Today is November 8

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”

Today’s reading is from Psalm 22.

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the LORD,” they say,
“let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.

This is a Psalm of lament, full of emotions, grief, and pain. It is a messianic Psalm, and we hear these words repeated from Jesus on the cross. And yet, this line: “from my mothers womb you have been my God; do not be far from me”. We know that on the cross, Jesus laments the loss of the Father. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, he cries. Allow yourself to consider places of lament in your own life. Can you invite God to ‘not be far from you’ right now?

Are there places where trouble feels near to you? Do you feel alone – as though there is no one to help? Can you use the words of this psalm to pour out your heart to God?

“…in you they trusted and were not put to shame”. We know that Christ was ultimately not put to shame. He was vindicated through his resurrection from the dead. But he first experienced deep humiliation through the cross. As we end our time of prayer today, what might it mean for you to put your trust in the Lord? Is there a specific situation or person that you struggle to trust God for? Something that feels like a humiliation or a loss? Take time now to ask God for the grace to trust in Him and to await his vindication.

Music Credit:
"My Soul Depends On You" - Vineyard Worship (YouTube)