Praying Through Psalms

THE VERSE in the Cruciform Beads is core to our faith: "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?" (Psalm 27:1). Place your fears in Jesus's hands. Imagine yourself doing that. After you put your fear in his hands, watch. What does Jesus do with your fear? Journal.

WHAT A MAGNIFICENT LAMENT! Nothing is left out: to you I lift up my soul, let me not be put to shame, teach me your paths, make me to know your ways, remember your mercy, bring me out of my distresses, consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins. Amen.

What part of this psalm will you carry with you today? Will it be to remember that the friendship of the Lord belongs to those who fear him, or to beseech the Lord to guard your soul, or to ask him to deliver you? Or will it be that integrity will preserve you as you wait upon the Lord? Or another?

PSALM 24 BEGINS WITH THE REMINDER that "the earth is the Lord's"; he created it, he sustains it, he saves it, and he is the earth's owner. He is also the Creator of all who live on the earth. We depend on the Lord of heaven and earth because we live in his world.

The gates and the "everlasting doors" the writer of this psalm is referring to are both the entrance to the temple on Mt. Zion and the spiritual gates to God's heavenly kingdom. The gates are opened in recognition that the king of the earth has arrived.

Although this imagery is of a city and its gates, we can personalize this. Are there gates or entrances in your life that you joyfully open to let in the King of Glory? Is there a gate you have locked that the Lord is asking you to open for him?

PSALM 23 IS WRITTEN IN METAPHOR. When we look with our Christian lens, we easily see Jesus in this poem written so long ago. This poem can be both personal and a remembrance of how God cared for the nation of Israel.

In John 10:11 Jesus says, " I am the good shepherd." Christians know that Jesus restores our souls and leads us in the way of righteousness. Jesus is with us in our troubles, and it is he who prepares a (Eucharist) tabele for us in the presence of evil, even as he cares for us with his steadfast love all the days of our lives.

BOTH PSALM 19 AND PSALM 119 instruct us that the Word of the Lord is the best place to learn the sacred way of living.

James L. Mays says of this psalm, "The world (gives witness) to God. The creation manifests the glory of its creator. The psalm offers us...a vision of poetic imaginative personification. It is based on the notion, not uncommon in biblical thinking, that every created thing has the capacity of a creature to acknowledge its originator" (20).

In support of Mays' interpretation, Romans 1:19-20 says, "For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

The second book in this series is: MEDITATIONS AND PRAYERS From the Old and New Testaments: A Guide for Contemplative Prayer Using Anglican Prayer Beads. It can be found on Amazon or wherever books are sold.

MEDITATE on Psalm 84:5: "Blessed are those whose strength is in you who have set their hearts on pilgrimage." What does it mean for you to be on pilgrimage with the Lord? Pray. Journal.

Check out the new prayer book: MEDITATIONS AND PRAYERS From the Old and New Testaments: A Guide for Contemplative Prayer Using Anglican Prayer Beads. Found on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Prayers-Old-Testaments-Contemplative/dp/0999290479/ref=sr_1_2?crid=134B1DI0C74IX&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.LmyHuscBjkApmQZI4SX3e5LcCLCjQt2TvTgNFe_SCwbGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.kOJI4zCGlpVPs9Z4wmayLrlNPcxswOBbdeHifXt-Yy0&dib_tag=se&keywords=Meditating+and+praying+cindy+hamilton&qid=1772908283&s=books&sprefix=meditating+and+praying+cindy+hamilton%2Cstripbooks%2C186&sr=1-2

THIS IS ONE of my favorite psalms. I hope you will read the whole psalm and savor the hyperbole.

Consider the second set of beads: "He sent from on high, he took me: he drew me out of many waters. He rescued me from my strong enemy." Your strong enemy could be a life event, emotions that are disproportionate to the circumstances in your life, or even a spiritual power of darkness. Imagine the Lord reaching down and rescuing you from the waters of your strong enemy. Let the Lord embrace you, hold you, and breathe rescue into your soul.

Look also at the third set of beads: "He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me." Do you believe that God delights in you? Spend some time with the Lord and ask him to help your unbelief. Ask the Lord what he thinks of you and how he describes you. Listen. Journal.

THERE IS A SECOND BOOK in this series: MEDITATIONS AND PRAYERS From the Old and New Testaments: A Guide for Contemplative Prayer Using Anglican Prayer Beads. You can find it on Amazon or order it wherever books are sold.

THE THIRD SET of seven beads in the psalm says, "Keep me as the apple of your eye." Do you have trouble believing you are the apple of the Father's eye? If so, begin journaling phrases and verses in the following meditations that confirm this is true. Remember that Christ died for you and allow yourself to enjoy the truth that God has deemed you worthy of that sacrifice. Indeed, only for the "apple of God's eye" would Christ die.

If the Psalmist teaches us anything, it is that we will have trouble. Jesus confirms this reality in John 16:33. In the midst of the trouble, the writers of the Psalms show us how to cry out to God in our grief and our sorrow, and God answers. David Muyskens wrote, "Prayer did not deliver me from grief but grief became my prayer." This pathway of consolation is what the Psalmist expresses, as well as the hope of glory in God's presence

PSALM 13 is the shortest prayer for help in the Psalter. It provides a wonderful framework for our cries to the Lord. It begins with "How long, O Lord?" I find I often approach the Lord in this way. Usually my enemy is my own sin, sin I have struggled with in varying degrees for years. The Psalmist continues with what will happen if the Lord does not rescue him He closes with wonderful statements of faith and expectation:

"But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me." These true statements of faith make my heart soar.

Let's join the writer of the psalm and trust God's unfailing love and salvation. Let us remember all his goodness to us.

Today is Ash Wednesday I invite you to a time in the Psalms during Lent. Each Wednesday during Lent I invite you to pray these Psalms with or without Prayer Beads.

YOU MAY OR MAY NOT relate to the Psalmists's description of flooding his bed with tears, but anxious thoughts may keep you awake at night. When anxious thoughts cause your heart to mourn, then with the Psalmist pray, "Save my life; deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love."

You can find this book on Amazon and the second in the series:

Meditations and Prayers from the Old and New Testament: A Guide to Contemplative Prayer Using Anglican Prayer Beads.

https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Prayers-Old-Testaments-Contemplative/dp/0999290479/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2GS4I7KQ29P4B&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ywkRt9L8SC5dUMMPzqySzJMvq25sA_2xtJgfRTmL8BhZrOv8aUh2L0WS27mHdguh-a3kutpM8Iyuj9VAt46iFHg3AJB_i2_4IQ2xGmrlpA1Tz2Cxq4ZBUd-gRnfWARjQoA1sSUIGUXkfHPB9tOjNjFURHvDOHR21tdr5z8ABHsSDnFzmOjFSKacZKHU_RAAzIU4H8YQ5HCCzaM4_-NCOBAm7EB1yqCE12LS2QEzOdqw.4QVfvZ7FBad3uBzcaPpdEFU4qkKf4eM2qVCpQwXY7xc&dib_tag=se&keywords=meditations+and+prayers+from+the+old+and+new+testaments&qid=1751830936&sprefix=Meditations+and+prayers%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-1