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

Psalm 8 asks God,
  What are humans that you notice them,
      mortals that you care for them? (v 4). 

A good question. What are humans? Just another animal, or are we different?

Anthropologists used to define us as animals with language. But dolphins and bonobo  apes have language too. We used to be the animal that used tools, but now we know that crows, sea otters, orangutans, and elephants use tools too. We used to be the animal with culture, but Jane Goodall observed chimpanzees learning and passing knowledge to others.

So what does make us different? 

Not body size. Ostriches, crocodiles, and elephants are bigger than us. We have better science than the other animals, but dark matter and quantum entanglement expose the limits of our understanding. Our brains do more complex thinking and long term planning than our animal friends, but that hasn’t stopped us from waging war and destroying the earth. 

Listen to the psalmist’s view of humans. He says,
  You made them a little lower than God,
      you crowned them with glory and honor,
      you made them stewards of the earth (v 5-6). 

We are unique because God created us in his image, asking us to care for the world and the animals, and for each other. 

It’s not being at the top of the food chain that makes us special. It’s that we’re on assignment to care for the food chain and the earth.

Let’s pray. 

O God, how majestic is your name in all the earth (v 1).
  You made the universe, with trillions of stars.
  And in the universe you hid a small sunny star that heats a wee green planet where creatures made of dust live out their lives.  

Amazingly, you call yourself creator and father to these dusty creatures, shepherding our lives, teaching us to care for the world you gave us. 

We do not understand life, but we live it in the vastness of the universe, and in the seasons of our little planet, and on sabbath days of rest we take to honor you. 

O God, how majestic is your name in all the earth. 

Amen

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

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep. 440. Psalm 7. Justice.

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

Psalm 7 pictures justice as a hole and a boomerang. It says,
  Whoever digs a hole
      falls into it.
  The trouble they cause recoils on them,
      their violence comes down on their own heads (v. 15-16). 

If you throw evil into the wide world, it will boomerang back on you. If you dig a hole, you fall in. This is not legal justice where you lawyer up and launch a lawsuit. You reap what you sow, you get caught in the trap you lay. 

You live a violent life? Expect violence to find you. 

How did the psalmist arrive at this picture of justice? And what does God have to do with it?

Start at the beginning of the psalm. Danger threatens the psalmist, so he prays,
  O Lord, I take refuge in you;
    save me from all who pursue me,
  or they will tear me apart like a lion,
    and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me (v 1-2). 

Then the psalmist introduces his take on justice.
    O Lord, if there is guilt on my hands–
    if I have repaid friends with evil,
      or enemies by stealing from them,
    then let my enemy . . . trample my life to the ground (v 3-5). 

I’m willing to get what I deserve, he says. Scrutinize my life, judge my actions. They prove me innocent! No grounds for a lawsuit against me. I plead not guilty. 

Then the psalmist invites God to investigate his enemies. They are pregnant with evil, they conceive trouble, and give birth to disillusionment (v 14). They are the ones digging pits to trap him, planning violence against him. 

So the psalmist prays:
    Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness.
    Stop the violence of the wicked
        and make the righteous secure (v. 9). 

Let’s pray. 

O father, Jesus teaches us to confess our sins, but this psalm teaches us to stand on our righteousness.  

You are the God who probes minds and hearts (v 9). Evaluate our lives and our behavior.
  We work for your kingdom on earth.
  We shape our lives by your laws.
  We measure our actions by your word.
  We live at peace. 

Now turn your inquiry on our enemies. Those who bomb the earth, who pervert with bribes, whose rage ruins relationships, who hoard your good gifts. Those who make laws to shield the rich and exploit the poor. 

O God, may they reap what they sow. May they tumble into the pits they dig. May they gather a harvest of the violence they inflict on others. Let the wealth they have stolen be stolen from them. 

Bring justice on earth. The justice of consequences, and the justice of law. 

With the psalmist we say, 
    We give you thanks because of your righteousness, 
        We sing praises to your name, O Most High (v. 17). 

Amen

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

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

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

Terrified. That’s how the psalmist feels in Psalm 6. God terrifies him. His sickness terrifies him. The thought of dying terrifies him. So how does he pray through his fears?

Feeling God’s anger, he prays:  
   Don’t rebuke me when you’re angry,  
      Don’t discipline me when you’re in a rage (v 1). 

Sick in body and mind, the psalmist weeps through the night and prays:
  My  bones are in agony,
      my soul in deep anguish.
   I am worn out from groaning.
   All night I flood my bed with weeping,
      and drench my couch with tears (v 2-6). 

Terrified of death, the psalmist points out that if he dies he won’t be much use to God: 
  The dead don’t proclaim your name, 
      Who praises you from the grave? (v. 5). 

Thomas Hobbes described life outside of society as a life of “continual fear and danger of violent death,” a life “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” (Leviathan, i. xiii. 9). 

That’s how the author of Psalm 6 felt about his life. 

Hobbe’s solution was for humans to live in society, to have a social contract for a civilized government that would provide a secure life. 

The psalmist is not so philosophical. He takes his “solitary, poor, short” life to God. 
  Feeling God’s anger, he asks for mercy instead of wrath. 
   Feeling God has sent sickness, he prays for healing. 
   Feeling there is no end to trouble, he pleads with God, “How long, O Lord, how long?” 

Let’s pray. 

O Father, with the psalmist, we pray,
  You have heard my weeping.
  You have heard my cry for mercy.
  You accept my prayer.
  All my enemies will be overwhelmed,
    They will turn back suddenly and be put to shame (v. 8-10). 

You have replaced our terror with your presence.
    We come to you, and discover that you are not angry.
    We ask for healing, and we feel your love.
    We bring desperate and confused minds to you, and you quiet us.
    We bring ruined and despairing lives to you asking, “How long, O Lord, how long?” and you answer that you are preparing a future and a hope for us. 

So we move from terror to confidence, from despair to hope, from doubt to faith. 

You have heard our prayer, and that is enough.

Amen. 

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

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

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

What gets you going in the morning? 

Psalm 5 is a prayer with four movements to wake us up and get the day started. 

The first movement directs our attention to God:
    Listen to my words, Lord,
consider my lament. 
    Hear my cry for help,
        my king and my God,
        for to you I pray (v 1-2). 

The psalmists tells God to listen. Is he trying to get God’s attention? Or . . . maybe he’s preparing himself to listen to God. Opening your heart to God, speaking your mind, and telling him your troubles are the first steps in morning prayer.   

The next movement I see in Psalm 5 is confidence that God does listen. He may be silent and invisible, but the psalmist says, 
  In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice,
    in the morning I lay my requests before you
    and wait expectantly (v 3). 

People have many reasons for praying.
  Some pray to express themselves. 
  Some to impress others.
  For some, it’s a habit; others pray out of need.

But the psalmist prays because he knows someone is listening. My king and my God, he says, you hear me, and I wait expectantly for your answer. That’s a better way to start the day than surfing the net, checking the news, or lamenting yesterday’s hockey scores.

The third movement in Psalm 5 is character development. The psalmist asks, “What  kind of person are you becoming? Will you make progress today?”

First, he describes failed character development. God is not pleased with wickedness, he does not welcome evil, he does not encourage arrogance, he hates wrongdoing, destroys liars, and detests the bloodthirsty and deceitful. (v 4-6).  

Some list! God knows the internet. He’s read the blogs and seen the videos filled with arrogance, wrongdoing, lies, and violence. God is displeased with these creators. Don’t let them be your mentors or your motivation for springing out of bed.

The psalm continues with a list of character traits God approves:
   I, by your great love, 
     come into your house; 
   in reverence I bow down
     toward your holy temple. 
   Lead me in your righteousness
     because of my enemies, 
   Make your way straight before me (v 7-8). 

God’s website gives life hacks for reverence, holiness, righteousness, and straight paths that can start our morning and shape our day. 

Let’s pray. 

O Lord, with the psalmist I pray,
  Listen to what I say,
      Hear my cry for help (v 1-2). 

And somehow I find confidence that you do listen.
In the morning you hear my voice.
In the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly (v 3).

I survey my world filled with people who are wicked, arrogant, unbelieving, and bloodthirsty. Help me not to learn their tricks or follow their example. 

I survey the world you build in and around me . . . a place of holiness, reverence, faithfulness, and love. 

Help me to see the house you are building, to become the kind of person who can live there. Take my crooked paths and make them straight. 

Amen. 

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

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep437. Psalm 4. Evening Prayer. 

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

When you’re desperate, do you pray? The psalmist does. Listen to psalm 4.
  Answer me when I call to you,
    O my righteous God.
  Give me relief from my distress,
    Have mercy on me and hear my prayer (v 1).

This psalm is a bedtime prayer, a “now I lay me down to sleep” meditation. At the end of a long and difficult day, we are tired and confused. Discouraged. We’ve read of murders and chaos. We’ve endured countless advertisements promising happiness if we drive faster, travel farther, buy more, eat sweeter, and live fuller. The psalmist responds,
    How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? (v 2) 

If you measure your life by career success, possessions, health, and happiness, watch out! The psalmist measures life by our relationship to God: 
  The Lord has set apart his servant for himself,
      the Lord hears when I call to him (v 2-3). 

This psalm is a reset button at day’s end, pulling us away from endless viewing and scrolling to see what God offers. Before drifting off to sleep, the psalm says,
  . . . when you are on your bed,
    search your heart and be silent.
  Offer right sacrifices
    and trust in the Lord (v 4-5). 

The day is ending. The newspaper is in the recycle bin. Computers are off. Cell phones charging. 

Receive the quiet. Offer the day to God. Don’t obsess on what went right and wrong, don’t brood on your coulda, shoulda, woulda done. Give the day to God, a sacrifice to him. As you sleep, God prepares a new day for you, a day where you will wake up and start over.    

Let’s pray. 

O father, we live in a constant commotion of distracted work, agitated hearts and confused thinking. Social media perturbs us, world news shakes us, anxiously we try to make sense of our lives. 

With the author of psalm 4, we ask,
  Who will teach us how to live? (v 6). 

And with him we respond,
  Let the light of your face shine on us.
      Fill our hearts with joy (v 6-7). 

Replace our agitation with purpose, our restlessness with peace, our questions with quietness. May we sleep a hopeful sleep, trusting you to watch us, trusting you to wake us, trusting you to work your will in us.

    In peace I lie down and sleep,
      for you alone, O Lord,
      make me dwell in safety (v 8). 

Amen. 

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

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube