Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”. 

Psalm 63 says,
    O God, you are my God,
        earnestly I seek you
    my throat thirsts for you
        my body longs for you
    in a dry and weary land
        where there is no water (v. 1).

One summer day, my brother and I hiked two-and-a-half miles on a dusty gravel road to the top of a hill. Lunch with a view. Bologna-lettuce-and-mayonnaise sandwiches with a drink of milk, some of which I saved for the thirsty trip home. Sitting on the hill, we enjoyed a fourteen mile view of patchwork prairie farmland: squares of green wheat growing, fields of brilliant yellow canola,and fields of black soil lying fallow in the sun. 

On the hot road home, my brother said, “Hey, did you save some milk?” I took out my bottle, swished the milk around, smelled it and said, “It’s gone sour.” And I poured it out on the ground. My brother said, “Hey, I’m thirsty. I wanted that!” 

I tell this story not to comment on my brotherly kindness, but to offer a perspective on thirst. The poet in Psalm 63 experienced his relationship to God as extreme thirst and physical longing. 

Let’s pray. 

Our father, we understand the poet’s dry and weary land where there is no water. Like a hot gravel road under the prairie sun without even sour milk to drink. We long for your presence, but we feel the dryness of your absence. We look for you, but cannot find you. Are you present to us in the sun that burns our face? In the dust that chokes our throat? In the vast blue sky without shade or rain? 

Like the poet, we have seen your power and glory in the sanctuary. When you shone your light on us at a life-changing conference. When we felt your presence in a church that nurtured our spiritual growth.  When someone’s kindness helped us feel your deep deep love. But today you are absent. We are stuck in the desert where the only water is a mirage and the only comfort a memory of how things used to be.

With the poet we treasure our memories. When your presence filled our hearts. When your spirit quenched our thirst. When your love washed away our sorrows and sins. 

With the poet we say, “Because your love is better than life, my lips will praise you . . . I will lift up my hands in your name” (v. 3-4). This is our gravel-road statement of faith. In our thirst, we speak your praise with parched lips; we shelter under your unseen wings, we think of you in our sleepless hours at night (vv. 4, 6, 7). Our life is desert until your river flows through it. Our spirit is empty until you fill it. Our days are wasted until we voice your praise. 

With the poet we sing as we travel the dusty road of life. We sing with lifted hands, we sing in the shadow of your wings, we sing of love that watches over us at night and upholds us in the day. We sing of living water that quenches our thirst.

O God, receive our song. Show us the way on our thirsty journey. Lead us to rivers of life. 

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”. 

In Psalm 62, the poet finds a quiet place of rest from his busy life and noisy enemies. He says,
    Only in God my soul finds rest;
        my salvation comes from him.
    Only he is my . . . fortress;
      I will not be shaken (vv 1-2). 

This psalm is unique because the poet doesn’t make any requests to God. Though he complains about enemies, he doesn’t ask God to save or rescue or deliver him. Instead, he finds in God a quiet shelter in his stormy life, a strong refuge in his weakness.

Let’s pray. 

Our father, this psalm tells us to trust in you at all times, to pour out our hearts to you, for you are our refuge (v. 8).

Thank you for welcoming the outpouring of our hearts, with their muddled thoughts and feelings. We present to you our thanks for food and shelter, our relief that spring has come at last, our fear of the coronavirus pandemic, our concern for the economy, and our faith that you are good. Take our hearts, Lord, protect and heal them.

With the poet we form a prayer of rest around three times our psalm uses the word “only”.

About his enemies, the poet says,
    How long will your assail [me]
       will you batter [me],
        like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
    Your only plan is to bring me down. . .
    With your mouth you bless,
        but in your heart you curse (vv.3-5, paraphrased).

O God, our enemies are single-minded–their only plan is to bring us down. The enemy in our minds discourages and depresses us. The enemy in our hearts creates numbness and apathy. The enemy in our relationships destroys trust and goodwill. The enemy in our spirits tells us faith is an illusion. O God, how often, like the poet, we are a leaning wall, a tottering fence. Fragile and vulnerable, we live on the edge of failure and ruin. But we choose with the poet to rest in your shelter. 

In a second use of the word “only”, the poet says,
    Those of low estate are only a breath,
          those of high estate only a delusion;
          in the balances they go up;
    together they are lighter than breath (v. 9). 

O God, the heavyweights of our world are not as weighty as they imagine–they are only a breath of air. When they stand on the scales, the needle doesn’t move. When they walk through the sand, they leave no footprints. When they stand before you, O God, their haughty speech and mighty words are reduced to silence. They cannot provide a reliable fortress or a  trustworthy salvation.

The poet also uses the word “only” to talk about you, God, for you alone are his focus. Twice he says,:
    Only in God does my soul find rest,
    Only he is my rock and my salvation (vv. 1-2, 5-6). 

Thank you that our souls find rest in you. Thank you for each night of sleep. Thank you for each day of peace. Thank you for the downtime that coronavirus imposes on our hyperactive society. As we take a break from shopping, eating out, commuting, and attending church, we invite you to bring us to rest. May this coronavirus sabbatical become a holy time of rest in your name. Bring us through the epidemic with a new desire to seek you in our lives and to follow you in our world. Care for the unemployed, the displaced, the weary, and the sick in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”. 

Psalm 61 is a poignant statement of faith. Listen to the poet’s prayer:
  From the ends of the earth I call to you,
      when my heart is overwhelmed;
  lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
  For you have been my refuge,
    a strong tower against the foe (vv. 2-3). 

Do you experience that same feeling: “From the ends of the earth I call to you when my heart is overwhelmed.” I don’t often get to the geographical ends of the earth, but like the poet I bump into my emotional limits and get overwhelmed.

What brings you to the “ends of the earth” where you feel overwhelmed and far from God? Maybe anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder. Or cancer? Perhaps it’s money: you don’t know where the next paycheck is coming from, unable to accumulate savings, buried under a pile of debt. Perhaps it’s the relational crises of your life–marriage not so good, kids are wayward, neighbours are jerks. Maybe it’s family who judge and avoid you. Or maybe it’s God: you are not sure if he exists, and if he does, why doesn’t he listen to you and care about you? 

Whatever makes you alone and isolated–bring it to this psalm. Are you at the end of your wits? At the ends of the earth? Overwhelmed? Then say with the poet, “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”  Yes, that’s what we need when earthquakes shake us, when troubles frighten, when waves of stress threaten to drown us. We need a rock to stand on, a firm place to plant our feet, some solid ground where we can look around, take our bearings, and find relief. 

The poet says, “That firm place is you, O God. You have been my refuge, a strong tower against my foes.” 

Let’s pray. 

Our father, we are refugees, driven from the homes we tried to build. We imagined happy and fulfilling lives but we have ended up with disturbed states of mind and body, in a world without answers.

We are refugees from church, driven into the wilderness by doctrines we can’t accept and rules that judge us. 

We are refugees from families that misunderstand and avoid us. 

O Jesus, we are all refugees in many ways. 

Lead us, we pray, to the rock that is higher than us. Be a refuge for the refugees, bring us to your tent, shelter us under your wings of protection and comfort.

We pray for the lonely elderly whose care facilities are locked down. In their loneliness and fear, be their refuge. 

We pray for health care workers in masks and hazmat suits, caring for the sick, watching people die. Be their strong tower. 

We pray for the unemployed, watching television at home as bills pile up. Make their home a tent where they dwell with you. 

We pray for refugees, far from home and family, scarred by violence and abuse. Protect them in the shelter of your wings. 

We pray for ourselves when we are overwhelmed. Lead us to the rock that is higher than us.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”. 

In Psalm 60, the warrior-poet experienced desperate times. He says,
    Is it not you, God, you who have now rejected us
      and no longer go out with our armies?
    Give us aid against the enemy,
      for human help is worthless.

The poet was accustomed to God giving his army victory, but unexpectedly his army started losing. This surprised  and shocked the poet. He was offended that God stopped helping his army. So he prayed: “God, do things the old way! You are supposed to make our army winners. Losing is no fun. Start helping us again.” 

Has God ever caught  you by surprise like that? Perhaps he’s always given you good health, and suddenly the doctor delivers a scary diagnosis. Or unexpectedly, your comfortable finances are exploded by unemployment and a pile of bills? Or your children who have done well in the past are now throwing your life into chaos. 

Today, the coronavirus pandemic has created desperate times for entire nations. A third of the planet is on coronavirus lockdown, millions are unemployed, health systems are overwhelmed, business are at risk, and governments are mortgaging the future to flatten the curve. Do you, like the poet, ask God what this is all about? Do you say to him, “Why don’t you look after us better?” Do you wonder if maybe he is judging the sins of civilization? 

Author N. T. Wright titled a recent article Christianity Offers No Answers About the Coronavirus. It’s Not Supposed To. He says. “Rationalists . . . want explanations; Romantics . . . want a sigh of relief. But perhaps what we need more than either is to recover the biblical tradition of lament. Lament is what happens when people ask, ‘Why?’ and don’t get an answer.”  (N.T. Wright article at Time.Com: Christianity Offers No Answers About the Coronavirus. It’s Not Supposed To (Time.com, 29 Mar 2020). https://time.com/5808495/coronavirus-christianity/)

Let’s use Psalm 60 to pray a lament over the pandemic.

Our father, 
   You have shaken the land and torn it open;
      mend its fractures, for it is quaking.
  You have shown your people desperate times;
      you have given us wine that makes us stagger.
  But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner
      to be unfurled against the bow.
  Save us and help us with your right hand,
      so that those you love may be delivered (vv. 2-5). 

O God, look at our society as it staggers under the pandemic. Look at the charts where the death toll goes steeply up and the stock market steeply down. Look at the body bags coming out of New York hospitals straight into refrigerator trucks. Look at us keeping social distance, being isolated, tempted to fear and anxiety. Lord, our whole world groans. What can we do but cry out to you? 

In Psalm 60 you proclaim your victory over the poet’s enemies. You say:
  Moab is my washbasin,
      over Edom I toss out my sandal
      over Philistia I shout in triumph (v. 8).

O God, we wait in hope for you to bring healing to our broken world. . 
    Who but you will bring us to a time of health?
      Who but you will lead us through the valley?
    Give us aid against our enemy
        for human help is worthless (vv. 9,11, paraphrased). 

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”. 

In Psalm 59, the poet describes his enemies this way:
  They return at evening
      snarling like dogs,
      and prowl about the city,
  they wander around looking for food
      and howl if not satisfied (v. 15). 

In contrast the poet says of himself,
    I will sing of God’s strength,
      in the morning I will sing of his love (v. 16). 

The word pictures of howling dogs and a singing poet highlight the story of Psalm 59. It begins with the poet’s enemies roaming the city like vicious dogs, snarling and howling over the garbage, threatening anyone who gets in their way. The poet says he has done nothing to deserve their violence. He describes himself as honorable and righteous, saying:
      Fierce men conspire against me
      for no offence or sin of mine, Lord.
    I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me (vv. 3-4).  

The poet urges God to act on the basis of the covenant he made with Israel. Listen to his outspoken appeal to get God’s attention. 
    Get off your couch, God,
        Look at my plight.
    Rouse yourself from your lethargy,
        Punish the nations (v. 4-5). 

The relationship between God and his people is like the traditional marriage covenant: “for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part.” The poet feels he is keeping his side of the bargain, but God is sleeping on the job. The poet reminds God that things are getting bad down here. He is sick with worry and poor in resources. If God is truly committed to a “better or worse” relationship, now would be a good time for him to act. 

If God does this, the poet’s “worse” will turn to “better”, his dog-like enemies will stop howling, and he will sing his praise to God. 

Let’s pray. 

    Deliver us from our enemies, O God;
        be our fortress against those who attack us.
    Rescue us from evildoers
        and save us from those who are after our blood (vv. 1-2).

O God, as the Coronavirus ravages the world, we turn to you. Do you see what’s happening down here? Do you care? 

We remember other pandemics. In the 12th century, the Bubonic plague killed a third of the people in Europe.  In 1918 the Spanish flu killed 50 million people. And now the Coronavirus is pandemic, fueling the media with news and the people with fear and the economy with uncertainty. Lord, look upon your world as we fight this enemy of disease. 

With the poet, we shift our focus from our strong enemies to you.
  We will sing of your strength,
      in the morning we will sing of your love,
  for you are our fortress,
      our refuge in times of trouble (v. 16).
 
Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.