Take a Deep Breath ... Praying Psalm 51

Praying the Psalms

 

...following SPU's Lectio Guides

October 28-November 3

 

 

First.

Read the assigned Psalms (or plan out a reading schedule for the week)  

• Psalm 25
• Psalm 32
• Psalm 36
• Psalm 38
• Psalm 51

Second.

Read or Listen to Dr. Frank Spina's Presentation

• Confession, Repentance, Absolution: Getting Right with God

Third. 

 

Take a Deep Breath...make the words of the Psalm your very own prayer.

Follow this guide for praying Psalm 51.

 

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Praying Psalm 51
Title: To the leader. A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. (Read about this in 2 Samuel 11-12)

 

Key Quotes from Dr. Spina:

• “Psalm 51 is arguably the most comprehensive penitential psalm, in that it covers a range of topics from confession to internal transformation.”
• “…the psalm attributed to David in the context of (his) monumental moral failure is a model of repentance, forgiveness, and amendment of life.”

Psalm 51:1-2

*Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.  *Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

• Pray the Psalm. These are words spoken from a person to God; speak them to God as your prayer.
• Get Specific with Your Sins.  Praying the words of this psalm, you’re asking God to blot out your transgressions, wash you from your iniquity, cleanse you of your sin.  Take some time to list your sins to God.  This could range from a brief pause in your prayer for a quick review to a more time-intensive self-examination (a journal may be helpful for this).

 

Psalm 51:3-5
*For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.  *Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. *Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.

• Pray the Psalm. These are words spoken from a person to God; speak them to God as your prayer.
• Go Deeper with Your Sins.  Say the words of verse 3 and then explore your conscience so that you might truly get to “know your transgressions.”  Consider the theological impact of your sins along with verse 4 – how you have sinned against God, and how might God be justified in issuing or allowing consequences?  Along with verse 5, consider your sinful nature, your past experience with sins, and the deeper patterns/habits of sin in your life.

 

Psalm 51:6-9

*You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. *Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.  *Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.  *Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

• Pray the Psalm. These are words spoken from a person to God; speak them to God as your prayer.
• Focus on God’s Mercy.  Allow God to meet your sin with His mercy.  Examples: 1) “Teach me wisdom in my secret heart;” Mediate on God’s power to transform the areas of life where you struggle with sin.  2) “Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow;”  Meditate on God’s power to cleanse you of your sins, and his merciful willingness to do so.  Visualize his washing your sins away, erasing them, leaving no mark at all upon your heart.  Remember God’s desire is to ultimately restore you to joy & gladness.

 

Psalm 51:10-12

*Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.  *Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.  *Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

• Pray the Psalm. These are words spoken from a person to God; speak them to God as your prayer.
• Pray for Restoration.  Your sin is cleansed through the mercy of God and the grace that is yours in Christ.  But God’s work in your is not finished.  God is re-creating you, giving you a clean heart and a right spirit, restoring to you the joy of God’s salvation, sustaining you with a spirit willing to live God’s way and say no to temptations.  Thank God for all of this, and invite him to make it happen, to make it real, in your life.
• Breath Prayers.  These three verses have been set to music (perhaps you can sing a line from memory) and the phrases within make melodic breath prayers:
• "Create in me a clean heart, O God."
• "O God, put a new & right spirit within me."
• "Restore me to the joy of your salvation."
• "O God, sustain in me a willing spirit."

 

Good words from Dr. Spina about God’s grace in Jesus & the Old Testament:

“In light of psalms such as these, God’s incarnation in Jesus the Christ should not be seen as God’s introducing grace for the first time. It is part of God’s character to extend grace, something God does throughout the Old Testament. Instead, God’s being in Christ should be seen as God’s showing the extent of divine graciousness. God’s grace has no bounds. Thus, the Incarnation does not introduce God’s grace; it demonstrates its extent.”

 

Words of Blessing

May God have mercy upon you according to His steadfast love.  May God cleanse you of your sin as you seek forgiveness through Christ.  May God create in you a clean heart and renew your spirit, so that you will live in the joy of His salvation.  Amen.

 

Pastor Kurt

Take a Deep Breath...Praying Psalms 23 & 139

Praying the Psalms

 

...following SPU's Lectio Guides

October 21-27

 

 

First.

Read the assigned Psalms (or plan out a reading schedule for the week)  

• Psalm 22
• Psalm 23
• Psalm 24
• Psalm 139

Second.

Read or Listen to Dr. Frank Spina's Presentation

• Divine Absence & Presence

Third. 

 

Take a Deep Breath...make the words of the Psalm your very own prayer.

Follow this guide for praying Psalms 23 & 139.

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Praying Psalms 23 & 139

Intensely Personal Prayers

In his commentary, Dr. Frank Spina notes that Psalm 23 and 139 are intensely personal.  Psalm 23 has six first-person personal pronouns in the first three verses; in Psalm 139, there are 48 first-person personal pronouns (I, me, my) in its 24 verses.  An average of two per verse...that's getting personal!

 

Psalm 23:1-3

*The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  *He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; * he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.

1. Personalize.  Pray the words of the psalm, but speak directly to God.  Example: Lord, you are my shepherd.  I have everything I need in you.  You make me lie down in green pastures; you lead me beside quiet waters; you restore my soul. You lead me in right paths for your name’s sake.
2. Visualize. During some quiet time, silently read the words of the Psalm 23.  Then close your eyes and try to imagine the scene: Green pastures, still waters, and the Lord restoring your soul.  What kind of an impact does this biblical imagining have on your feelings?  Do you sense God's care for you?

 

Psalm 23:4-6
*Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me.   *You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  *Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.

1. Pray the Psalm.  Literally.  Notice that these verses are spoken from a human being to God.  Make these words your own and pray them to God. 
2. Breath Prayer.  Try these breath prayers: “I fear no evil; for you are with me” or “You are with me; I am comforted.”
3. Launch Pads for Prayer.  Find a word or phrase that seems to connect with how you feel and launch into a freestyle prayer to God based on that phrase.  Example: Key phrase – “Even though I walk through the darkest valley” = Lord, here’s the dark valley I’m going through…help me find a way out of it.  Key phrase - “In the presence of my enemies” = Lord, please be with me when I hear the hurtful words of my enemies, these people who are spreading rumors about me.

 

Psalm 139:1-18

1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me.

2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
   you discern my thoughts from far away.
3 You search out my path and my lying down,
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
    O Lord, you know it completely.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is so high that I cannot attain it.

7 Where can I go from your spirit?

    Or where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
    if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning
    and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light around me become night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is as bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

13 For it was you who formed my inward parts;

    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
    Wonderful are your works;  that I know very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
    all the days that were formed for me,
    when none of them as yet existed.
17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
    I come to the end[a]—I am still with you.
 

• Pray the Psalm.  Literally.  Read Psalm 139:1-18 as your part in a conversation with God.  Go back and focus on a small part of the psalm, just a few verses or even a key phrase.  Deepen the conversation by re-reading these words slowly.  As you speak to God by reading this Psalm, how does it strengthen your self-concept and deepen your faith?  Do you sense God's care for you?  Do you sense a closeness to God?

 

Psalm 139:23-24

*Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.  *See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

• Invite God In.  Pray these words at the beginning of a time of silence. During the silence, allow the Holy Spirit to search your heart.  Follow the lead of the Spirit in praying to God about what comes to your attention during the silence. 
• Note: In the Christian spiritual tradition, these words are a prayer of self-examination that precedes confessing sins to God.  Basically, you're asking God to highlight sins that you may not even be aware of, so that you can confess them and receive God's forgiveness.

 

Closing Words:

You are fearfully and wonderfully made by an almighty & loving God.  This God has been with you, is with you now, and will be with you always. Amen!

 

Pastor Kurt

Take a Deep Breath ... Praying Psalm 18

Praying the Psalms

...following SPU's Lectio Guides

October 14-20

 

 

First.

Read the assigned Psalms (or plan out a reading schedule for the week)  

• Psalm 18
• Psalm 19
• Psalm 20

Second.

Read or Listen to Dr. Frank Spina's Presentation

• Creation, Revelation, Salvation

Third. 

Take a Deep Breath...make the words of the Psalm your very own prayer.

Follow this guide for praying Psalm 18

 

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Introduction: Pray like King David as you face your battles
 

Psalm 18:50 gives a summary of what this Psalm is all about - "He gives his king great victories.”  It's about how God strengthened King David for victory as the commander of Israel's military.  We find some aggressive language in this Psalm, and we need to treat it carefully.  As you read, always keep in mind David's unique situation: As the King of Israel and the commander of its army, David had warrant (permission) from God to use military force to protect the interests of Israel in a hostile international environment.  The basic point for us is this: if we’re not the King of Israel with an army under our command, God isn’t using this psalm to give us a command or permission to crush or destroy anybody.

But like King David, we do have enemies, and the challenges we face are real, threatening, and formidable.  And like King David, we need God's strength to meet the challenge.  So “like David,” we can call to God for help in facing our enemies and challenges, and expect God to be strong in responding to our need. 

Special Note for Christians in the Military: One thing that Psalms like this remind us of is that God is no stranger to the battlefield.  If you're a Christian who has faced or will be facing combat in the military, this Psalm reminds you that God understands and encourages you to bring your experience to God in prayer.  David was a man with combat experience, who no doubt experienced the horrors of war and pondered the deep ethical questions that come with it.  Perhaps he was in danger of having his heart hardened by his battlefield experience, but his heart was kept alive (soft, humble, grateful) and filled with love for God through his prayers, his ongoing conversation with God.  That same heart transformation can happen to us.

Praying Psalm 18

(This marking * marks the beginning of each verse in each section of scripture below)

 

Verse 1
*I love you, Lord, my strength.

1. Literal Repetition.  Pray this verse slowly 10 times. "I love you, Lord, my strength."
2. Breath Prayer. Now that you’ve memorized it, plan on praying it silently during your day today.  At the end of the day take some time to remember where you were when you prayed it.  Did it heighten your sense of God’s presence?  Did it enhance your love for God?

Verse 2

*The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn (strength) of my salvation, my stronghold.

1. Acknowledge. Simply praise God by saying the phrase “you are” before all the “my ____” phrases.  Example: Lord, you are my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; in you I take refuge.  You are my shield and my salvation, my stronghold.  Repeat.
2. Ask.  Simply ask God to be there for you by saying the word “be” before all the “my _____” phrases.  Example: Lord, be my rock.  Lord, be my fortress.  Lord, be my deliverer (or Lord, deliver me.) Lord, give me refuge. Lord, be my shield.  Lord, be my stronghold. Repeat.

Verses 3-6

* I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies.  *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; I cried to my God for help.  From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.

1. Give Thanks for Rescue.  Customize the words of the Psalm to fit your situation and thank God for answered prayer.  Example: I called to you, Lord, after I had that argument with my best friend. In my distress I called to you and from your temple you heard my voice.  Thank you for saving me, for saving our friendship.
2. Cry Out for Rescue.  Use the imagery from these verses to describe the seriousness of how you feel about your challenges as you ask the Lord for help.  Example:  Lord, the situation I’m facing in my life right now makes me feel like the cords of death entangle me.  I’m overwhelmed by a torrent of destruction.  I am in distress.  Help me, Lord!  I know you hear my voice, and that my cry has found its way into your ears. I await your response.

 
Verses 16-19
*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.  *He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.

1. Give Thanks for Rescue. Try using the words of the psalm the way you did with verses 3-6 above. A slight variation is to pray the words of this psalm in thanking God for what God has done in another person’s life.  Example:  Lord, you rescued my friend from the powerful addiction that was ruining her life.  It was too strong for her to handle, but you had the power to break the chains of the addiction.  You were her support.  You rescued her because she delights in you.  Thank you.
2. Cry Out for Rescue.  Try using the words of the psalm the way you did with verses 3-6 above.  A slight variation is to cry out on behalf of another person.  Example: Lord, my friend is drowning in deep waters.  The challenge she’s facing is too powerful for her to handle on her own.  Please use your power to rescue her.  Bring her out from this situation into a spacious place.  Be her support.  May she know that you delight in her.

Verses 27-29

*You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.  You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.  *With your help I can advance against a troop [or “run through a barricade”]; with my God I can scale a wall.

1. Personalize.  Example: Lord, I’m having trouble seeing the right way to go, the right decisions to make.  I feel lost in darkness.  Lord, keep my lamp burning in the midst of this darkness.  Turn my darkness into light.  I know that with your help I can make progress in facing what I’m afraid of and break through what’s holding me back.  Help me climb the wall that is keeping me from experiencing your joy and hope.
2. Note: Eugene Peterson’s book on the life of David takes its title from Psalm 118:29 (same verse as 2 Samuel 22:30) Leap Over a Wall: Earthy Spirituality for Everyday Christians (HarperCollins, 1997).  What walls do you need help leaping over?  Pray for God to give you the strength.

Verses 30-36
*As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.  *For who is God besides the Lord?  And who is the Rock except our God?  *It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.  *He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights.  *He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.  *You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; your help has made me great.  *You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way.

• Pray a prayer from your battlefield.  Think of a challenge that you’re facing – a conflict, a problem, a situation that has you down and dejected – and pray for God’s strength for the battle. Example: God, arm me with strength to face this challenge.  I have no strength left to fight it on my own.  I need your saving help.  I need your strength to keep me secure so I won’t slip and fall.  Train my hands for battle – show me specific actions I can take.

Closing Words of Blessing

May the Lord be with you in the battles you face.  May he rescue you from all that seeks to harm you.  May he give you strength to overcome obstacles and give you a firm place to stand.

Pastor Kurt

Take a Deep Breath...Praying Psalm 144

Praying the Psalms
...following SPU's Lectio Guides
October 7-13


First.

Read the assigned Psalms (or plan out a reading schedule for the week)  

• Psalms 8
• Psalm 33 (repeat from last week)
• Psalm 144

Second.

Read or Listen to Dr. Frank Spina's Presentation

• Utterly Human, Amazingly Human

Third. 

Take a Deep Breath...make the words of the Psalm your very own prayer.

Follow this guide for praying Psalm 144

 

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Dr. Spina notes that Psalm 144 is “intensely personal, as emphasized by the pronouns” I, me, & my.  Pray Psalm 144 as your personal prayer, as one of God’s covenant people. 

 

Praying Psalm 144

(This marking * marks the beginning of each verse in each section of scripture below)

Verses 1-2

*Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; *my rock and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge.

1. Acknowledge. Simply praise God by saying the phrase “you are” before all the “my ____” phrases.  Example: Lord, you are my rock and my fortress; you are my stronghold and my deliverer; you are my shield.  In you I take refuge.  Repeat.
    
2. Ask (Petition).  Simply ask God to be there for you by saying the word “be” before all the “my _____” phrases.  Example: Lord, be my rock.  Lord, be my fortress.  Lord, be my stronghold.  Lord, be my deliverer.  Lord, be my shield.  Lord, provide a refuge for me. Repeat.

Verses 3-4

*Lord, what are human beings that you regard them, or mortals that you think of them? *They are like a breath; their days are like a passing shadow.

1. Observe & Reflect.  What reminds you of the vulnerability of being human?  How do you experience this vulnerability?
2. Confess. Example: Eternal Lord, compared to you we are like a breath. Our days on this earth are relatively brief, like a passing shadow.  I often forget this and think/act like I’m the permanent center of the universe. Help me face up to the vulnerability that comes with my humanity.  I am amazed that you care about our brief lives, but you do, and I thank you.

 
Verses 5-11

*Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down; touch the mountains so that they smoke. *Make the lightning flash and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them.  *Stretch out your hand from on high; set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hand of aliens,  *whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are false.  *I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you, *the one who gives victory to kings, who rescues his servant David. *Rescue me from the cruel sword, and deliver me from the hand of aliens, whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are false. 

• Ask (Petition).  Twice in this series of verses the Psalmist cries “rescue me.”  Consider what you want God to rescue you from, and pray this as a list, going into depth as you feel the need to. Example: Lord, rescue me from ____ [a bully, someone with more power who is taking advantage of their position, a difficult situation, depression, a critical spirit, anger, etc.].

Verses 12-15

*May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars, cut for the building of a palace.  *May our barns be filled, with produce of every kind; may our sheep increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields, *and may our cattle be heavy with young. May there be no breach in the walls, no exile, and no cry of distress in our streets.  *Happy (blessed) are the people to whom such blessings fall; happy are the people whose God is the Lord.

1. Prayerful Imagining.  Read verses 12-14 and get a sense of what kind of life or environment these words are describing.  Offering your imagined reality to God by praying a similar prayer in your own words: Lord, may ___________________.
2. Breath Prayer. Read verse 15.  From these words develop a breath prayer to take with you throughout your day.  Example A: Lord, you are my God. I am blessed by you.  Example B: Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. I am blessed.

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Concluding Thought:

Remember that the Lord is your rock & your fortress.  Call upon him to take action in your life, your world.

Blessings in Christ,

Pastor Kurt