Prayer of Thanks For God's Help Inspired By the Kid's Song "Give Me Oil In My Lamp"
Monday August 10, 2020
Oil In My Lamp
“Give Me Oil In My Lamp”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt_4cTQw8y8
Well I learned something today. I would hope I learn something every day but certain bits of information stand out sometimes.
As I’m sure many of you have done, in Sunday school and beyond we sang the song “Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning.”. There were lots of verses and many got made up over the years. There were lots of ways to sing this song. it was a campfire hit every year at church camps as well.
I just came across the verse in the Bible behind the song. Never knew there was one.
You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.
Psalm 18:28
I might have thought it came from a story Jesus told of 10 virgins going to a wedding. 5 were prepared with extra oil for their lamps and 5 were not. This was a story often used to help us be ready when Jesus comes back to earth at the end of time.
What I find lovely about this verse and this picture from the Bible which was written by King David when God was delivering him from lots of enemies including king Saul who tried to kill him over and over again.
We live in dangerous times and not just from the pandemic. God is with us today to be our light, our safe place, our hope, and our joy. Let’s use some of the words of this Psalm today as we give thanks for the many times and many ways that God has been with us and the amazing ways He has saved us and lifted us up. We’ll make the verses personal by keeping the pronouns on “You.” Let’s pray together.
1 I love you, Lord;
you are my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock,
my fortress, and my savior;
my God is my rock,
in whom I find protection.
He is my shield,
the power that saves me,
and my place of safety.
3 I called on the Lord,
who is worthy of praise,
and he saved me
from my enemies.
Psalm 18:1-3
16 He reached down from
heaven and rescued me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
17 He rescued me
from my powerful enemies,
from those who hated me
and were too strong for me.
18 They attacked me
at a moment when I was in distress,
but the Lord supported me.
19 He led me to a place of safety;
he rescued me
because he delights in me.
Psalm 18:16-19
25 To the faithful
you show yourself faithful;
to those with integrity
you show integrity.
26 To the pure
you show yourself pure,
but to the crooked
you show yourself shrewd.
27 You rescue the humble,
but you humiliate the proud.
28 You light a lamp for me.
The Lord, my God,
lights up my darkness.
29 In your strength
I can crush an army;
with my God I can scale any wall.
Psalm 18:25-29
30 God’s way is perfect.
All the Lord’s promises
prove true.
He is a shield for all
who look to him for protection.
31 For who is God except the Lord?
Who but our God is a solid rock?
32 God arms me with strength,
and he makes my way perfect.
Psalm 18:30-32
46 The Lord lives!
Praise to my Rock!
May the God of my salvation
be exalted!
47 He is the God who
pays back those who harm me;
he subdues the nations under me
48 and rescues me from my enemies.
You hold me safe
beyond the reach of my enemies;
you save me from violent opponents.
49 For this, O Lord,
I will praise you among the nations;
I will sing praises to your name.
Psalm 18:46-49
Just got fun, click on the link in the notes below the video for a version of “Give Me Oil In My Lamp”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt_4cTQw8y8
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