Keep Calm and Read Psalms: Praying for an Opportunity to Witness

I will speak of Your glorious splendor and Your wonderful works. (Psalm 145:5)
Come and listen, all who fear God, and I will tell what He has done for me.
(Psalm 66:16)
My mouth will tell about Your righteousness and Your salvation all day long, though I cannot sum them up. (Psalm 71:15)
...We, Your people,the sheep of Your pasture, will thank You forever;
we will declare Your praise to generation after generation. (Psalm 79:13)
We give thanks to You, God; we give thanks to You,
for Your name is near. People tell about Your wonderful works. (Psalm 75:1)

Lord, give me a message to share, a listener in need of Your love, and the courage to speak up.

Keep Calm and Read Psalms: Praying with Gratitude

I will praise the Lord at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips. (Psalm 34:1)
My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to You
because You have redeemed me. (Psalm 71:23)
Lord my God, You have done many things—
Your wonderful works and Your plans for us;
none can compare with You. (Psalm 40:5)
May the Lord be praised! Day after day He bears our burdens...(Psalm 68:19)
Only goodness and faith love will pursue me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live. (Psalm 23:6)

Thank You Lord for saving me, for planning my future, and for carrying my burdens.

Keep Calm and Read Psalms: Praying for Godliness

Happy are those who keep His decrees
and seek Him with all their heart...
I will praise You with a sincere heart
When I learn Your righteous judgments...
I have sought You with all my heart;
don't let me wander from Your commands.
I have treasured Your word in my heart;
so that I may not sin against You...
Make my steps steady through Your promise;
don't let sin dominate me. (Psalm 119:2,7,10-11,133)

Lord, I want to seek You with all my heart, but I get distracted. Transform me from the inside out, making my attitudes and actions reflect You.

Keep Calm and Read Psalms: Praying for a Constant Awareness of God

At daybreak Lord, You hear my voice;
at daybreak I plead my case to You and watch expectantly. (Psalm 5:3)
Be gracious to me, Lord, for I call to You all day long. (Psalm 86:3)
How I love Your teaching!
It is my meditation all day long. (Psalm 119:97)
The Lord will send His faithful love by day:
His song will be with me in the night—a prayer to the God of my life.
(Psalm 42:8)
You are aware of all my ways...
You have encircled me; You have placed Your hand on me. (Psalm 139:3,5)

Lord, You are aware of everything I do.
Lord, in everything I do, may I be aware of You.

Keep Calm and Read Psalms: Praying in Faith

For You are great and perform wonders;
You alone are God. (Psalm 86:10)
Acknowledge that the Lord is God. He made us, and we are His—
His people, the sheep of His pasture. (Psalm 100:3)
Give the Lord the glory due His name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of [His] holiness. (Psalm 29:2)
I am at rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him.
The Lord values those who fear Him,
those who put their hope in His faithful love. (Psalm 147:11)
You are my hope, Lord God, my confidence from my youth. (Psalm 62:7)

You are great and holy. I praise and trust You today, my hope, my confidence, my wonderful Lord.

Keep Calm and Read Psalms: Praying for Strength

God is our refuge and strength,
a helper who is always found in times of trouble. (Psalm 46:1)
Listen closely to me: rescue me quickly.
Be a rock of refuge for me, a mountain fortress to save me.
For You are my rock and my fortress;
You lead and guide me because of Your name. (Psalm 31:2-3)
I call to You from the ends of the earth when my heart is without strength.
Lead me to a rock that is high above me. (Psalm 61:2)
For who is God besides the Lord? And who is a rock?
Only our God. (Psalm 18:31)
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold;
I will not be shaken. (Psalm 62:2)

I praise You, God, for Your limitless resources of strength. Thank You for loving me and encouraging me, my Refuge, my Helper, my Rock.

Keep Calm and Read Psalms: Praying for Protection

You are my hiding place; You protect me from trouble.
You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance. (Psalm 32:7)
When I am afraid, I will trust in You. (Psalm 56:3)
In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord whose word I praise,
In God I trust; I will not fear. What can man do to me? (Psalm 56:10-11)
You have been a refuge for me,
a strong tower in the face of the enemy. (Psalm 61:3)
For the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord gives grace and glory;
He does not withhold the good from those who live with integrity. (Psalm 84:11)

When I am afraid, Lord, help me not only to trust, but to praise!

Keep Calm and Read Psalms: Praying for Light

The Light of the World brings light to our hearts. This enlightenment begins when we believe in Jesus Christ as Savior. Then, for the rest of our lives, whenever we face the darkness of uncertainty or despair, Christ the Light continues to brighten our lives, illuminating and guiding us with the knowledge of His will.

Lord, You light my lamp; my God illuminates my darkness. (Psalm 18:28)
The revelation of Your words brings light and gives understanding to the inexperienced.
(Psalm 119:130)
Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path. (Psalm 119:105)
You guide me with Your counsel, and afterwards You will take me up in glory.
(Psalm 73:24)
Open my eyes so that I may see wonderful things in Your law. (Psalm 119:18)

Lord, I ask You to reveal truth to me today. Fill me with the knowledge of Your will, and guide my feet on Your path.


Looking for other 31 Day series? Look here.

Keep Calm and Read Psalms: Calling on God

All my blogging friends seem to have a 31 Days of Something or Other this month. I thought I'd jump into the trend. I'm calling it "Keep Calm and Read Psalms."

The book of Psalms gives us a pattern for praying honestly as well as eloquently—not because God doesn't hear simple spur-of-the-moment prayers (He does!), but because, when circumstances allow, He is worthy of thoughtful meditative prayer. Praying the Psalms also inserts a note of triumphant praise into our prayers, lifting our gaze from our needs and our requests to focus on the Lord Himself.

Sometimes I pray a Psalm exactly as it is written, whispering the words of Scripture directly to God. Other times I meditate on the words of a Psalm and respond to God with a prayer prompted by His word.

Today's Psalms share a theme of calling on God.

Call to Me in a day of trouble;
I will rescue you, and you will honor Me. (Psalm 50:15)
I call on You, God, because You will answer me;
listen closely to me;
hear what I say. (Psalm 17:6)
Know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for Himself;
the Lord will hear when I call to Him. (Psalm 4:3)
Be gracious to me, Lord,
for I call to You all day long.
Bring joy to Your servant's life,
since I set my hope on You, Lord.
For You, Lord, are kind and ready to forgive,
abundant in faithful love to all who call on You. (Psalm 86:3-5)
... I call to You for help, Lord;
in the morning my prayer meets You. (Psalm 88:13)

My valuable toe

I was reading Matthew 1 a few days ago--all those names. They represent generations of the Lord's earthly family, listed one by one. Some of the names are very familiar while others are hardly mentioned in the scriptures. Yet each one of those people was valuable to God. God knew, throughout history, the role each would play in the centuries that led up to the birth of Jesus.

In a very vivid way, I realized the value of things that seem tiny. I stubbed a toe. Not the biggest toe, not the smallest toe, a toe in the middle that until I stubbed it, I wouldn't have thought of as particularly valuable.

And of course my youngest daughter stepped on my toe twice the same day I stubbed it. I felt terribly cheated that my toe didn't turn a spectacular shade of purple. I had only a small bruise but I was very aware of it every time I took a step!

It was such a tiny thing, but it really made a difference in my daily life when it was injured!

Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts... (Romans 12:4-6)

Do you feel about as valuable as a tiny toe today? You are valuable to God.