Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Today’s Reading  |  Psalm 65  

Praise is due to you,
   O God, in Zion;
and to you shall vows be performed,
   O you who answer prayer!
To you all flesh shall come.
When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,
   you forgive our transgressions.
Happy are those whom you choose and bring near
   to live in your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
   your holy temple.

By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
   O God of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
   and of the farthest seas.
By your strength you established the mountains;
   you are girded with might.
You silence the roaring of the seas,
   the roaring of their waves,
   the tumult of the peoples.
Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.

You visit the earth and water it,
   you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
   you provide the people with grain,
   for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly,
   settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
   and blessing its growth.
You crown the year with your bounty;
   your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
   the hills gird themselves with joy,
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
   the valleys deck themselves with grain,
   they shout and sing together for joy. (NRSV)

Reflection
David’s song gives us at least ten different reasons to praise God. As I read these lines it struck me that this same list covers the reasons that I worship God. When I am asked some variation of why I go to church, I am afraid that I am usually at something of a loss for words. Knowing my relationship with God and communicating it are two entirely different things.

Over the several days it has taken me to prepare this devotion I have been taking David’s reasons one by one and relating it to my experience. So far I have gotten to the fifth verse.

God hears my prayers, no matter what they are or how I express them.

God forgives my transgressions, which encourages me to forgive my transgressions myself and to forgive the transgressions of others.

God encircles me in relationship so that I am never alone and always understood.

God answers prayer in a manner that inspires awe, although not always in a manner that we understand.

As Christ’s disciple I want to be able to put my faith in words to the maximum extent possible. It is important for me to endeavor to live as a disciple is commanded to live. It is also important to be able to share the good news with others. This psalm gives me a way to share why I worship and, therefore, why I believe.

Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you for giving me the tools to more fully understand my faith and more genuinely express my faith and more intensely live my faith as your disciple. Please help me to continue my adventure of faith, becoming ever more open to your place in my heart. Help me to be a more positive, convincing reflection of your love to the world. Amen.

Written by Blake Anderson, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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