Psalm 117 - How He Loves

Psalm 117

 ¹ Praise the LORD, all you nations;
       extol him, all you peoples.
 ² For great is his love toward us,
       and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
       Praise the LORD. ^[a] 

Psalm 116 - Prayer for the Men of Walk 165

4 a.m!. - My assigned time to pray for God's spirit to move in the lives of 42 men that have committed this weekend to self-examination and renewal.
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As I thought about how the Lord would have me pray on behalf of each of these men, I decided to go to my next chapter of Psalm -- curious to see what words would be written.  I am really not surprised that the words are so appropriate to the events of the day.  God is Good!!

There is a point in the weekend where participants are called to a time of self-examination and they are given the opportunity to completely become free from the "thing" that has held them captive and prevented them from TOTALLY resting and relying on the grace of God.  As I read this chapter, I was reminded of this particular moment on the weekend agenda and determined that God was calling me to pray that those things that were offered today with open hands and broken hearts would no longer take any of these men captive but that they would forever be released and each man would be able to TRULY find freedom.

Here the words of Psalm 116:

I love the LORD, for he heard my voice 
he heard my cry for mercy. 
Because he turned his ear to me, 
I will call on him as long as I live. 


The cords of death entangled me, 
the anguish of the grave came upon me; 
I was overcome by trouble and sorrow, 
Then I called on the name of the Lord; 
"O Lord, save me!"

The Lord is gracious and righteous; 
our God is full of compassion. 
The Lord protects the simple-hearted; 
When I was in great need, he saved me.

Be at rest once more, O my soul
for the Lord has been good to you.


For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death, 
my eyes from tears, 
my feet from stumbling, 
that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living.... 


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 fulfill my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people 

Precious in the sight of the Lord 
is the death of one of his saints.
O Lord, truly I am your servant; 
I am your faithful son 
YOU HAVE FREED ME FROM MY CHAINS!
   

I pray that each of  these men may truly find freedom. 

I pray that chains are loosed and hearts are freed. 

Lord, I pray that souls will find rest 

And feet solid-footing. 

 O Lord,  hear my prayer 

And have mercy on the simple-hearted. 

Lord, I thank you for your goodness and compassion 

And I thank you for freedom and healing that only You can bring! 

In Your name alone, 

AMEN

Psalm 115 - "I Am Second"

I was getting ready this morning for church and Sunday school and decided in the quiet of the morning to look at the next Psalm in my journey.  Not surprisingly, God's timing is so... well, ..... timely!   Today in my Sunday School class,  we begin reviewing the lessons from a book written by Charles Stanley called, Landmines in the Path of the Believer and the "landmine" that starts off our journey is the landmine of PRIDE.   The tendency to focus on "self" and what "I" want and when "I" want it!

Once again in God's perfect timing, I open to the Psalm and read these words:  

¹ Not to us, O LORD, not to us
       but to your name be the glory,
       because of your love and faithfulness.     

I searched the YouTube files for some people that would have reason to be filled with pride based on "their" accomplishments but have chosen to make a public statement saying:  "It's NOT about me".  Here is just one example:




¹⁴ May the LORD make you increase,
       both you and your children.
 ¹⁵ May you be blessed by the LORD,
       the Maker of heaven and earth.