul (103 v 22)
Join with all creation in worship of God.
He determines the number of the stars and calls each by name (147 v 4)
Is your God big in your mind, or small?
Ask to become increasingly appreciative of God’s hand in the creation around you.
Choose one or two of the verses below to commit to a life of thanksgiving
Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name ...
Make known among the nations what he has done
(105 v 1)
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good ...
His mercy endures forever (136 v 1)
You are my God, and I will give you thanks ...
You are my God and I will exalt you (118 v 28)
I will be glad and rejoice in your love (31 v 7)
Day 199 A life of praise
We your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever ...
From generation to generation we will recount your praise (79 v 13)
Join with all generations of past believers who have filled their lives with praise, and worship the Lord.
Choose one or two of the verses below to express your commitment to live a life of praise.
In God we make our boast all day long ...
And we will praise your name forever (44 v 8)
I will sing to the Lord all my life ...
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live … (104 v 33)
It is we who extol the Lord, both now and evermore ... Praise the Lord (115 v 18)
Praise the Lord ...
Praise the Lord, O my soul ...
I will praise the Lord all my life (146 v 1 – 2)
Day 200 Praise the Lord!
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens …
And let your glory be over all the earth (108 v 5)
Worship God in his glory.
Psalm 150 is the last psalm, with a single plea: Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary …
Praise him in his mighty heavens …
Praise him for his acts of power …
Praise him for his surpassing greatness …
Praise him with the … trumpet … lyre …
harp …tambourine … dancing … strings … flute …
Praise him with the clash of cymbals ...
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord ...
Praise the Lord!
Respond to this plea by praising him, and vowing to praise him always.
Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel ...
From everlasting to everlasting ... Amen Amen (41 v 13)
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