The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 139:13-16 pt. 2 (day four)

I’ve been struck this week by the fact that Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, was knit together in his mother’s womb – just like us. His body was formed “in the depths of the earth,” though he was without sin. While he is fully God, he is also fully human; he experienced creation in his mother’s womb just as we have.

The womb is a sacred place because our bodies are sacred. God chose, in his grace, to give us dignity from the very start by making us in his image. This means that every moment of life is sacred, from the moment of conception to our final breath. Part of our role as people of God is to affirm that dignity in others – in the preborn, in the mother carrying that child in her womb, in those nearing end of life, and everything in between.

This calling is exhibited in Matthew 25:35-40. Jesus proclaims that what we do for others, we do unto him. When we give water to those who are thirsty or feed those who are hungry, we serve Jesus by serving his children and affirming their dignity. I think this idea can be extended to say, “What do you for the preborn, you do unto Christ. What you do for the expectant mother, you do unto Christ.”

One way FBCSA seeks to affirm the dignity of expectant mothers and their infants is through One By One Ministries. Use this link to learn more and consider serving: https://fbcsa.org/onebyone

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 139:13-16 pt. 2 (day three)

“I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Would you want you as a friend? Would you want you as a romantic partner? Are you thankful for you? You want to be, perhaps, or maybe you even want to want to be. It’s possible you believe you should think of yourself in a grateful or appreciative way, but that’s not the question. The question is, do you? You might find it easier to criticize yourself for your actions – even to equate yourself with your actions – than to regard yourself with empathy. The writer doesn’t evade the issue by saying, “God loves me in spite of who I am.” Rather the statement is, “I’m glad for the me you’ve made.” To express this kind of full-throated thankfulness is to be relieved that God is so good.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 139:13-16 pt. 2 (day two) 

You wove me in my mother’s womb. Vs. 13b

Does anyone tat anymore? My maternal grandmother was amazing at this art. There wasn’t a place in her house that you wouldn’t see examples of her work, either finished or in process. She was forever tatting. I look at these pieces now and wonder how it’s even possible. It looks so fussy and difficult, but elegant and beautiful at the same time. I was thinking of that process when I re-read Psalm 139 this morning. Every fiber of your being was woven with a degree of care that is incomprehensible. Your life matters. If we are going to truly study what it means to made in the image of God, we must start from the beginning. As I look at those examples of lace doilies, I see my grandmother’s work and love. As you look into the eyes of a child, a stranger, and especially yourself, remember the Lord was intimately involved in shaping you. Make sure to take note of his handiwork and love.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 139:13-16 (day seven)  

And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me. vs 16

Your life is a story that has already been written. Some of us are in comedies, some of us are in tragedies, some of us are in dramas, but in reality, we will have a little of it all in our lifetime. You have probably already seen that to be true, but what you may not recognize is that the totality of our story, from beginning to end, is a true love story.

God wrote you into His story, knowing your flaws, knowing your habits, knowing that you will turn your back on Him. He wrote your name in His book. He loves you so much that despite your flaws, habits, and perpetual rebellion, He continues and will continue to love you. The coolest part of it all, is that your story, though it has already been written, is not over yet. God has a plan written down for the rest of your days. How will you engage in His love story today?

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 139:13-16 (day six)

No one knows you like God knows you. He knows everything about you, even the hidden, mysterious parts of your formation. His intimate involvement in your life from the beginning to the very end is a source of safety, security, and thanksgiving.

More than anything, Psalm 139 is a celebration of God’s presence (like Megan wrote about this week) and his intimacy. For David, this is a reason for comfort and thanksgiving, not fear.

Does God’s intimate knowledge of your life comfort you? It should; being made in God’s image, you were designed for intimacy.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 139:13-16 (day five)

“You knit me together in my mother’s womb.”

When we are being formed in our mother’s wombs, many amazing, incredible little miracles occur. One of those little miracles is the formation of our eyes. Around 22 days after conception, our eyes begin developing and forming. Nerves are sent from a baby’s developing brain to the developing eyes while nerves go from the eye to the brain.1 Somewhere in the middle, the nerves meet and form together to make the optic nerve and other nerves. It is an incredible process!

When I read these verses from Psalm 139, I am reminded of these nerves meeting between the eye and the brain, forming together to create sight. Science may explain it as your body knows what to do or explain it in some other way. The words “You knit (or wove) me together in my mother’s womb” take on a whole new significance to me. God does it. We are put together by our amazing God very deliberately and intimately! Every aspect of our created being was made on purpose by God, for His purpose. Now, there are times I bemoan certain things about myself or wonder why God created me in some of the ways that He did. We may not understand those purposes now. But I believe someday we will understand more about why He made us in the ways that He did. Until then, trust that He made us so intimately and deliberately for His glory. You are remarkably and wonderfully made on purpose for His purpose!

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 139:13-16 (day four)

Psalm 139 reveals several things to us. The four verses we’re focusing on this week reveal that God knows us intimately and cares for us even before we’re born. It reveals that not only is he near to us from the moment of conception, but that he is actually engaged in the work of forming us, gently creating us in our mother’s womb. This is miraculous in and of itself.

But when we read these verses in the context of the entire psalm, we see that God’s intimate knowledge of us is made even more amazing by his omniscience and omnipresence. In verse 7, David asks, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?” He goes on to proclaim that there is not one inch of heaven or earth that lies outside of God’s presence. There is not a soul whom God does not know intimately. The God of the universe is so kind that he makes himself present to us before we even have a conscious thought. He chooses to know us before we can utter a word of praise.

Because God makes himself present to us even in the womb, because he forms us with love and creates us in his image, he imbues our lives with dignity. Our lives have dignity from the moment of conception because God chooses to impart divine dignity to us. How, then, should this impact the way we treat others? How might we acknowledge the divine dignity in those around us, even those we would consider our enemy? He is as present to us now as he was from the start.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 139:13-16 (day three)

“For you formed my inward parts…”

Your body is quite hardy. It endures injury, stress, mistreatment, sleeplessness, infection. It’s designed to tolerate adverse conditions with resilience. Yes, eventually, these afflictions might lead to death, so your body is not invulnerable. Wouldn’t imperviousness to harm have made more sense, though? Well, consider a possible consequence arising from your body’s inability to experience pain, never knowing wounds or exhaustion or sickness. Would you then give care and tenderness to your body or the bodies of others? Would you learn to regard your “human being-ness” or anyone else’s as sacred? One day, the bodies of all who count on Christ will be raised. In that day, they will be, finally, immortal. Each person raised will have learned to care for and love all bodies profoundly. That’s when a person will be ready for immortality.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 139:13-16 (day two)  Wonderful are Your works…vs. 14b

 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.  Romans 1:20

O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens! Psalm 8:1

The creative nature of God did not start when he made us in his image. The awesome work of all creation shows how he poured creativity into every nuance of the cosmos. A mountain lake may be unseen by man for a millennia only to be discovered by someone who is overwhelmed by the beauty of creation. God alone knows how creation all works together to testify to his goodness, glory, and majesty. We are the blessed beneficiaries of that creation. It gives you an opportunity to give thanks when you see his magnificence in creation. You may also take a moment to pray for the individual who will come after you to be convicted by work of creation. May they recognize the hand of God in the beauty they see. Nothing is without purpose that God has created. Thanks be to God.