Take a Deep Breath ... Praying Praises to the King

Praying the Psalms

...following SPU's Lectio Guides

November 25 - December 1 

 

First.

Read the assigned Psalms (or plan out a reading schedule for the week ... try one each day)  

• Psalm 47
• Psalm 93
• Psalm 94
• Psalm 95
• Psalm 96
• Psalm 97
• Psalm 98
• Psalm 99

Second.

Read or Listen to Dr. Frank Spina's Presentation

• The Lord Reigns

Third. 

 

 

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

Follow this guide ...

 

__________

Praying Psalms 95, 96, & 98
Praying to a God Who Reigns

These Psalms focus on the Lord's Kingship.  They remind us of God's authority over all creation, all nations, and over God's people.  Praying along with these Psalms gives us the words to use in order to acknowledge God's authority, speak to God of our desire to submit to God's authority, and to joyfully celebrate our eternal King.

Many teachings on prayer through the years have asserted that these prayers of praise belong at the beginning: before we bring to God our requests, or even our confessions, we acknowledge who God is and glorify God.  It's worth mentioning that the "A" of the traditional prayer formula A.C.T.S. stands for "Adoration."  And it's no small thing that the first three petitions of the Lord's Prayer have to do with praising a holy God who is our King:

• Hallowed be Thy name.
• Thy kingdom come.
• Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Starting our prayers with praises not only acknowledges who God is, but it also conditions the words that follow.  We remember that God actually does have the power to do something about the concerns we lift up in prayer!

Psalm 95:1-7

*Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.  *Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.  *For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.  *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, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; *for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.

• Personalize the Praise: Based on verse 3, pray something like this - “Lord, you are a great God.  Not only that, but you are the great King above all gods, above all powers.  And most certainly you are above me.  You are my God and King; I worship you and desire to serve you and live life your way.”
• "Sing for Joy" as you begin praying: Open your prayer time by praying or singing verses 6-7. *Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; *for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.

 

Psalm 96:1-4, 7

*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, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.  *For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.  (7)*Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

• Personalize the Praise: Pray the words of verses 4 & 7 – “Lord, you are great, and most worthy of my praise.  You are above all gods; I respect your authority.  I ascribe to you glory and strength: you are glorious beyond my imagination, you are stronger than any other force that exists.  I know you have the strength to do what is needed in response to my prayers.”
• Missional Prayer: Pray these words to ask God to guide you in praising God publicly, being a witness to God’s greatness (verses 2-3).  “Lord, as I praise your name in prayer, I ask you to help me proclaim your salvation day after day. Show me where and how I can declare your glory among the nations.  Guide me to tell the people I meet today about your marvelous actions.”

 
Psalm 98:1-3
*Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.  *The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations.  *He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

• Personalize: Express praise for the gift of salvation – “Lord, you have done marvelous things; you have shown your salvation to your people, including me.  This is how I've experienced your salvation: ____________.  I glorify you for this work - you're the one who made it happen!  You’ve made your salvation known all over the world through your church in every land.  Thank you for salvation through Jesus that unites me with your people in all places.”

Extra...94:18-19

*When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.  *When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.

Great words to pray literally when we experience support and consolation from the Lord!

Pastor Kurt

Take a Deep Breath ... Praying Psalm 90

Praying the Psalms

 

...following SPU's Lectio Guides

November 18 - 24 

 

First.

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

• Psalm 85
• Psalm 89
• Psalm 90
• Psalm 91

Second.

Read or Listen to Dr. Frank Spina's Presentation

• At Risk with God, Challenging God, Safe with God

Third. 

 

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

Follow this guide for praying Psalm 90.

 

__________

 

Praying Psalm 90

This psalm affirms that the Lord is our “dwelling place” throughout all generations.  Many generations of God’s people have lived and died, but God is still walks with and shelters His people.  As human beings we are mortal, mere dust when compared to the rock solid existence of God.  Understanding our fragile human condition is the key to wisdom, and leads us seeks the Lord’s eternal love and favor.

 

Psalm 90:1-2

*Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.  *Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

1. Breath prayer. Memorize and repeat this prayer early & often during your day: Lord, you are my eternal dwelling place; from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
2. Prayer of Confession & Spiritual Renewal.  Pray something like this if you feel like you've been living "away from home:" Lord, even though you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations, I don’t feel like I’ve been dwelling with you.  I've been too busy to spend time talking with you in prayer, or listening to your word in scripture.  And the words I've heard from you I haven’t applied to my life.  Be my dwelling place.  Draw me away from what distracts me from you.  Bind my heart to yours, and hold my entire life in your embrace.

A similar prayer from a great hymn...

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, v. 3
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

 

Psalm 90:9-12

*Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; *yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. *If only we knew the power of your anger!  Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due. *Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

1. Prayer of Vulnerable Honesty.  Pray something like this to get honest with God (and yourself) about the reality that your life on this earth will some day come to an end: Lord, teach me to number my days, that I may gain a heart of wisdom.  As hard as it is for me to face, I realize that I won’t live forever.  But you are a dwelling place that is everlasting.  Even after I take my last breath, our relationship will continue.  Guide me deeper in our eternal relationship. Remind me today that the time we spend together is more important than the temporary stresses and challenges of this life.
2. Listen to & Sing along with a Similar Prayer.  The song "Bring Him Home" sung by Jean Valjean to the nearly-dying Marius from the musical Les Miserables (Claude-Michel Schonberg) features a similar prayer that gets honest with our limited number of days on this earth.

 

 

"Bring Him Home" Lyrics

God on high, Hear my prayer; In my need You have always been there
He is young, He's afraid; Let him rest Heaven blessed.

Bring him home.
He's like the son I might have known, If God had granted me a son.
The summers die one by one, How soon they fly on and on, And I am old And will be gone.
Bring him peace, Bring him joy; He is young, He is only a boy.
You can take, You can give; Let him be, Let him live.
If I die, Let me die; Let him live.
Bring him home.
 

Psalm 90:14

*Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
This verse forms the opening response in the Presbyterian service of Daily Morning Prayer.  I have vivid memories of this responsive refrain introducing prayers in Caldwell Chapel of Louisville Seminary:

Leader: Satisfy us with your love in the morning
People: And we will live this day in joy and praise

• Morning Prayer.  Try incorporating these psalm words into your morning prayers: Lord, satisfy me with your unfailing love this morning, and today I will sing for joy and be glad.

 

Note: Be sure to read Dr. Spina’s commentary on Psalm 91. It offers a good corrective to improper (and sometimes dangerous) interpretations of the assurances of God’s protection in this psalm.  Pay special attention to how he links this psalm to one of the devil’s temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.

• “It goes without saying that if we find ourselves in difficulty then the psalm cannot be understood as a guarantee. The ultimate security that God’s people have is that God will be with them no matter what befalls them. If they escape harm generally, that is simply a blessing and a bonus. In either case, the final guarantee is God’s presence.” (Dr. Frank Spina, Lectio)

Our safety may not be guaranteed, but our dwelling place with the Lord is a sure thing for all eternity.

Words of Blessing

May the Lord be your dwelling place this day and forever more.  May he satisfy you each morning with steadfast love that fills you with joy and gladness. Amen.

Pastor Kurt

Take a Deep Breath ... Praying Corporate Laments

Praying the Psalms

 

...following SPU's Lectio Guides

November 11 - 17

 

 

First.

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

• Psalm 79
• Psalm 80
• Psalm 81

Second.

Read or Listen to Dr. Frank Spina's Presentation

• Out of the Depths, Onto the Heights

Third. 

 

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

Follow this guide for praying Psalms 79-81.

 

__________

Psalms 79-81.  How to Personally Pray Corporate Laments.

These psalms are prayers that God's people say together.  So I'm not going to suggest changing pronouns in order to personalize them.  It's important to develop the ability to make a personal connection with a corporate prayer - you're praying a family prayer as a member of the family.  It's like being able to pray the Lord's Prayer personally, even though the language is about us: "Our Father...give us this day our daily bread...forgive us our sins..." 

In these psalms, God's people feel convicted.  They feel like the bad things going on in their lives are a result of God's judgment of their sins, God's punishment for the wrong they have done.  Their prayer of response amounts to three parts:

 

1. How long will you punish us?
2. Forgive us & help us
3. Restore us & we will follow you

How Long? 
Feeling under judgment, God’s people ask “How long is this going to last?”

• Read Psalm 79:5 & 80:4
• How might your situation in life be a result of God's judgment or punishment for your sins (including natural consequences of wrongdoing)?

Forgive us and Help Us.  Hoping that full forgiveness will end the punishment, God's people ask this specific kind of help. 

• Read Psalm 79:8-10
• Expand your prayer of confession to include asking God to end the punishment for those sins.  As Christians we have powerful grace to claim in Jesus Christ.

 

Restore Us and We Will Follow.  Confident that God has the power to make things right, God's people ask for restoration and commit themselves to faithful living.

• Read Psalm 80:3, 7, 19
• Join the refrain – “Restore us, God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.”  This is a great phrase for a breath prayer.

 

 

Special Prayer Note...

Sometimes Prayer Reveals That We Are Stubborn.

When we bring our problems to God, we often think only of God removing them. But God may want to respond to our prayer by revealing to us that we are causing the problems by our stubbornness - wanting to live life our way and not God's way.

• Read Psalm 81:11-12 “But my people would not listen to me, so I let them have their way"
• How might your difficulties be the result of God allowing you to get your way or do things according to your will?
• Read Psalm 81:8,13 “If you would only listen to me and follow my ways”
• How might God be saying this to you in response to your prayer?

 

Concluding Blessing:

 

May God Almighty restore you and make his face shine on you, along with all God's people, that we all might be saved.

 

Pastor Kurt

Take a Deep Breath...Praying Psalm 136

Praying the Psalms

...following SPU's Lectio Guides

November 4 - 10

 

 

First.

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

• Psalm 78
• Psalm 136

Second.

Read or Listen to Dr. Frank Spina's Presentation

• Reciting, Singing, and Ritualizing God’s Story

Third. 

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

Follow this guide for praying Psalm 136.

 

__________

 

 

Praying Psalm 136

This psalm inspires our prayers of thanksgiving.  Psalms such as this one remind us that saying “thanks” to God is part of a well-balanced prayer life.  Praying Psalm 136 might help make prayers of thanksgiving a regular part of your conversation with God.  The time-honored prayer outline A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) includes it, as does the simple two-part outline of Joys & Concerns or Thanksgivings & Intercessions.   It might be that certain times call for special prayers of thanksgiving, such as when God has answered a prayer for help, at a particular time of the year (such as the November tradition of Thanksgiving), or after a landmark event in your life (such as the birth of a child, or getting a job). 

The main point to keep in mind about Psalm 136 is that in giving thanks to the Lord you are also remembering that he loves you.  You explore the connections between what you're thanking God for and God's enduring love.  Your list of thanksgivings becomes a list of the things God has done to demonstrate his steadfast love for you!

Speaking of the Lord's steadfast love, it's important to take a closer look at the Hebrew word translated "love" by the NIV and "steadfast love" by the NRSV.  The word is Hesed.  In the King James Version it was translated lovingkindness, an outdated word that nevertheless captures a sense of the fullness of the Hebrew term.  Hesed is love expressed in kindness and tenderness, a covenant love that will stand the test of time.  It goes way beyond a generalized concept of God’s love, or even love as an attribute of God.  It’s a word that serves as a window into God’s heart, allowing us to see how deep & enduring God’s love for us really is.
 



Note how the refrain of Psalm 136 is laid out in the Hebrew Bible. Find the "136" and read right to left (it shows the first 6 verses)



Prayer Approach #1: Breath Prayer 

Pray Psalm 136:1 as a breath prayer, repeating it over and over again throughout your day.  Two forms --

• Literal: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.  His steadfast love endures forever.
• Personalized:  I give thanks to you, O Lord, for you are good.  Your steadfast love endures forever.

Prayer Approach #2: Join the Chorus

Read the Psalm and be reminded of God's faithfulness - this might be a good preparation for personal prayer.  Remember that as you read your voice is joining the entire chorus of God's people who read Psalm 136 as a testimony of God's steadfast love to His people.

Prayer Approach #3: List Your Thanksgivings

Let the first half of verse 1, "O Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good," be an introduction that invites you to share your list of thanksgivings with God.

1. Use the words as a personal call to prayer: Kurt, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.  Or personalize the words into a general prayer of thanksgiving: I give you thanks to you O Lord, for you are good.
2. Then list your thanksgivings and share them with God in prayer. Example: Lord, thank you for...
• my family, specifically for their patience with me when I’m under stress.
• the relationships I have in church, and the opportunity to study your word and mutually encourage others in my small group.
• that note of encouragement I received yesterday.
• reminding me that this struggle I’m going through doesn’t define me; your love will have the last word.

 
Prayer Approach #4: Compose Your Own Litany of the Lord's Steadfast Love

For his steadfast love endures forever: this phrase is repeated in each of the 26 verses, woven into a story of how God has expressed his steadfast love to His people.  How might you work this phrase into your story of God's faithfulness?  What is your story of what God has done for you?  Think of this as a "prayer-writing" opportunity, perhaps something to write in a prayer journal.

Example:

You created me good

For your steadfast love endures forever

Put me in the family that raised me
For your steadfast love endures forever

Led me to the church I grew up in
For your steadfast love endures forever

Where I developed a relationship with you through Jesus Christ
For your steadfast love endures forever

You helped me through a dark time in my life

For your steadfast love endures forever

I struggled to find hope
For your steadfast love endures forever

You sent people into my life to encourage me
For your steadfast love endures forever

You reminded me that I was your beloved child
For your steadfast love endures forever

And welcomed me deeper in your embrace through prayer
For your steadfast love endures forever

Note: Any group in the church can tell their story of God's faithfulness in this way - a small group, a family, a congregation, a mission team reporting on a mission trip.  The possibilities are endless, just like the Lord's steadfast love!

Words of Blessing
May you experience in your life the never-ending steadfast love of the Lord.  May you know the joyful freedom that comes when we give thanks to the Lord for all the ways He is good to us. Amen.

Together in Christ,

Pastor Kurt