The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 113:1-9 (day five)

“Blessed be the name of the Lord From this time forth and forever.”
Is there ever a time or moment when God could/should not be praised?  Not according to Psalm 113. Maybe asking that same question in a positive perspective would be better. When could/should God be praised?  According to Psalm 113, always. The intent of the psalmist is to Bless/Praise the Lord always (moving forward).  He then describes life from two extremes. When the world seems right… God is on His throne. He is in charge and ruling with keen awareness. When the world seems broken… there is suffering, sadness, and hardship. Each extreme and all of life in between, offer opportunities and perspectives to see and experience the power and presence of God. When all I see is the difficult and the demands of life, I could/should praise Him for His promised presence. When I can’t or don’t, that says more about me than Him. If He really is worthy, then maybe like the psalmist, we should be more intent and determined to Praise Him and Bless Him “from this time forth.” I wonder what life would look like and feel like if we did. I really want to find out!  Praise God!!

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 113:1-9 (day four)

The breadth and depth of God’s power and love are on display in this Psalm. It begins by declaring that God is powerful – he is mighty over all of heaven and earth, The Lord is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens. That would be enough to inspire worship in us, wouldn’t it? When we consider God’s power over the earth and every system and institution we encounter in this world, it leaves us no other response but to worship this powerful God.

But the psalmist doesn’t stop there. He moves from examining the breadth of God’s power to celebrating the depth of his love for his creation. He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the needy from the ash heap…He makes the barren woman abide in the house As a joyful mother of children. This all-powerful God loves his creation so much that he enters into the ash heap of the poor and lifts them out of it, reestablishing them as his very sons and daughters, as “princes.” He does not allow his power and glory to keep him from personal care and attention for his creation; he cares even for the womb of the hopeful mother, the most intimate of places. Only in our God can such power and might abide with such care and love. Worship is our only possible response.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 113:1-9  (day three)

⁵ Who is like the Lord our God,
who is seated on high,
⁶ who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth? (vv. 5-6, ESV)

This Psalm reminds us that the Lord our God takes a vested interest in the happenings of this world. While He is seated on His heavenly throne, He is not sitting back simply ignoring the things He has created. He is taking part in and watching over that which He made. His involvement is much more than just watching. He lifts up the poor and needy, brings comfort, provides, protects, guards, blesses, makes new ways where there are not ways, performs miracles, maintains His Creation, and so much more. This list could be exhaustive, and we will have all of eternity to praise and thank Him for these things and so much more!

Our God is a hands-on, caring God and there is no other like Him. I hope that brings you joy this week. How have you seen Him taking an active role or part in your life? He is there! Take time today to take note of God being active in your life and praise Him all the more for it!

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 113:1-9 (day two)

 From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised. v. 3

Last week we looked at the mandate to sing, to worship, to praise the Lord. No one is exempt; we are all created to worship the Lord. This week’s passage makes it seem like we get to do nothing else. Even for a musician like me, that seems like a daunting task. What can this possibly mean? Are we supposed to sit in church singing all day every day? I would love to say the answer to that is yes; however, I think it is much more than just singing. How we live our lives is a reflection of our love, devotion, and worship of God. We are to consider every moment as an opportunity to reflect the nature of our creator to the world. That is no less a daunting task than sitting and singing all day, but it certainly gets us out of the pew! A friend recently sent me this passage from Brother Lawrence that I think applies to our reading of Psalm 113:

Simply living and moving in His presence is an acceptable sacrifice.
There is nowhere He is not, no darkness He has not already sounded, nowhere I can go outside His presence.
I may simply live there, be there… and if I don’t know what to say, I can turn the dirt of my garden, I can breathe in and out, I can make breakfast.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 96:1-13 (day seven)

For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
But the Lord made the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Psalm 96:5-6

Sometimes the English language doesn’t fully capture the richness found in Scripture. Especially as we read poetry. The word for idols (elilim) is a play on the word for gods (elohim). Elilim actually translates most closely to “nothing.” What people call “gods” are, in reality, nothing at all. You can try to compare them to God, but they pale in comparison to the splendor and majesty of the Creator of the Universe!

We might not think that we create idols because we don’t have graven images in our households, but the gods of the peoples of today are just as prevalent and dangerous. We worship with our time, energy, and money. If we were to follow the trail of those things in your life, would it lead us to God or would it lead us to something else? Work, family, hobbies, comfort, success, possessions? These are the idols of today. Wait, those can be good things, can’t they?

Strength and beauty are the characteristics of the things found in the presence of God. When God is the center of our worship, we find strength and beauty in those good things, but when those “good” things become the center of our worship, we become drained and burnt out because our energy has been spent doing nothing.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 96:1-13 (day six)

It’s possible to know something deeply… and still need to see it again.

That’s what struck me recently while in Scotland—walking through old church buildings, standing in places where Christians once worshiped centuries ago, and in some places where they still do. Hearing familiar truths in unfamiliar settings. What surprised me wasn’t how old it all felt… but how the good news of God’s Kingdom felt so alive. Not new information, or a new experience, but renewed clarity.

Scripture calls this a “new song.”

Not a new message, but a renewed awareness of what God has done. Again and again, the Psalms call God’s people to sing; not because God has changed, but because His mercies are received afresh. “Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning” (Lamentations 3:23).

We are people who forget. We grow dull to what is most wonderful. But the answer is not novelty, but renewal. Seeing again. Receiving again.

And when we do, we begin to realize that salvation is bigger than we thought. Not just forgiveness, but restoration. Not just for us, but for all things.

When grace becomes visible again, the old song… becomes new.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 96:1-13 (day five) Isn’t it interesting that the Psalmist directs the readers to sing?  Not write a poem. Not draw a picture. Not make a resolution or commitment. Not journal. (Let me pause and say these are all good and healthy ways to discover, process and apply, any revelation that God gives to us. God has used all these and many more means to help me grow closer and strengthen my relationship with Him.)  In this case, just sing. Singing is different. There is a recalibration, affection, and intensity found in singing. There is something about verbally hearing truths, praise, and feelings pour out of our mouths and bodies. There is an audible component found in our singing that is distinctive to us. Our voice. Our conviction. Our testimony. Our sound. Our experience. Our faith. Our memories. Our priorities. Our observations. Our personal expression. That’s why this kind of song is a “New Song”- it is unique to each one of us. Will you look, listen, read, and ponder God’s Glory?  Then with your own voice and from your own experience, will you sing?  Out loud?  Just for you and the Lord to hear.
It will echo the experience of Carl Boberg- his reaction and response to God’s glory and creation… “Then sings my soul,”

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 96:1-13 (day four)

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns;
Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved;
He will judge the peoples with equity.”

Occasionally, I start to feel nervous or even panicked at the state of the world. There is so much injustice and uncertainty; the news alerts us to tragedies and the corrupt whims of politicians every day. It starts to feel overwhelming, but then I remember that the God I worship created the world and is sovereign over it. The God I talk to every day – the one who knows my fears and shame, the one who knows the number of hairs on my head, is the one who established the world and his church. What the Lord has firmly established, the gates of hell cannot prevail against.

This is one of the many things we have to celebrate – at the end of the day, the Lord reigns. No matter how bad things seem, the earth will not be moved because the Lord is sovereign over it. We serve a righteous judge who is coming again to set all things right. When we worship, we remember that it is our God who holds all the power in heaven and earth, and we celebrate his goodness and sovereignty.