First Fifteen

God is just and is concerned with justice.  The Psalms affirm this repeatedly.  Rulers who act like they are above the law or they *are* the law, like they are gods somehow, are in for a rude awakening.  God judges them and finds them lacking.  He will step in to restore justice when they don't.

If you are getting started in a relationship with God, trying to have a quiet time or seeking guidance at this point in your life, you're in the right place.

Spend your first fifteen minutes of the day listening to God and responding in a personal way.  This podcast will show you how and teach you in an easy to follow process.

In fifteen minutes (or less) you will listen to God's word for you, reflect on it and learn to pray to God as well as carry that word with you through the rest of your day.  What a perfect way to get started!

We are listening to Psalm 82 from Book 3 of the Psalms.  It is a psalm of Asaph and it calls on God to judge the "gods" or rulers who fail to act justly and take the side of the wicked.  God's justice is rooted in his nature of goodness and righteousness, and he takes the side of the oppressed, the weak and those who cry out for mercy.  God will restore his creation back to its intended order and rightness.

Go ahead and get started listening and follow/subscribe to this podcast to hear more from God's word. 

As we get into season three get a copy of the book God Help Me Grow: Learning to Pray through the Psalms on Amazon (or the ebook) so you can pray all of the first 30 psalms in the book of Psalms.

Download the helpsheet that details and demonstrates the four step process we use on First Fifteen using Psalm 1.

Additional resources at the Word of Prayer website https://word-of-prayer.com  

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Why do the wicked prosper and get away with doing wrong?  Aren't the righteous supposed to be blessed and the wicked be judged?  But the wicked are partying like they own the place!  It's enough to make you question God. 

If you are getting started in a relationship with God, trying to have a quiet time or seeking guidance at this point in your life, you're in the right place.

Spend your first fifteen minutes of the day listening to God and responding in a personal way.  This podcast will show you how and teach you in an easy to follow process.

In fifteen minutes (or less) you will listen to God's word for you, reflect on it and learn to pray to God as well as carry that word with you through the rest of your day.  What a perfect way to get started!

We are listening to Psalm 73 which begins Book 3 of the Psalms.  It is a psalm of Asaph and it wrestles with some big questions.  The prosperity and boasts of the wicked is enough to make you want to give up the faith or question what's the point of accepting God's limits.  Read and meditate on this entire psalm and you will see a glimpse of the bigger picture.    

Go ahead and get started listening and follow/subscribe to this podcast to hear more from God's word. 

As we get into season three get a copy of the book God Help Me Grow: Learning to Pray through the Psalms on Amazon (or the ebook) so you can pray all of the first 30 psalms in the book of Psalms.

Download the helpsheet that details and demonstrates the four step process we use on First Fifteen using Psalm 1.

Additional resources at the Word of Prayer website https://word-of-prayer.com  

Support the show

There is fierce opposition to faith today, both from opposing voices and sometimes from our own wayward doubts and thoughts.  The challenge is to listen to the truth, to develop a lifelong faith like Psalm 71 demonstrates.  

If you are getting started in a relationship with God, trying to have a quiet time or seeking guidance at this point in your life, you're in the right place.

Spend your first fifteen minutes of the day listening to God and responding in a personal way.  This podcast will show you how and teach you in an easy to follow process.

In fifteen minutes (or less) you will listen to God's w/Sin/ord for you, reflect on it and learn to pray to God as well as carry that word with you through the rest of your day.  What a perfect way to get started!

We are listening to Psalm 71.  It is a lesser known psalm but it prepares us to think long-term about our choices and our faith in God.  Will we grow old and have more confidence and faith in God regardless?  This psalm shows us to way to do that.  

Go ahead and get started listening and follow/subscribe to this podcast to hear more from God's word. 

As we get into season three get a copy of the book God Help Me Grow: Learning to Pray through the Psalms on Amazon (or the ebook) so you can pray all of the first 30 psalms in the book of Psalms.

Download the helpsheet that details and demonstrates the four step process we use on First Fifteen using Psalm 1.

Additional resources at the Word of Prayer website https://word-of-prayer.com  

Support the show

What do you do when you feel shaken?  Psalm 11:3 asks "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?"  Our prayer today is meant to take our focus off of the place that is shaken and to put it on the only place that is unshakeable-the rock and fortress that our God is.

If you are getting started in a relationship with God, trying to have a quiet time or seeking guidance at this point in your life, you're in the right place.

Spend your first fifteen minutes of the day listening to God and responding in a personal way.  This podcast will show you how and teach you in an easy to follow process.

In fifteen minutes (or less) you will listen to God's w/Sin/ord for you, reflect on it and learn to pray to God as well as carry that word with you through the rest of your day.  What a perfect way to get started!

We are listening to Psalm 62.  It is a psalm of confidence, but it is well-suited to times like now when things around us and in us are in upheaval.  The main message of the psalm is repeated twice in a refrain (vv. 1-2 and 5-6), and the prayer ends focusing on two truths about God:  he is all-powerful and all-loving.  Only in God and by faith can we proclaim that. 

Go ahead and get started listening and follow/subscribe to this podcast to hear more from God's word. 

As we get into season three get a copy of the book God Help Me Grow: Learning to Pray through the Psalms on Amazon (or the ebook) so you can pray all of the first 30 psalms in the book of Psalms.

Download the helpsheet that details and demonstrates the four step process we use on First Fifteen using Psalm 1.

Additional resources at the Word of Prayer website https://word-of-prayer.com  

Support the show

The Psalms give us language for our heart's longings and for our own prayers.  There is a tremendous difference, though, between saying the right words and living fully the power of those words. God isn't interested in giving us a quick fix.  He wants to restore us completely.

If you are getting started in a relationship with God, trying to have a quiet time or seeking guidance at this point in your life, you're in the right place.

Spend your first fifteen minutes of the day listening to God and responding in a personal way.  This podcast will show you how and teach you in an easy to follow process.

In fifteen minutes (or less) you will listen to God's w/Sin/ord for you, reflect on it and learn to pray to God as well as carry that word with you through the rest of your day.  What a perfect way to get started!

We are listening to Psalms 42-431, the beginning of Book 2 in the Psalms.  The opening words are probably familiar: "As a deer pants for water, so my soul pants for you." But our desire is often not enough to get us into God's presence.  We may long to worship him freely with God's people and we cannot, either due to sickness or we are far from our spiritual home or another reason.  Besides that, we learn that haters are mocking and undermining faith in God and it leads our psalmist deeper into depression. 

Using the image of water in many different forms, we go on a journey with the psalmist.  He repeats the same refrain three times, but it means very different things as he tries to lift himself out of his despair remembering times of earlier communion with God.  It doesn't work.  Finally he turns to God in prayer and praise and things shift.   

Go ahead and get started listening and follow/subscribe to this podcast to hear more from God's word. 

As we get into season three get a copy of the book God Help Me Grow: Learning to Pray through the Psalms on Amazon (or the ebook) so you can pray all of the first 30 psalms in the book of Psalms.

Download the helpsheet that details and demonstrates the four step process we use on First Fifteen using Psalm 1.

Additional resources at the Word of Prayer website https://word-of-prayer.com  

Support the show

Jesus emphasized mercy and said it's what God desires from us.  We certainly need mercy.  So why do we hold back from showing more mercy to others?  It's a heart issue, and Psalm 41 today shows us both the blessing of mercy and the ugliness when no mercy is given. 

If you are getting started in a relationship with God, trying to have a quiet time or seeking guidance at this point in your life, you're in the right place.

Spend your first fifteen minutes of the day listening to God and responding in a personal way.  This podcast will show you how and teach you in an easy to follow process.

In fifteen minutes (or less) you will listen to God's w/Sin/ord for you, reflect on it and learn to pray to God as well as carry that word with you through the rest of your day.  What a perfect way to get started!

We are listening to Psalm 41, the last psalm in Book 1 of the Psalms.  Just as Psalm 1 started with a blessing on the righteous, Psalm 41 starts with a blessing on the merciful.  Appropriately it ends with a praised-filled blessing on Yahweh, the God of Israel, who is the source of all righteousness and mercy.  Psalm 41 also delves into the complexities of healing and forgiveness, both of which our psalmist needed.  Instead of receiving mercy and compassion from the community and close friends, he receives ugly, treacherous treatment.  Instead of becoming bitter, the psalmist puts his focus on God's deliverance and healing and is restored.  There's a lot going on in just 13 verses!   

Another touchstone verse to meditate on arising from this psalm is Matthew 5:7.  "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."    

Go ahead and get started listening and follow/subscribe to this podcast to hear more from God's word. 

As we get into season three get a copy of the book God Help Me Grow: Learning to Pray through the Psalms on Amazon (or the ebook) so you can pray all of the first 30 psalms in the book of Psalms.

Download the helpsheet that details and demonstrates the four step process we use on First Fifteen using Psalm 1.

Additional resources at the Word of Prayer website https://word-of-prayer.com  

Support the show

Is this a tough time in your life?  Maybe you struggle with doubt or discouragement,  sickness, enemies or opponents, feeling abandoned, or being falsely accused.  Do any of these describe your situation?  Psalm 27 is a powerful weapon we pick up to deal with these.

If you are getting started in a relationship with God, trying to have a quiet time or seeking guidance at this point in your life, you're in the right place.

Spend your first fifteen minutes of the day listening to God and responding in a personal way.  This podcast will show you how and teach you in an easy to follow process.

In fifteen minutes (or less) you will listen to God's w/Sin/ord for you, reflect on it and learn to pray to God as well as carry that word with you through the rest of your day.  What a perfect way to get started!

We are listening to Psalm 27 today and talking about confidence.  This psalm doesn't say you have to summon up the strength and confidence from within yourself.  You transcend fear and feelings by focusing on God and obeying his command to put your faith in him.  Spend time in his presence.  Let him minister to you and build a fortress around you.  Listen to these 14 verses and meditate on them.  Pick out a line or section that speaks to your heart and repeat it to yourself.  Make it your prayer today.  The reading of Psalm 27 starts at 2:00 and goes to 4:20.  There is also an example of a prayer taken from Psalm 27 at 6:40 to 7:35.   

Other psalms of confidence include: 16, 18, 23, and 91.  There are others as well, and we'll return to this theme in this season.  You can pray and meditate any of these to grow your confidence in God. 

Go ahead and get started listening and follow/subscribe to this podcast to hear more from God's word. 

As we get into season three get a copy of the book God Help Me Grow: Learning to Pray through the Psalms on Amazon (or the ebook) so you can pray all of the first 30 psalms in the book of Psalms.

Download the helpsheet that details and demonstrates the four step process we use on First Fifteen using Psalm 1.

Additional resources at the Word of Prayer website https://word-of-prayer.com  

Support the show

You’ve done wrong and you don’t want to admit it.  How long do you keep quiet about it?  Psalm 32 talks about that situation and then trains us in the best way to handle it.  When we delay or defend ourselves, we're just prolonging a long slow death.

If you are getting started in a relationship with God, trying to have a quiet time or seeking guidance at this point in your life, you're in the right place.

Spend your first fifteen minutes of the day listening to God and responding in a personal way.  This podcast will show you how and teach you in an easy to follow process.

In fifteen minutes (or less) you will listen to God's w/Sin/ord for you, reflect on it and learn to pray to God as well as carry that word with you through the rest of your day.  What a perfect way to get started!

We are listening to Psalm 32 today and talking about forgiveness, specifically our need for God's forgiveness.  When we delay confession or justify our sin, we end up suffering.  God is quick to forgive and to hide our sin so that it can never be recorded against us or used to condemn us.  But that doesn't work if we on our own try to hide our sin from God and others.  Read and meditate on this psalm and let it lead you to rapid repentance over any sin you've not confessed or dealt with before God.    

The penitential psalms include: 6, 32, 38, 51, 103, 130 and 143 (these are the Hebrew numbers; in Catholic and Orthodox Bibles the numbers are off by one).  We hear of these seven psalms being used in the early church by the fifth century and that could be based on an even earlier tradition.  They were prayed especially during Lent, the 40 days of fasting leading up to Easter.  Each of these psalms of forgiveness show us different things about the experience of confession and being reconciled in our relationship with God due to sin.  

Go ahead and get started listening and follow/subscribe to this podcast to hear more from God's word. 

As we get into season three get a copy of the book God Help Me Grow: Learning to Pray through the Psalms on Amazon (or the ebook) so you can pray all of the first 30 psalms in the book of Psalms.

Download the helpsheet that details and demonstrates the four step process we use on First Fifteen using Psalm 1.

Additional resources at the Word of Prayer website https://word-of-prayer.com  

Support the show

Waiting.  It's hardly my favorite activity.  For most people waiting is a waste of time, a tedious postponement of our life.  But waiting is precious to God.  Psalm 25 teaches us what to do while we're waiting.

If you are getting started in a relationship with God, trying to have a quiet time or seeking guidance at this point in your life, you're in the right place.

Spend your first fifteen minutes of the day listening to God and responding in a personal way.  This podcast will show you how and teach you in an easy to follow process.

In fifteen minutes (or less) you will listen to God's w/Sin/ord for you, reflect on it and learn to pray to God as well as carry that word with you through the rest of your day.  What a perfect way to get started!

We are listening to Psalm 25 in this episode and the theme is waiting.  Psalm 25 is a lament, and lament is really about waiting and growing in the process.  This acrostic psalm shows artistry in its arrangement and depth in the range of themes that is tackles.  Some of the poetry is hard to appreciate in translation, but the main messages come through clearly. 

Here are some of the "power ideas" mentioned in the episode:  trust, shame-disgrace, teach-guide, path-ways, God's love (and goodness), sin, covenant, fear God, troubles-suffering, deliverance-salvation. 

Go ahead and get started listening and follow/subscribe to this podcast to hear more from God's word. 

As we get into season three get a copy of the book God Help Me Grow: Learning to Pray through the Psalms on Amazon (or the ebook) so you can pray all of the first 30 psalms in the book of Psalms.

In the spirit of the acrostic psalm, here are some of the clusters I mentioned for you to meditate on and use in prayer:  Trust/Truth/Troubles,  Shame/Sin/Salvation, prayers to God-Teach me/Love me/Deliver me.

Download the helpsheet that details and demonstrates the four step process we use on First Fifteen using Psalm 1.

Additional resources at the Word of Prayer website https://word-of-prayer.com  

Support the show

Are you ready to worship?  If it has been a while since you worshiped with God's people, Psalm 24 may be just the thing to get you ready for worship.  It helps us answer the question:  How do we enter God's presence?

If you are getting started in a relationship with God, trying to have a quiet time or seeking guidance at this point in your life, you're in the right place.

Spend your first fifteen minutes of the day listening to God and responding in a personal way.  This podcast will show you how and teach you in an easy to follow process.

In fifteen minutes (or less) you will listen to God's word for you, reflect on it and learn to pray to God as well as carry that word with you through the rest of your day.  What a perfect way to get started!

We listen to Psalm 24 in our episode today and it's words are probably familiar, but I think we fail to grasp the setting and message of this entire psalm.  It comes from the days of Israel's frequent battles with their enemies (3000 years ago!) when they brought the ark of the covenant back to its resting place in the sanctuary.  As they entered the gates of the holy city, the Levites stopped people at the great doors and a question/answer exchange took place (see Ps 24:3-6).  Listen to the entire episode to gain a deeper appreciation for the background of this psalm and also three key points to help apply it to your own worship and prayer time with God.   

Go ahead and get started listening and follow/subscribe to this podcast to hear more from God's word. 

As we get into season three get a copy of the book God Help Me Grow: Learning to Pray through the Psalms on Amazon (or the ebook) so you can pray all of the first 30 psalms in the book of Psalms.

For this episode we edited down the original recording which had four more minutes of background and content about Israel's history and scriptures that illustrate it.  If you are interested to hear those, send an email to [email protected].  Also, if you want to study scripture references for background look at  Deut 20:1-5, 1 Sam 4, 7:1, 2 Sam 6:12-18 and 1 Kings 8:1-6.  The larger context is found in the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and1-2 Samuel.

Download the helpsheet that details and demonstrates the four step process we use on First Fifteen using Psalm 1.

Additional resources at the Word of Prayer website https://word-of-prayer.com  

Support the show