In this devotion I want to delve into a chapter in Psalms. What we see is David sharing a dark time in his life, one of the things that makes it difficult is people turning on him. One of the hardest things in life is having people you trust betray you. Jesus dealt with this same thing when Judas betrayed him.
Have you ever had to deal with a betrayal? What did you do in that instance? Many people unfortunately want to take revenge. Others spin into a depression, but David gives us strong advice on how to handle adversity. He tells us to allow God to protect us and keep us strong. He likens God to a strong tower that we can take refuge in. In Psalm 59 David is in his house surrounded by Saul’s soldiers who were sent to kill him.
The Psalm is both a prayer and a praise for God’s saving help. Psalms 59 is an important chapter because it reminds us of God’s unfailing love. David was hunted by people whose love had turned into jealousy which drove them to try to kill him. David had trusted friends and the king who he considered a mentor who all turned against him.
As humans, relationships are so important and necessary. We all hope and strive for dependable, long-lasting relationships but that’s not always the case. We all have dealt with broken relationships. Maybe it was the loss of a friendship, a break up, a church split, or family estrangement. At some point everyone deals with finding out that someone was not a trustworthy, dependable person like you thought. This is the hard side of human relationships. Humans are far from perfect, people will disappoint you and you will disappoint others. Regardless of the state of your relationships in this world, God’s relationship to you is unchanging and unfailing.
-Brooke Cisneros
Reflection Questions
Have you ever felt betrayed? What was your response?
When have you turned to God for strength when human relationships disappointed you? What did you find in Him?
What do you appreciate about God’s unchanging and unfailing character? How will you praise Him for this?
You’ve had the opportunity to read Psalm 42 for the last few days and maybe you have some ideas of why God included this in His Word to us.
One commentary titled this Psalm as “Honest prayer from a discouraged saint” (Enduring Word). You can see that the Psalmist was discouraged when writing these verses: “My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, ‘Where is your God?’” (3). “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” (5a). “As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, ‘Where is your God?’” (10).
Satan taunts us, trying to make us doubt God’s goodness and His omnipresence. His ploy works far too often. We look at this world and see the sorrow, stress, and sinfulness that is everywhere and it is easy to become discouraged and to doubt.
The Psalmist recognizes that he is feeling cast down and in turmoil. He brings those feelings to God in verse 9a, “I say to God, my rock: ‘Why have you forgotten me?’”. While he honestly tells God he’s feeling forgotten by Him, he still has confidence in Him and shows that in calling him “God, my rock”. God can handle our honest outpouring of emotions – even the really big, overwhelming ones!
The Psalmist responds to these feelings by remembering a time of praising God (4), telling himself he will praise Him again (5, 11), recalling God’s love (8), and telling himself to hope in God (5, 11). Rather than dwelling on what is wrong, he chooses to believe what he knows to be true and to hope in that. He knows God is trustworthy and able to save. Even when he doesn’t feel it.
Feelings are fickle. They come and go; swing up and down. Feelings are not dependable. But they are real. The evil in this world is also real. And we can become discouraged just like the Psalmist did. God wanted us to have an example of how to handle these feelings. And to ultimately choose to hope in Him.
Amy Blanchard
Reflection Questions
Are you discouraged? Why – what is making you feel that way? Tell God about it. Then take some time to counter that feeling with a reminder that God is always with you and will always love you. There is hope!
For all living things, water means life or death. This Psalm begins with a word picture of a deer panting for water. It brings to mind a desperation – in this picture, a desperation of being thirsty and needing water to survive. Then he says that just like that deer, his soul thirsts for God and he asks when he shall appear before God. Again, reflecting a desperation, this time not for water, but for fellowship with God. Have you ever been desperate for a closeness with God? I find that the more time I spend with Him, the more I crave that connection. If God seems distant to you, try spending some quality time with Him.
Psalm 9 is packed with so many insights into God’s character! Take a moment and read this Psalm if you haven’t yet. Keep an eye out for where David talks about God and His character.
In this Psalm, David is comparing those who know God and those who are wicked. He mentions God’s holiness, justness, and provision – contrasting God’s response to both groups of people. David also mentions multiple times that he will “tell of your deeds” as he reminisces on the wonders that God has done in his life. David has confidence and faith in God because he knows that the LORD is faithful.
Ok just a second though… in David’s time, Jesus hadn’t died and risen yet, let alone even been born. But look at how firm David is in his praise! He knows that God has done wonders and will do even more. He knows that God cares about His people.
How much more thankful can we be because we know of Jesus? We can have a beautiful perspective when we read the Old Testament because we know what happens in the New. The hope of God’s throne, of His provision, and judgment have an exponentially greater meaning to us with the hope of the Kingdom.
Like David in verse 11, we can tell those around us the wonderful things God has done (and will do). We can even see this topic in the New Testament. If we flip to the other side of our Bibles, we see in Hebrews 10:23-25 that we have a steadfast hope because of the faithfulness of God through the sacrifice of Jesus. With this foundation, we can encourage each other as brothers and sisters. This encouragement will lead to love and good deeds – loving God and loving others!
Let’s take some time today to praise God for His faithfulness. That He has done wonderful deeds (Psalm 9:1), that He is a stronghold in times of trouble (9:9), that He hears the cry of the afflicted (9:12), and that He does not forget the needy (9:18). I find it so amazing that Matthew 9 reveals the heart of God even more. Jesus’ mission was to do his Father’s will, which means that we can see God’s character through the actions of Jesus.
In Matthew 9:12-13, Jesus says that he isn’t calling the righteous, but the sinners – the ones who are sick and need healing. WOW! Friends, that’s all of us. Even those of us who have been believers for a while. We must remember that we too were and are sinners and have been saved! Thank you God for seeing the needy, the poor, the hurt, and the sinners. Now THAT is something to praise God with our WHOLE HEART (Psalm 9:1) for. Let us be glad in that.
Today, I want to encourage you to think about the wonderful deeds that God has done in your life. See if you could ask that same question to another believer in your life. Sharing God’s faithfulness encourages and edifies both ourselves and those around us.
-Katelyn Salyers
Reflection Questions
What wonderful deeds has God done in your life?
Today who will you ask to tell you what wonderful deeds God has done in their life?
Why is it important to tell yourself and others what God has done? What happens when we forget?
In our homeschool history lessons, my children and I have been learning about much of the world exploration that happened following the Reformation. Prior to this time period, two entire continents – North and South America – were largely unknown to the charted world. When there was religious persecution in England, the Puritans, who believed they should be able to worship God in their own way rather than under the thumb of the Church of England, decided to venture to the New World, where they could be truly free. Explorers had already paved the way for their travels; some colonies survived, but some did not. These Pilgrims were supposed to arrive at an existing Virginian village, but because a fierce storm blew The Mayflower off course, they ended up in Massachusetts instead. Their journey was wrought with difficulties, but they were careful to make note of God’s provision along the way, such as providing a kind Native American named Squanto who knew English (as a result of his own hardship of being sold into slavery in England for a time) and taught them how to grow food and survive the winter. Though half of the Pilgrims died that first year, they joined with their new Native American family after the first fall harvest to give thanks to God for his blessings.
Psalm 118 begins and ends with praise; what a great reminder of how we should start and finish each day! It continues on to tell of difficulties and challenges, but immediately shares how YHWH God showed up each time, a reminder of His faithfulness and provision.
Last week, many of us gathered to thank God for our blessings, remember the historical first Thanksgiving, and express gratitude for our religious freedom. Thanksgiving is perhaps my favorite holiday; it’s often a simple gathering with a mighty feast of both food and gratitude. My favorite part of the day is participating in the Cain family prayer song. Before we dig into our meal, thirty or more of us – original Cains, their spouses and families and extended families, and many friends – hold hands and sing “Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart” in a variety of harmonies. This sends shivers through my body as it reverberates through the large room that was once a church sanctuary and in which there have been countless prayers offered and innumerable songs sung. I always think of the bookend verses of Psalm 118 (verses 1 and 29, NIV) on Thanksgiving, but it is wise to remember at the beginning and end of every day of the year: “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.”
Reflection:
-Commit to memory the first and final verses of Psalm 118. Then practice saying them as you wake up for the day and as you tuck yourself back into bed at night.
-Gratitude is an attitude! How can you cultivate more gratitude?
I chose to write about Psalm 100 because of how much we can learn from it despite its shortness. This is a great chapter to read, and it only takes a minute of your whole day. The first thing I would like to point out is that in verse four it says, “Bless his name.” This verse is talking about God and how we should give thanks to him and bless his name. Now if you’re like me you might be thinking, why should we bless God’s name? Well, God blessing us and us blessing God are not the same thing at all. God does not profit from us blessing him. It’s not like he gets stronger or better anytime someone blesses him. On the other hand, when God blesses us, we benefit from it. In this verse, it is talking more about how we should praise him.
Throughout the whole Psalm, it talks about how we should praise God. As a church, I believe we should be more joyful, and excited. This Psalm is a great example of how we should praise God. It tells us we should serve God with gladness, shout joyfully, enter his gates with thanksgiving, and give thanks to God.
Usually when we think of ‘good’ we use it to mean something between ok and great. But in this passage, it is saying that he is righteous and about how great God is. This reminds me of the popular song below:
God is good, all the time
And all the time, God is good.
This Psalm is a great one to meditate on. Here are some points from Psalm 100 that you can meditate on.
God made us
We are the sheep in his pasture
The Lord himself is God
His lovingkindness is everlasting
The Lord is good
His faithfulness continues to all generations
Throughout the whole book of Psalms, it says, “His lovingkindness is everlasting”. In fact, it says it 34 times. Of those 34 times, 26 of them are all in Psalm 136. It even says it in every single verse.
Even in this short Psalm we can take so much from it.
-Makayla Railton
(Originally posted for SeekGrowLove on January 26, 2018)
Reflection Questions
Do you believe the Lord God is good? Why?
How can you work to bless His name today?
Where can you post Psalm 100 to see and remember it often?
Have you ever been hiking in the mountains? Have you heard the crisp cool breeze filtering through the branches of the towering evergreens? The sweet melodies of birds and the rushing mountain stream?
I appreciate that in this Psalm the beauty of God’s creation is intertwined with praising the creator. The psalmist paints a picture for us of the mountains and the rivers singing together for joy. From the creation we can observe the majesty and power of its creator.
This past spring I had the opportunity to hike in the Carpathian mountains of Romania. I did not know that this grueling 12 hour hike was something I was embarking on until the morning of. It was cold, the hike was steep and in some places slick from the packed snow melt. I didn’t know when this hike was going to end as that was a secret my group’s leaders kept a mystery. And all we had to drink was warm sparkling water. At times it felt as though my legs would give out and that I was going to lose strength. But I had to just keep trusting my leaders and asking God for the strength to keep going. It was difficult.
But then we reached the summit. The snow capped peaks and majestic towering mountains surrounded us on almost every side. It was beautiful. From the heights I saw a new perspective than what I had seen prior to the hike. I could see new parts of God’s creation and praise him for the opportunity to explore it.
This is what this Psalm reminds me of. Sometimes after we go through those difficult times in life, we see why we had to climb steep mountain sides. For, without the difficult climb we would not now see the beauty of God’s handiwork. Because of this blessing to see the wonderful things that God has done, we can, as the psalmist writes, “sing to the LORD a new song”.
-Hannah Deane
Reflection Questions
What do you love about God’s creation?
What helps keep you going through the difficult “climbs” and times?
What difficult “climbs” have you gone through that now allow you to “Sing a new song”? How was the new song different from the old song?
The Minnesota Church of God General Conference has campgrounds located on a peninsula. It’s the setting for various church events throughout the year including baptisms and conferences. One of those has been a summer camp. I have fond memories of that camp, and since it’s on a lake there’s always some swimming involved. If you end up touching the bottom of the lake while swimming, you’ll find it’s very muddy. Once it grabs on it doesn’t want to let go.
When reading Psalm 69, this is what came to my mind regarding the first few verses. David is talking about muck and deep waters. In this case, David is relating the waters and the muck where there is no foothold to his enemies and those who hate him, how he is surrounded by them. He goes on throughout the passage to illustrate this over and over again. There is powerful imagery used, like in verse 21, “They also gave me gall for my food And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” He’s talking about how he feels surrounded and just how bad it is for him, tribulation after tribulation.
Yet in the midst of this, the last part of the Psalm is about praising God. Verse 29 marks the change, “But I am afflicted and in pain; May Your salvation, O God, set me securely on high.” He even thanks God. He sets a great example here of being thankful in the bad times, not just the good, as it’s so easy to do. And to bring it back to the mud and water, it can be easy to drown in this sludge. To be overwhelmed. That moment when it all hits and you almost feel lost. But let’s take a page from David here and turn to God in those situations. God should be the rock upon which you build your life so when the water is all around, you have a foundation.
So, to wrap this up: when you’re in a spot like David, and that could be right now, you may be be afflicted, hurting and overwhelmed, but God will secure you.
-Philip Kirkpatrick
Reflection Questions
When have you felt the most stuck? Did you turn to God for salvation? If so, how – and how did God respond?
What can we learn from David in this psalm?
What will you do next time you are feeling overwhelmed or stuck in the muck?
Mark Introduction
The gospel of Mark is thought to have been written by John Mark, a companion of Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey (Acts 12:25), and a close associate of Peter (1 Peter 5:13). Mark’s testimony about Peter is especially vivid, supporting the belief that Mark wrote Peter’s account of Jesus’ ministry.
Mark is the shortest gospel. It contains less of Jesus’ teachings than do either Matthew or Luke, focusing on what Jesus did rather than what He said. It is speculated that Mark wrote his gospel while in Rome to encourage Christians persecuted in Rome under Nero.
Mark starts his gospel by saying this is the beginning of the gospel (good news) about Jesus the Messiah, the son of GOD. But several times in Mark’s gospel, Jesus tells his disciples to not tell who he is (or tell about some of the miracles he did). Also, Mark repeatedly pointed out that the disciples didn’t understand many of Jesus’ teachings – which helps us relate to the disciples.
The words at the beginning of the previous Psalm 52 and Psalm 56 refer to the occasion of David fleeing from King Saul into the hands of Achish, king of Gath. He escaped from there by pretending to be mad (I Samuel 21).
The words at the beginning of this Psalm 57, “David, when he fled from Saul in the cave”, probably refers to the very next verse in 1 Samuel 22:1, where David escaped to the “cave of Adullam”. Eventually his parents joined him there along with about four hundred men who were “in distress”, “in debt”, “depressed”. And he became commander over them”, evidently developing his leadership skills.
Perhaps the bigger the problem, the more opportunity you have to glorify God as you trust his direction in your life. Not to your problem-solving glory, but to your powerful God’s glory.
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge. Show me your grace and favor here, David says. I am alone and discouraged. You are my only refuge. I’m exhausted. I could have died any day this week, but here I am, still running from Saul. What now?
We know life is busy, and we are pulled in many directions. Sometimes it seems that no matter what we decide to do, someone is unhappy — even if they don’t quite kill us. We juggle a lot of extremes and pressures in our lives. What to do?
David seems to carry the chaos of “storms of destruction” on the one hand, and clings to the safety of the “shadow of your wings” with the other hand. What now?
He decides, Yes, I will make my refuge in the shadow of your wings until the storms have passed by. God hides us from danger, gathered beneath his wings. We can survive the competing demands, lifting up our heads, decrying the self-pity. I cry out to God, the Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. He will send from heaven and save me. God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness. David certainly knew the battle advantage to holding the “high ground”. His God, the Most High, has heaven at his bidding and will do it all.
Then, like all of us, he looks down in fear and sees lions slinking about outside the cave and people breathing fire around him and men whose teeth are spears and arrows and whose tongues are sharp-edged swords. Are they rushing the cave, jabbing their spears and talking trash? Am I at school? Am I at work? What to do?
But the other fist comes up in shouts of declaration. Even though his enemies had prepared a snare and dug a trap for him, his enemies fell into it instead
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens Let Your glory be over all the earth.
With a deep breath he determinedly keeps going, My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and make music. Awake! I will awaken the dawn. O Lord I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, and your faithfulness to the clouds..
David didn’t wait for his circumstances to change before he praised God. He was still in a dark cave with pursuers looking to kill him. But he chose to sing. He was scared, hiding in an earthen cave but praising God anyway, thinking about heavens and clouds, God’s steadfast love and faithfulness! Singing?
Is the desperate issue here “God, change my situation?” or is it “Praise you for being my songbird, gathering me under your wings in love; what do you want me to learn from this?” Perhaps David had a lot to learn from those 400 men. Either way, God was his best resource.
In the New Testament Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into stocks in a dank prison with many in pursuit (Acts 16:25-34). And they, too, chose to sing. They were still singing, hurting and bleeding, when God’s earthquake shook the prison foundations and loosed all the doors and bonds to immediate freedom. Which led the frightened jailer to cry, “Sir, what must I do to be saved”?
“And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family.” On the one hand, the jailer was facing death and destruction if these prisoners escaped, for Paul and Silas chose to sing and pray. But on the other hand, this man was rejoicing with his family that he believed in God!
Singing? Earthquake? Have you tried that in the midst of your difficulties? Rejoicing? Believing?
Surely technology could give us instant access to our list of praise songs – at any crushing moment – at any rejection – at any physical danger – at any financial crisis –after we call 911.
God IS our refuge. So write a new song. Just sing!
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens Let Your glory be over all the earth.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
His mercies never come to an end
They are new every morning, new every morning
Great is your faithfulness, O LORD,
Great is your faithfulness.
-Lamentations 3:22-23
Song “The Steadfast Love of the Lord” by Edith McNeill
-Cheryl Ross
Reflection Questions
What can you learn from David?
Have you tried singing and praising God in the midst of your struggles and difficulties? If so, did you find any benefit in doing so?
When will it be helpful for you to remember that your God holds the high ground?
Most people love to claim credit for themselves on any project that went well. They may choose to neglect telling others that there was a group working on the project, and instead claim all the credit for themselves. They may acknowledge the fact that a couple other people helped them, but downplay their contributions to the project. Very few people are going to say that they were part of a group who did something great and emphasize the other people’s contributions to the project.
In Psalm 44, the psalmist says that they heard from their fathers what God did in the past. Their fathers could have easily claimed that they did it all with their own skill. They could have claimed that they drove the people out and possessed the lands by their own power. But, they didn’t. Their fathers could have also easily said that God helped them some, but it was still mostly by their own efforts that they did these things. But, they didn’t. Instead, they said to the Lord their God, “You with Your own hand drove out the nations; Then You planted them; You afflicted the peoples, Then You spread them abroad. For by their own sword they did not possess the land, And their own arm did not save them” (vs 2,3a). They fully acknowledged that God was the one who did all the work. Without God, they could not have done any of these things.
God also works in our lives, like He did in the fathers’ of the psalmist. Most of the time He’s not driving out herds of people before us or possessing lands for us, but He’s still working to do something great in us and for us. When God does something in your life, do you acknowledge that He did it and that it was not by your own strength? When people ask about it, do you tell them it was fully by God that these things happened, or do you briefly acknowledge it but claim you did most of it? We need to acknowledge that God did something great and that it was not by our own power.
-Kaitlyn Hamilton
Reflection Questions
Who do you most often give the credit to when something goes right in your life?
For what events of your personal past can you give God glory? What did He do? What did He save you from? How did He show His strength, power and wisdom?
How can you do a better job of giving God the credit and telling others (including children) what He has done for you? How can this help others, including the next generation?
Today I want to break down a single verse in praise to God and consider what Paul was getting at:
“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:17)
We are quite ready to think of God as a king, since we are so familiar with the language of God’s kingdom from the Old Testament, but God is rarely called “king” in the New Testament. I see Matthew 5:35, here, 1 Timothy 6:15, and Revelation 15:3. The fact that Paul is choosing to use this language at all probably means he is doing something special, trying to point to attributes of God he feels the Ephesians should be dwelling on.
You may recall that New Testament Greek has no word meaning “eternity.” But that concept has been put into English translations where people thought it sounded right. It has been suggested that the history of these insertions was aided by some unhelpful translations of the Greek in Jerome’s Vulgate Latin (back in the fourth century), affecting how later versions were produced. (For example, Revelation 10:6 has a phrase which in the Vulgate is something like “there will be no more time” rather than “there will be no more delay”.) So, the first words of praise in 1 Timothy 1:17 are more like “Now to the King of the ages.”
It has been pointed out before that when the Bible begins it never tries to explain who God is, it assumes the existence of God. There is no great effort put in to describe God as “eternal” in the sense philosophy attaches to that word. It seems obvious that God is beyond the scope of the universe God created, and we accept that God is beyond our understanding. Romans 16:26 is a text with a similar sort of feel.
The next term used to describe God is given in the NASB as “immortal.” In 1 Corinthians 15:53 Paul uses two images to describe how our frail bodies will change with resurrection. In the NASB it says we need to “put on the imperishable” and “put on immortality”. Another way to express those ideas might be to put on “incorruption” (the inability to decay) and “immortality” (the inability to die). The term Paul used in 1 Timothy 1:17 was the one for incorruption or imperishability. Paul referred to God this way one other time, in Romans 1:23. When Paul returned to praising God in 1 Timothy 6:16 he used the other term from 1 Corinthians 15:53, and described God as “immortal,” so the letter does use both words. I guess the NASB put the wrong word in chapter one because they wanted to have a more commonly understood term.
The third term applied to God is “invisible.” The Greek term itself simply takes the word for “visible” and puts “a” at the start to negate it. This kind of word construction happens a lot with terms we are familiar with, like “amoral,” or “agnostic” (“not knowing”). With this word the meaning is a bit ambiguous, maybe saying “invisible,” maybe saying “unseen.” This is another case where Paul returns to the topic in 1 Timothy 6:16. The word is used just a few other places in the New Testament: Romans 1:20, Colossians 1:15 and 16, and Hebrews 11:27.
The fourth point Paul makes is that God is the only God. This is classic Jewish theology, basic day-one stuff. Abraham understood this, Moses stated this clearly in Deuteronomy 6:4. The language Paul uses to describe it I could transliterate in English letters as “mono Theo” – “one God,” close to how monotheism gets its name. For similar language elsewhere in the New Testament you could look at John 5:44, 17:3; Romans 16:27; Jude 4. Of course, other passages of scripture establish that God is the only God, just with different words.
By the way, if you are using a translation that has the phrase “only wise God” and wondered about that, I checked on it in my book that tries to track all the differences in the Greek manuscripts for the New Testament. The committee that produced the book figured that difference pretty certainly got into the text for the King James Version (and thus all the translations that follow from it) by way of a copyist who was remembering the phrasing in Romans 16:27. There are manuscripts from too many lines of transmission without the extra word to think that it was originally in 1 Timothy 1:17. But it is still obviously a legitimate way that Paul wrote about God so there is nothing wrong with the phrase.
The fact that Paul called for “honor” to be given to God brings up John 5:23, where we are told that those who do not honor the son do not honor the Father who sent him. It also brings up John 8:49, where Jesus says that he honors his Father.
That God receives “glory” brings up Romans 16:27, where Paul calls for God to receive glory – and that glory was to come to God through Jesus Christ. Also Philippians 2:11, “that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
The phrase given as “forever and ever” is more like “to the ages of the ages” – as there was no word for eternity to use so this is casting the intention far into the future.
“Amen” – “truly,” or “so be it.” Please be careful what you say Amen to, because it is supposed to mean you are agreeing, and that is supposed to matter.
I suspect that Paul thought his audience would be familiar with a lot of scripture, so it may be necessary to follow up on some of the references I listed to get all the meanings he intended them to see. Particularly it may be necessary to read part of chapter six before everything ties together, as I suspect Paul intentionally linked these two parts to each other.
The single verse we have examined is a prayer, seeking to exalt God. I can’t be sure whether breaking it down this way has caused you to gain insights, but I figure it was worth a try once. Now please put it back together again and take the time to pray Paul’s prayer. Give it time and heart. It’s short, you can say it more than once if you choose. You don’t have to use the words your Bible version offered, you have enough words to choose from now to put it in the terms that make sense to you. And if it strikes a chord with you, maybe you will even choose to memorize it. Amen.
Reflection Questions
Why do you think Paul put a prayer into the middle of his letter to Timothy?
Why do you think Paul emphasized, in his prayer, that God was the King?
How often do you pray to God with just praise? How often with prayers that are not your own words? Have you had experiences of prayer in the past that you look back on with great joy, but that you just haven’t taken the opportunity / effort / whatever to put back into your life recently?
SeekGrowLove.com 