God, if only You would kill the wicked – you bloodthirsty men, stay away from me – who invoke You deceitfully. Your enemies swear by You falsely. Lord, don’t I hate those who hate You, and detest those who rebel against You? I hate them with extreme hatred; I consider them my enemies. Psalm 139:19-22
My words…
David’s words turn suddenly harsh! Pure hatred. The shepherd who spent his evenings writing songs of Your might and majesty, the young man who stood up to the giant who dared to defy You and Your army, the king whose heart was patterned after Yours was incensed by evil committed in Your name by those who hated You. Hated You. They made oaths using Your precious name, and they mocked You. They rebelled against You and enjoyed it. They sought out violence and rejoiced at the sight of a blood-stained sword, knowing You were watching. The constant drip, drip, drip of evil that leaked from them tortured David to the point where he cried out to You to act. Kill them! I completely understand his pain, for those who hate You still roam the earth. I am incensed by reports of murderers, invigorated by the spilled blood of those wearing the name of Your Son, Jesus. They hate You. My heart is pierced by the messages of those who believe You are a myth and that You hold NO sovereignty in heaven or on earth. They mock You. I, who believe You hold me in Your hand and love me with all of Your perfect heart, clench my fists in rage at the actions and language used to debase You. But then… I hear Your voice, Jesus: “Love your enemies.” David didn’t get that message, but I did. From a child, I was taught not to hate. I could hate turnips, but I could never hate a person. So I have spent my life attempting to learn to hate the evil ways without hating the evil-doer. Some days are better than others. I praise You with my heart, soul, and strength because You are the One who endures the attacks yet continues to love the attacker.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. I awake, and I am still with You. Psalm 139:17-18
My words…
A Prayer of Praise to You Whose Thoughts are Vast…
What is difficult is precious. The higher the difficulty level of a task, the more recognition and honor is accompanied with its completion. When David contemplated Your thoughts, he described them as difficult (some translations) and precious (other translations). What proceeds from Your mind is too difficult for me to comprehend. And that is what makes Your thoughts precious to me. David weighed the possibility of counting Your thoughts. Looking across the landscapes of his region, he could only find one natural element that was in more abundance than any other – sand. He compared the task of counting Your thoughts to counting grains of sand, a task that no man could ever successfully complete. Archimedes had some great ideas about counting sand. I wonder if You were on his mind when he theorized about the number of grains of sand it would take to fill the universe (one followed by 80 quadrillion zeros – who knew?). I imagine You smiling as You listened to his explanations to King Gelon. We, Your children, push the limits of our understanding because we want to know more. We need to know more. But we’ll never know the limitless depths of Your thoughts. It cannot be described by a one followed by a bunch of zeros. As much as I delight in meditating on Your boundlessness, it is the last few words of this passage that brings my spirit prostrate before You. You, the only God, the One whose thoughts outnumber grains of sand many times over, like to hang out with me. When I open my eyes after sleeping, anytime I take the time to look – there You are. Then I know that it’s not only Your thoughts that are vast but Your love for me as well.
For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well. My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began. Psalm 139:13-16
My words…
Praise to the One Who Knew Me Before…
David didn’t need to know anything about cell reproduction, deoxyribonucleic acid, or immunology to understand that his body was the complex reaction of Your creative action. For generations, grateful, adoring worshipers have repeated these words to You in awe and gratitude. I am one of them. Even as my body is wearing out, it remains my most precious asset. I have no idea how it works. I understand that my lungs give me breath (somehow), and my heart pumps blood through my veins (somehow). And my liver seems to do all sorts of things I don’t understand. To be honest (what else can I be with You), I take my body for granted. I just expect it to do its job and leave me alone. I have not taken the time to give You proper praise for my anatomy. The human body is a reflection of Your order, Your intelligence, and Your imagination. No other being is powerful enough to create such a marvelous machine. But as much as Your excellence in creativity astounds and inspires me, I am even more astonished and humbled that our relationship began long before I was even an idea of a person. You knew me before my parents were born. While still unseen by my mother, You watched my cells divide and multiply. You knew the sound of my first cry before it left my lungs, and You’ve heard every single one of them since. You know the circumstances which resulted in all of my laughter and each of my tears. You know the exact moment of the exact day when I will no longer inhabit this remarkable vessel called my body. You are not just The Creator; You are my Creator. How proud I am to be Your creation. I pray You are proud of me. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well.
Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there. If I live at the eastern horizon or settle at the western limits, even there Your hand will lead me; Your right hand will hold on to me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light around me will be night” – even the darkness is not dark to You. The night shines like the day; darkness and light are alike to You. Psalm 139:7-12
My words…
A Prayer of Praise to the One Who is Never in Darkness
Darkness is not dark to You – another mind-bending facet of Your existence. Darkness is a part of life for me, a reaction of my planet rotating on its axis. If I choose to do evil, I will act under the cloak of darkness because my acts will be hidden from men. Opportunities to hide my actions from men abound because my world is in darkness half of the time. You understand darkness, but You are not bound by it. Nothing I do is hidden from You – the good and the bad. Some would find this concept unsettling, but I find it comforting because if Your “eyesight” were limited, You wouldn’t be omniscient. Who would worship a god who wasn’t omniscient? I worship You because darkness flees from You, for You are light – the two cannot abide together. The light always wins. You always win. All praise to You who sees me, leads me, and holds on to me no matter where I am.
Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up; You understand my thoughts from far away. You observe my travels and my rest; You are aware of all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, Lord. You have encircled me; You have placed Your hand on me. This extraordinary knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it. Psalm 139:1-6
My words…
A Prayer of Praise to the One Who Encircles Me
You know everything about me, Lord. You know the number of times I have sat and risen. You know all the places on earth where my feet have touched. You know the number of my words from my very first to the ones I am writing now. You know the final word of this prayer before I have even written it. Those I love here on earth, those closest to me, do not fully understand me (nor I them), but You know all my ways. You get me. As You know, I spend a lot of time wondering about You. I don’t know all Your ways. I don’t get You. What You know is beyond what I can know. Like David, I can stretch and reach for it my whole life and never grasp it. It is lofty. Then, when I am tired and sore from stretching, Your Spirit says, “It is enough.” And I grow calm and at peace, and I rest in the truth that what I know of You is enough. You are not an intricate machine that I need to take apart and reassemble to know how You work. That’s not my job. It is enough that I know You encircle me. If my spiritual eyes were opened, I would see Your circle of provision around me, for You have blessed me with much more than just daily bread. I would see Your circle of protection around me, for Your heavenly armies fight for me. I would see Your circle of comfort around me, which soothes my spirit and dries my tears. And I would see Your circle of love around me, the circle from which all other circles originate. The circles spin; they bathe me in perfect light – Your light. This doesn’t come close to capturing how You encircle me. I know that. But for now, it is enough.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17
My words…
Praise
Lord, wherever You go, freedom follows. When You walked the earth, You were surrounded by enslaved people, enslaved by a law that had been so stretched and twisted over the centuries that the beautiful intent dropped to the ground. You couldn’t even pluck grain from a stalk and put it in Your mouth on the Sabbath without being called out by a teacher of the law. You, who watched Moses receive the law on Sinai, getting called out by a Pharisee. (No wonder they got on Your nerves.) Then You died. Then You rose. And freedom overpowered the law that had become so onerous. Some people cried, “Freedom! Hallelujah!” Others clung to their shackles, refusing to take the key freely given them. That must hurt You. But that was then, and this is now. Your freedom still follows You wherever You go. I have embraced this freedom because it is the only true freedom. As an American, I am free. But when I die, I am only a dead American. As a Christian, I am free. And when I die, I am still free. Now that’s true freedom.
Forgive me
There are days – dark days – when I put on the shackles of guilt, sin, or fear when I have already been freed of them. You forgive to free me of guilt. You died to free me of sin. And You indwell to free me of fear. Forgive me for forging more shackles when You suffered so much to destroy them.
Thank You
How does a freed slave find the words to thank her Liberator? The debt can never be repaid. So I worship You, I listen to You, I love You, and pray You will accept that as an offering of thanksgiving.
More praise
Because of Your freedom, Lord, I am empowered by You to chuck from my life anxiety, fear, despair, and guilt, which leaves a whole lot of room for hope, peace, and confidence. I can say to death, “Welcome, friend,” because I know what waits on the other side is a more glorious level of freedom. And that’s all because of You, my Liberator.
Shining morning star, how you have fallen from the heavens! You destroyer of nations, you have been cut down to the ground. You said to yourself: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will set up my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the gods’ assembly, in the remotest parts of the North. I will ascend above the highest clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” Isaiah 14:12-14
My words…
Praise
These ancient words, spoken through your intrepid prophet, Isaiah, allow me a glimpse of an ancient, heavenly scene, an attempted coup gone terribly wrong. I learn so much about my enemy from this scene. He thought he could be like You. What gall! What boundless arrogance! He had his throne all picked out, among Your assembled, in the highest heavens. Too bad for him he never got to sit in it. I can’t fathom the rapturous fulfillment Your heavenly hosts enjoy by being in Your presence, yet Satan threw it all away because of his weighty pride. I am angered by the way he treated You, like a spoiled brat whose father gave him everything, but it wasn’t good enough. You created him and gave him the name Morning Star, but he reasoned the created could be just as great as the Creator. He is evil, plain and simple. And evil cannot stand against the Name of the Most High God. I praise You for the order You keep in the heavens. You hold all authority. I often wonder if Satan regrets his decision of long ago, to stand against You. Probably not – too much hubris. I see Satan’s tracks all around me, traces of where he has been. He leaves a trail of broken people, a trail of tears. It’s because of You that I know I can remove him from my presence – You did it, and I have Your Spirit living in me. I am looking forward to being with You in the place You are preparing for me – a place without Satan.
“When the house of Israel came to the nations where they went, they profaned my holy name because it was said about them, ‘These are the people of Yahweh, yet they had to leave His land in exile.’ Then I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they went. Therefore, say to the house of Israel, this is what the Lord God says: It is not for your sake that I will act, house of Israel, but for My holy name, which you profaned among the nations where you went. I will honor the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations – the name you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am Yahweh” – the declaration of the Lord – “when I demonstrate My holiness through you in their sight. For I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place My Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances.” Ezekiel 36:20-27
My words…
Praise
Oh Lord, Your name is precious, pure, and perfect, like fine crystal. Father, Savior, Comforter, King! Your words and Your works proclaim the holiness of Your great name. You act according to Your righteousness and Your will, which are founded in love. You love Your creation, the whole of it, and the venerable name of Yahweh is magnified by all those who love You back. I raise my voice, my hands, my life in worship to the name above all other names.
Prayer for me
I need to be reminded that my life as a follower of You is a direct reflection of Your name, Your reputation. Like the moon reflects the light of the sun, so my life reflects You. And it should matter to me, really matter to me, what other people think of You through my life.
Forgive me
Sometimes, I drop the crystal, Lord, and Your name shatters on the cement. Your reputation suffers because of my actions, or inaction. So forgive my sinful treatment of Your name.
Prayer for others
I pray for those who treat Your name with contempt. They view Your reputation like that of a silent, uncaring, vindictive god. “Look at all of the suffering in the world. What kind of god would let that happen?” they say. They don’t know You. They don’t want to know You. Because knowing You means change. So I pray that You will change them, Lord! Soften their hearts to accept Your Comforter. Then they will hold Your precious name in their hands.
More praise
Your words through Your prophet, Ezekiel, written so long ago, were written to me, weren’t they? For I once profaned Your name, yet You cleansed me with water and gave me a new heart, a heart where You placed Your Spirit. I thank You and exalt You for being the God whose name I am humbled and honored to hold.
Five times I received 39 lashes from Jews. Three times I was beaten with rods by the Romans. Once I was stoned by my enemies. Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day in the open sea. On frequent journeys I faced danger from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the open country, dangers on the sea, and dangers among false brothers; labor and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold and lack of clothing. 2 Corinthians 11:24-27
Therefore, we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So, we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
My words…
Lord, You knew when You interrupted Saul’s journey to Damascus, that he would suffer in Your name. You chose a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee, one who had reclined at the best tables with the choicest foods at every holy day and festival. He probably hadn’t suffered a day in his life. Then You gave him a mission, and off he went, into the clutches of persecution. Paul’s hardships were in direct correlation to his compassion for blanketing the world with Your gospel. The harder he preached, the harder he was persecuted. His body bore the bruises, welts, and scars of a man intensely focused on his radical mission – Your mission. In my mind, I see him, clinging to a piece of driftwood on the open sea, his muscles quivering with weakness, his tongue longing for fresh water. His body was slowly being destroyed, but all the while, his spirit was being renewed. I consider his affliction heavy, but he considered it light. He kept his spirit focused on what he could not see, for he knew – he knew – that all of the searing pain, all of the degradation would weigh as much as the tip of one strand of one feather in comparison to the weighty glory with which You would reward him in eternity. And that was all he needed to know.
Prayer for others
When I read this passage, my mind fills with images of everyone I know who is afflicted. Their cells are being radiated or poisoned in response to cancer. Their medicine cabinet is filled with what they need to live with a bearable amount of pain. Their eyesight and hearing diminish by the day. They bear the exhaustion of caring for a special needs child. Their affliction is heavy. So I pray that each of them, You know them by name, will not give up, but will focus on what is unseen, on what is eternal, and know that although their bodies are being destroyed, their spirits are being renewed each day! Their afflictions are a whisper compared to the shout of Your glory they will experience one day.
More praise
You, the absolutely incomparable eternal God, hear each anguished cry of the afflicted. You see the hidden and visible scars of those who have suffered trauma. You know the number of their tears. And it is because of Your love that You hold an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory far heavier than all of the afflictions of Your children combined since creation. Hallelujah!
You are Yahweh, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and changed his name to Abraham. You found his heart faithful in Your sight and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites – to give it to his descendants. You have kept your promise, for You are righteous. But they were disobedient and rebelled against You. They flung Your law behind their backs and killed Your prophets who warned them to turn back to You. They committed terrible blasphemies. So you handed them over to their enemies, who oppressed them. In their time of distress, they cried out to You, and You heard from heaven. In Your abundant compassion You gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the power of their enemies. You were patient with them for many years, and Your Spirit warned them through your prophets, but they would not listen. Therefore, You handed them over to the surrounding peoples. However, in Your abundant compassion, You did not destroy them or abandon them, for You are a gracious and compassionate God. Nehemiah 9: 7-8, 26-27, 30-31
My words…
Praise
Lord, I praise You for Your wisdom in selecting one man in whose ancestors would make up Your chosen people. What a privilege to be chosen by You! Supernatural exhibitions of Your power unfolded before this people. Their sandals were not caked in mud as they walked across the Red Sea bed, for the ground was completely dry even though a wall of water stood on their right and left. Wafery bread appeared on the ground each morning as they traveled through a land without a ready food source. Fortified stone walls crumbled at the sound of trumpets and shouting. A giant fell down dead at the hands of a teenager with a sling. I could go on and on, but I don’t need to. You were there! You loved this people. You instituted a set of rules for them and promised, “If you follow these rules, I promise to bless you.” These rules – this law – was intended to set Your people apart from those living around them. You have always been devoted to the concept of Your people being set apart – being wholly identifiable as Yours. And when they were – good stuff happened. More often than not, however, they weren’t, and You watched Your law being flung behind their backs as they adopted the reprehensible lifestyle of their pagan neighbors. They flung away the opportunity to be blessed by You. How foolish. And they paid for that decision. Every time. When they returned to You, bruised and contrite, You opened Your arms of compassion and welcomed them in. Every time. You are the God who is really good at showing Your people compassion – You had to do it often enough. And that is why I praise You today. You are the God of compassion. I can’t think of what the world would be like if You weren’t.
Prayer for me
So, I give the chosen Israelites a lot of grief. They witnessed firsthand the manifestations of Your power – all of the mighty works of Your hands I read about in the law and prophets. And still, they did not feel compelled by awe, by love, or by duty to “just say no” to hedonism. “If I would have seen what they saw,” I say to myself, “I would never have turned away from God. Never!” But in truth, I have no idea what I would have done. Knowing me, I would have grown tired of all of the sacrifices and just left all that up to the Levites. In time, I would have forgotten about the Red Sea and the crumbling walls, and the conquered enemies. I would have been the one needing Your compassion. How do I know this? Because You have given me a much simpler, straight forward set of rules to follow (love Me, love others), and I still live through times when I fling those behind my back and do what I want. You’re really good at showing me compassion. You’ve had to do it often enough. And I greatly desire it.
Forgive me
By showing me compassion, You are teaching me how to be compassionate to others. Your Spirit is the best teacher! But I am an unwilling student at times. Forgive me when I bask in the warmth of Your compassion then turn around and coldly refuse to offer it to others.
Thank You
Thank You for extending Your arms of compassion around Your wayward, repentant sons and daughters. You’ve been doing it over and over since creation. I thank You, especially, that You do not tire in doing so.
More praise
Oh God, you wear compassion like a cloak, ready to drape it over the shoulders of Your beloved. This cloak is not scratchy or thin or ill-fitting; it is soothing and ample and custom-made. I have worn it many times. I worship You, the tailor of compassion.
