Prayer With Words That "Hit The Spot"

 50 WORDS OR LESS

The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me. Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.

Psalm 116:5-7 NIV

Less than 50 words.  It took me less than 20 seconds to read those words aloud.  It will take me something beyond my lifetime to fully appreciate and understand the incredible love and care they speak of.

Another paraphrase translation of these verses puts it this way:

God is gracious—it is he who makes things right, our most compassionate God. God takes the side of the helpless; when I was at the end of my rope, he saved me. I said to myself, “Relax and rest. God has showered you with blessings.

Psalm 116:5-7 MSG

And what about this paraphrase.  It uses more words but look at the lovely thoughts it brings to mind:

He was so kind, so gracious to me. Because of his passion toward me, he made everything right and he restored me. So I’ve learned from my experience that God protects the childlike and humble ones. For I was broken and brought low, but he answered me and came to my rescue!  Now I can say to myself and to all, “Relax and rest, be confident and serene, for the Lord rewards fully those who simply trust in him.”

Psalm 116:5-7 TPT

It doesn’t take a lot of words when the message is on target.  We are so often looking for people in public office and places of power to show empathy as they speak don’t we?  That’s certainly the case as we go through more lockdowns.  I’m thinking today of seniors who are stuck in long term care facilities – already 9 months without being able to be with family.  A dear friend of ours will celebrate her 90^th birthday tomorrow and we can’t take a cake or cards or do any of the things we would normally do to celebrate this milestone birthday with her.  So many other seniors and families with someone with an underlying condition are in lockdown that has already been long and seems like it will never end. 

In these challenging times no one has more empathy for us than our God.  He’s ready to give us comfort, reassurance, and encouragement.  His words to us “hit the spot” and we find that kind of relief that allows us to take a deep breath and know that we are going to be alright.

And so we pray with confidence today:

Lord, pour our Your kindness and grace on us today.  Everything is out of whack and it’s beyond us to make it right.  We ask today for protection for ourselves and our loved ones during this time of great need.  One of those translations said something about when we are “at the end of our rope” you save us.  That’s where we often feel these days – at the end of our rope.

But today we speak blessing to our own souls.  We bless our minds to remember the many ways God has been good to us and showered us with kindness, been there for us in our time of need.  Along with the Psalmist we can truly say:

When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.

Psalm 94:19 NIV

Please do it again for us today.  We’ll not stretch our strength and our emotions by worrying about tomorrow or next week.  We will just live in today but we need Your help to make something good of this one day.

Whenever my busy thoughts were out of control, the soothing comfort of your presence calmed me down and overwhelmed me with delight. Psalm 94:19 TPT

When our thoughts and emotions get out of control, help us to take a moment and allow the soothing comfort of Your presence to calm us down and even overwhelm us with delight.

As we’ve said so many times, we don’t quite know how You do it but we know You do and we invite You to do it once more today.  Cover us and fill us with Your love and grace.  We are simple-heart people in great need but with confidence and trust we take a deep breath and relax in Your goodness generously poured out for us right now.  Come Holy Spirit.  We receive You into every thought, every emotion, every question, every frustration.  Come and soothe and renew and refresh us with Your kind and tender presence.  We will walk in the light of Your love today.  Amen