Praise in Real Time
Opening Prayer
Good Lord, there are so very many reasons to praise and worship You! I offer You my praise and worship now.
Read Psalm 65:1-13
[1] For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song. Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled. [2] You who answer prayer, to you all people will come. [3] When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions. [4] Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple. [5] You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, [6] who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, [7] who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. [8] The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy. [9] You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. [10] You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops. [11] You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. [12] The grasslands of the wilderness overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. [13] The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What are the reasons the Psalmist gives for praising God?How routine and repetitive is your experience of worship? However modern and apparently “relevant” it may be, there’s a real risk of simply doing the same things time after time and losing touch with the reality of life lived minute by minute before God. It’s not just a matter of boredom and flatness; it is also that we somehow allow ourselves to lose touch with God’s presence on a day-by-day basis. On such occasions–walking to work, dealing with daily chores, the everyday details of life–none of these things seem to speak to us of our walk with God. The psalmist is grateful for the way God provides for us with rain, harvests and food (4,9,10,11-13). That’s why Jesus taught his disciples to pray for their daily bread; being aware of our minute-by-minute dependency and vulnerability helps us to worship God for his boundless generosity and care. We take so many things for granted, and it is good for us to pause and recognize how very good God is to us.
Apply
Make your own list of reasons to praise God, and then use your list to do it!
Closing prayer
Ask God to show you how to be aware of his goodness and presence at times this week.
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