Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Prayer


Did you catch Psalm 19 contains the prayer I pray every time before I preach.  One of the pastors from my childhood always used the words and they have stuck with me.  They really calm my nerves and center me as I get ready to preach.  I often pray the words as I prepare for sermons, blogs, and bible studies as well!  “May the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart (all our hearts together) be acceptable in thy sight.  O Lord, our rock and our redeemer!”

The opening verse of Psalm 20 hit me today.  David begins by praying for others.  In “churchy” words we call this intercessory prayer—praying for someone else!  Who are you praying for?  Who has prayed for you? Why do you pray for others?  There is certainly power in prayer—and I spend much time praying for others.  I was thankful for new words to pray for others.  Who was the last person you prayed for?  How did that work out?

Powerful God—Thank you for giving us the words to pray.  Thank you for giving us the words to pray for the people we love.  Love them.  Bless them.  Protect them.  In your name we pray, Amen.

Blessings—
Pastor Emily

4 comments:

Mom said...

Psalm 19- I like that we can all look up and see God's glory in the sky- everyone under the sky can see God's greatness! I also like that he asks forgiveness for both willful and hidden sins- even those things we did without knowing that they were wrong.
Psalm 20-My Bible says this was a prayer of the king and his people before a battle. Trusting God to help them (and us) through a crisis or hard time.
This week I am praying for Carol and the medical team she is with in Haiti. I can use this Psalm to ask God to protect them, help and support them and to make their plans succeed.

Martha Jane Orlando said...

Gotta love Psalm 19! That's exactly where I took the new title for my devotions - Meditations of my Heart. That you pray this before you preach is a comfort to me, too, as my former minister always did so.
Yes, I do pray for others and keep the list of persons by my computer so I will remember to do so.
Blessings!

Lynne Watts said...

Love your new devotions Martha!

I also love this verse; Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me.

It is often so easy to see the errors of others and pray for their eyes to be opened but to lift ourselves up as full of "hidden" and perhaps not so hidden faults... there's a challenge!

Lindsay said...

The verses you pray in Psalm 19 are the ones that spoke out strongest when I read this today... that needs to be my prayer everyday!