...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
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.- 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.
- 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?
*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.
- 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.
- Breath Prayer. Try these breath prayers: “I fear no evil; for you are with me” or “You are with me; I am comforted.”
- 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
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