![]() ![]() This first movement is about encountering the word of God and listening deeply. Read: To begin, simply read through Psalm 23, but do so with patience and appreciation. It follows four specific movements that are easy to incorporate in your prayer time but will require of you focus and surrender: Though the phrase might be new to you and its description might inspire hesitation or fear, the process is actually quite simple and not too different from what we have done the last three weeks in daily prayer. ![]() This Latin phrase refers to “spiritual reading,” an approach to prayerfully encountering Scripture that communities of believers have participated in for fifteen centuries of faith. For Jesus Christ’s sake,įor this week, we’re going to build on the previous weeks of practice and open up space to listen and respond to the Spirit through the Christian practice of Lectio Divina. Take my heart, and set it on fire with love for you. Open your time with this prayer, adapted from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer: Finally, as all settles, take a deep breath and rest. Consider what has hindered prayer the last couple weeks and make necessary changes to prepare. ![]() Building on the experience of the previous two weeks, consider incorporating aids to your practice, like lighting a scented candle or taking a new body posture as you pray. Find a space that feels inviting and open and uncluttered, inside or outside. Plan on setting aside at least twelve to fifteen minutes to start each new day this week. He understands what we are going through and will be with us every step of the way, even through death itself. Jesus is the only shepherd who knows what it is like to be a sheep. Is our shepherd out of touch with reality? Hardly. He wants us to rejoice in him in the midst of our troubles. If you would like to support the work of Gospel in Life, please consider making a gift.God has a celebration meal with us not after we finally get out of the dark valley but in the middle of it, in the presence of our enemies. Help us to trust and obey you as our righteous king, and may your name be forever praised. Do you know that the King truly cares for you and all of your needs? Have you called on his name?Īlmighty God, we praise you that your Son is the king we all want and need that his compassion far outweighs anything we have ever seen. We can know that in Christ, prayers for the flourishing of his name and reign will mean peace and blessing for all. We can know that in Christ, we have a king who is not only concerned with our needs and suffering, but compassionately identifies with them. As followers of Christ, we can know that God has given us the One in whose name the needy, poor and helpless will truly find deliverance. Today many have lost faith in our leaders and distrust them all, while others spend their lives and money promoting this name or that name as the one who will finally save us. Prayers for the endurance of the king’s name were based on that expectant hope, that the king would fulfill his commitment to the weak, so prayers for him meant safety and happiness for all.įrom then until now, however, no king or leader has ever been able to fulfill these divine standards. The God of Israel is by nature a rescuer and helper to the helpless, so must the king be. ![]() Looking to the king for compassion and deliverance for the weak was not naive or wishful thinking, but a hope rooted in the character of the one who had anointed him. The king was viewed as the means by whom blessings came to the people from God and he was expected to uphold divine standards of justice and righteousness. This prayer was not only an acknowledgement of the king, but also expressed a set of expectations and criteria for their leader. May the whole earth be filled with his glory!Īt the inauguration of a king of Israel, the Israelites would offer a prayer like Psalm 72. On the tops of the mountains may it wave May there be abundance of grain in the land From oppression and violence he redeems their life,Īnd precious is their blood in his sight.Īnd blessings invoked for him all the day! ![]()
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