Category Archives: Lord’s Day

Praying the Psalms -Psalm 63-

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Psalm 63

    A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
 5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6 when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
 9 But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
they shall be a portion for jackals.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by him shall exult,
for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

God, my God, sometimes it is your will to bring your people to a dry land. Sometimes coming to the desert means passing through trials, other times it means that we feel as if You were distant and we were forsaken.

What to do Lord, in times like this?

What to do when the heat is burning, the mind can’t think clearly, the heart is weary and the eyes can’t see clearly?

What to do when You seem afar?

Should we hide ourselves under a rock in the desert, and just wait with the face hidden between the hands until the fiery sand storm passes by?

David was there, in the desert, running away to save his life. He was weary in a land where his thirst couldn’t be satisfied. But in that desolate place he called on you. In the wilderness he lifted up his eyes and looked upon you, in your Sanctuary, and saw your power and glory.

Jesus was also brought by Your Spirit to the desert, no water touched his lips for forty days, and yet in the driest land, where the Devil met him and tempted him, He found strength and vigor in your Word. You alone satisfied Him.

Father, I don’t ask that you won’t take me to a dry land. I just pray that when you take me there, I will call upon Your Name. That during the dry seasons, my flesh won’t fall into sinning seeking to be satisfied with other things rather than You and your Word.

God, don’t ever let me forget that your steadfast love is better than life. Better than breathing, better than all the beautiful moments I might live; better that the best gift it has pleased you to give me. Better than a song in the night and times of joy. Better than all the kingdoms of this world, better than all those things that promise me satisfaction but draw me far away from You.

Even when the winds blow hard against me, when the sand storm won’t let me open my eyes, I ask you, God, my God, lift my head and let me see your power and glory. Even when my eyes are cracking from lack of water and my mouth doesn’t find a way to pronounce a word because its dry, even then, let me sing your praise.

Lord, I will bless you as long as I live. And not because of my will power; not because I try hard, but because You have promised that nothing, not even the most dreadful deserts will be able to separate me from your perfect Love.

Thank you for hope, thank you because You don’t keep your people forever in the desert land. You always bring us to a time of feasting and rejoicing; a time when our soul eats at your table and is always satisfied. Thank you because you always provide times in which our lips can’t contain your praises. Times when joy overflows, and gladness is our companion.

Night comes, always, as a gift from Your hand that we may rest and think, and meditate on your Word and in all we have said and done. Night is a gift from you always. In the times of desolation as well as in the times of prosperity, night comes and we come to our bed and You are there.  And no matter, Lord, in which season of my life I am in the night, I always see how You have been my constant help. How you have kept me and my children in the shadow of your wings.

I cling to you, my God. I cling to you as much as a woman clings to her man; as much as much as a the baby to her nursing Mom. I cling to you in the desert and in the land in which honey and milk overflows. In both places I need you or I die. Uphold me with Your right hand. Sustain me when I am weak, hold me tight when I am fainting.  Hold me with Your mighty hand when temptation comes, when the devil tempts me.  Give me victory and fill my mouth with your praises, that I may rejoice in You and be satisfied in You alone, my God and King.

Amen

Becky

Praying the Psalms -Psalm 17-

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@Shiloh Photography

 

Psalm 17
A Prayer of David.
Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry!
Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
From your presence let my vindication come!
Let your eyes behold the right!
God of Mercies, how I thank you that your mercies are new every morning,
that I can come to you, before the Holy, Holy, Holy,
through the blood of the Lamb.
Thank you for Jesus, 
Thank you, because if what He has done  for me,
you turn your ear and hear my cry.
Thank you because you turn your ear ti my prayers.
Lord, cleanse my lips.
You have cleansed me, and that is a miracle!
That with your eyes you see not my sin, 
but the righteousness of Christ in me…
O Lord, there are no words to express my gratitude.
You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night,
you have tested me, and you will find nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.
My steps have held fast to your paths;
my feet have not slipped.
Thank you for Jesus. My Lord and Saviour,
the only One who has never sinned,
who when in the midst of a heavy suffering,
did not opened his mouth to sin!
Father, forgive me, forgive those hidden sins in me,
and teach me, 
and help me.
You have visited me at night, 
in my bed, you have reminded me of your Word 
that pierces the hearts of men.
Your Spirit has stirred up my conscience, 
Help me to hold fast to your paths,
Help my feet not to slip.
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
incline your ear to me; hear my words.
Wondrously show your steadfast love,
O Savior of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries at your right hand.
God, what a wonderful thing this is,
that I can call upon you and know that you will answer me!
father, incline your ear to me;
hear my words.
Wondrously show your steadfast love,
to me, to my husband,
to my children, to my children’s friends.
Stretch your hand and save us from our sins;
stretch you hand and hold our lives…
Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings,
from the wicked who do me violence,
my deadly enemies who surround me.
Father keep me, keep my family, your Church;
keep us as the apple of your eye.
Hide us, hide us, hide us,
in the shadow of your wings,
from the wicked, 
the temptations of our heart,
the lust of the flesh,
the desires that are not according to You.
O God, hide us under your wings,
that we may be safe,
and find perfect contentment there.
They close their hearts to pity;
with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
They have now surrounded our steps;
they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.
He is like a lion eager to tear,
as a young lion lurking in ambush.
Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him!
Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
from men by your hand, O LORD,
from men of the world whose portion is in this life.
You fill their womb with treasure;
they are satisfied with children,
and they leave their abundance to their infants.
Father, let me not forget my enemies,
those who have wronged me,
I pray for them.
I pray for those who are like lions,
trying to destroy your Church,
Father have mercy on them and save them.
As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness. 
This promise, these verses,
Lord, how comforting they are.
To behold your face in righteousness,
to be satisfied,
to fight sin no more.
How I long for Heaven, for You!
In Jesus, my Righteousness,
Amen

Becky

Praying the Psalms -Psalm 9: 1-2-

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@Melissa Deming printables. Used with permission

O Most High God, a week starts today and I pray, please give me the grace to cultivate a grateful heart. Let my thanks, each one of them, be heart felt. Help me not to say “Thank you, Lord for this or that”, without really being thankful from the bottom of my heart.

Father, how beautiful it is to see that having a grateful heart towards you will naturally lead me to proclaim all your wonderful deeds, to bring glory to you. Let my children, my friends, my neighbors, my church family, the poor in the corner, let all of them hear from my lips how wonderful are your deeds among your people!

I am excited to start a new week, seven brand new days in which I can be glad and rejoice in you. Seven days in which I will keep my eyes open to see your mercies, all new, all wonderful, all good. Seven days in which I don’t want to miss the opportunity to give you thanks with all my heart.

This Lord’s Day I will open my mouth in the church, among the saints,  and I will sing the praises of your name, O MOST HIGH!

Amen

Becky

Thanks to Melissa for giving me permission to use today’s beautiful image.

Praying the Psalms -Psalm 127-

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Psalm 127

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.

1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.
3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Father in Heaven, I praise your name, Rock of my Salvation, Cornerstone of my Faith. I come to you today to ask you forgiveness because so many times I want to build my family on my own, with my own hands, with my own strength. Sometimes, I don’t even want to submit to my husband, and think I know better. Lord, forgive me. Forgive me, Lord, when a day goes by in which I seldomly keep watch and forget to whisper prayers in the midst of all the ordinary. Remind me through your Spirit, teach me by your Word, that if I labor on my own strength I labor in vain. Lord, that I may not forget this.

I want to be watchful this year, Father. Watchful over my life, and all you have given me, but no matter how much I try to keep watch, if You, O Sovereign God don’t keep watch over me and my family, I stay awake in vain. Don’t take your eyes away from us, keep us as the apple of your eye. Close to you, hidden under your wings.

Father, how much I relate to Solomon’s words, it is vain to do and do, and do, and get tired and even exhausted if I don’t rest in You; if I don’t put all my trust in You. Lord, bless what I will do this week, bless the labor of my hands. That I will not complain, but be happy and share laughs and great joy with my husband and children, so that when night comes, I will rest in peace knowing that I have worked with your hand over me, blessing the fruit of my labor.

How precious it is know that it has pleased you to give me and my husband children, each one of them an inheritance from you. You have placed them in our hands as arrows in the hand of a warrior. Help me fight as a warrior for them on my knees, bring me to my knees to intercede fervently for them. Lord, help me put away all anxiety and all the fears of childrearing. I trust that you are watching over our children and that because of your many mercies, we will not be put to shame.

Merciful God, build my home and my life on the Rock of Ages.

I pray this in the Name of Jesus, the Cornerstone of my Faith.

Amen

Becky

Praying the Psalms

Living by Prayer

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O GOD OF THE OPEN EAR;
Teach me to live by prayer as well as by providence,
for myself, soul, body, children, family, church;
Give me a heart frameable to thy will;
so that I might live in prayer,
and honor Thee,
being kept from evil, known and unknown.

Help me to see the sin that accompanies all I do,
and the good I can distill from everything.

Let me know that the work of prayer is to bring my will to thine,
and that without this is folly to pray;
When I try to bring thy will to thine is to command Christ,
to be above him, and wiser than he:
this is my sin and my pride.

I can only succeed when I pray
according to thy precept and promise,
and to be done with as it pleases thee,
according to thy sovereign will.

When thou commandest me to pray for pardon, peace, brokeness,
it is because thou wilt give me the thing promised,
for thy glory, as well as for my good.

Help me not only to desire small things,
but with holy boldness to desire great things
for thy people, for myself,
that they and I might live to show thy glory.

Teach me that it is wisdom for me to pray for all I have,
out of love, willingly, not of necessity;
that I may come to thee at any time,
to lay open my needs acceptably to thee;
that my great sin lies in my not keeping the savour of thy ways;
that the remembrance of this truth is one way
to the sense of thy presence;
that there is no wrath like the wrath of being governed
by my own lusts for my own ends.

Amen

From the Valley of Vision

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Lord, today is the first day of the year, and I come to you praying this prayer from the Puritans. Thanking You for new beginnings, new mornings, new mercies. All Powerful God, grant me this year that I may live by prayer! That my heart may be frameable to your will, Lord. That no matter what providences you bring to my life this year, I will honor you.

Father, help me to do the labor of prayer, to persevere in it. To be reminded that there is no way for me to succeed in all that you have appointed me to do apart from You; that a life without prayer is  arrogant and vain.

God of all mercies, thank you, because you hear me, and because your ear is open to hear the prayers of your children and You do not despise us, but are pleased when we come before you in the name of Jesus, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

 

Becky

Celebrating the Excellencies of His Name -Praise the Lord with Me-

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Today we come to end of this series, and I am confident to say that the joy we have experienced as we have celebrated the Incarnation of our Lord, as we have meditated on His character revealed in some of His glorious names, has been a blessing to many us -me first of all- . How blessed we have been by every article that our friends wrote for this series (I am so grateful for each one of you, my friends!), blessed as well  by every comment you left, by the words we read from those men who have gone before us. I am now more eager to praise His Name at all times, to trust in Him, to see Him full of splendor. Oh, how I love my Lord, how I love to celebrate the excellencies of His Name, and proclaim His wonderful Name among the nations, among the saints!

To end this series I want to first announce the winner of the book, Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ:

Melissa @ Breath of Life

And now our great and grand finale: God speaking directly to us through His infallible Word,

Though he (Jesus) was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Phil 2:6-8

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.                 John 1: 14-18

You will say in that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O LORD,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.

“Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.”

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

And you will say in that day:

“Give thanks to the LORD,
call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that his name is exalted.

“Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.
Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

Isaiah 12 ESV

I pray you, my dear friends, may have a most wonderful Christmas, one full of Him.


Under His sun and by His Grace,

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They that know thy name will put their trust in thee.
Psalm 9: 10
The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
   the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
Proverbs 18: 10
Browse through the series here.

You are most welcomed to read a complementary series on The Names of God.
Part one, The Name of God is found here, 
Part 2, Taking Refuge in the Name of the Lord, here.
Part three, The Fullness of the Name of Jesus Christ is here.