Month: February 2021

Help me, God!
I am drowning!
The waters are overwhelming me,
Forcing me down into the depths,
I am tiring of the struggle,
I can’t fight it on my own,
I need you with me.

I have been knocked down by those around me
more times than I can count.
Why do they hurt me so?
Why do they feel the need to break me down?
God you know the mistakes I have made;
Are they so great that I deserve all this pain?

Are my past sins a stain I cannot be free of?
Am I colouring the actions of those around me?
Dragging them down and away from you?
If that is true, protect them from my shame,
Cleanse me of this burden!

I only want to serve you,
To do what is right in your eyes,
So I will gladly do penance for my sins,
and face the mistakes of my past,
Mistakes that others still define me by.

My deepest prayer, O God,
is to break free from these chains of sin.
To rise up against the crushing tides,
strengthened by your love.
Be with me now,
Wash me clean of the past,
So I can serve you more fully.

For the original Psalm visit https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+69&version=NRSV

Put God at the centre of your life;
Cast aside the things that separate you from God.
As the wheat separates from the chaff,
Let us cast away all that no longer serves God.
Let us lift up and celebrate the goodness in the world,
And praise God for inspiring good works.

Sing praises to God who is all around us;
Breathing life into all things.

God offers rest to the weary,
Companionship to the lonely,
Comfort to those living in fear.

God has been with us since the dawn of human existence,
offering us wisdom and guidance.
Speaking to us through creation,
Guiding the nations,
Calling each generation to follow God,
and care for each other and for the earth.

For God calls to a path of care,
care for creation,
care for those in need,
care for everyone we meet.

God as provided us with all we need
And calls us to share God’s bounty with one another!

Sing praises to God who is all around us;
Who nurtures and inspires all of creation!

For the original Psalm visit https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+68&version=NRSV

May you feel God’s presence in your life
and know God’s blessing,
May God’s plan for us be apparent
throughout all the earth.
Let us all sing praises to God;
Sing praises to God
in thanksgiving for God’s wondrous works.

May all people know God’s love
and sing God’s praises,
For God teaches us the importance of equity
and making sure that everyone is cared for.
Let us all sing praises to God;
Sing praises to God
in thanksgiving for God’s wondrous works.

God’s gifts abound throughout the earth,
God has offered us God’s blessing,
to share with one another.
Let us all sing praises to God;
Sing praises to God
in thanksgiving for God’s wondrous works.

For the original Psalm visit https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+67&version=NRSV

Raise your voices in song.
Sing praises to God for God’s wondrous deeds.
Sing his praises with your whole heart,
with your entire being.
Raise your voice in song with all of creation
who sing praises to our creator
and glorify God’s name.

Look around and see God’s wondrous works.
God’s hand can be seen at work everywhere in our world;
In the love between friends and neighbors,
in the support offered to those in need,
in the care we show to the earth,
in the compassion we showed to each other.

We ask for your blessing, O God,
as we sing out your praises.
Help us to know you more fully in our lives,
to recognize your hand as we look for direction,
to choose the path of righteousness.

I offer myself to you,
So that I may serve you with my whole being.
I lay before you my sins and my failings,
and ask for your forgiveness.
I offer to you my gifts and skills,
so that they may serve your people.

I will sing of your wondrous works
to all who will listen;
For you were with me when I was lost,
you gave me new direction.
You were with me when I was afraid,
and taught me I was not alone.
You were with me when my life was filled with joy,
and celebrated with me.

In spite of all my shortcomings,
God continues to love me,
and God offers that unconditional love
to anyone willing to accept it.

For the original Psalm visit https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+66&version=NRSV

God, you answer our prayers,
you forgive our mistakes,
and you set us on the right path,
So we sing your praises.

You fill our lives with joy,
inviting us into a community of love,
a community of people guided by your love,
So we sing your praises.

Your amazing works are all around us!
In the beauty of nature,
the birds singing,
the sun shining,
the wind blowing.
In the gift of companionship,
the smile of an infant,
the comfort of a friend,
the touch of a lover.
Your love surrounds us,
So we sing your praises.

Your creation is a wondrous thing!
Ecosystems maintain balance,
Weather patterns nourish life,
New growth finds its way through after a disaster.
The earth is alive with your wondrous majesty.
So all creation sings your praises!

For the original Psalm visit https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+65&version=NRSV

God, do you hear me?
My voice cries out in fear.
God, do you see me?
I am feeling so lost and alone.
God, do you know me?
What good am I to the world?

It is all just too much!
There are too many injustices.
Where do I start?
There are so many people in need.
How can I help them…
…when I can’t even take care of myself?

I know that you are at work in the world;
that there are so many places of good…
But I am having trouble finding them;
having trouble living into them.

God, I need you with me
because right now it is all just too much.

For the original Psalm visit https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+64&version=NRSV

God, I need you in my life,
my soul cries out to you;
my body longs for you
as it would like for the cool, clean water of bubbling stream
after a day wandering through the forest.
My soul finds rest in you;
just as I would find rest on a pillow of grass
under a warm summer.
I sing your praises
because I know your love in my life.

You give me the strength and nourishment
to face anything throughout the day,
And when night comes
I can find rest because I offer my fears and worries to you.
You shelter me from the storms of life
like a mother hen gathering her chicks under her wing.

Let all who try to hurt me
know that you are on my side.
No matter how much the chip away at me
they will not destroy me,
Because I know you in my life.
You offer be a place to turn
when it all becomes too much
and you give me the strength to carry on.

For the original Psalm visit https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+63&version=NRSV

I feel God’s calming presence around me,
And I am at peace.
God is my resting place;
The calm, cool waters that restore me,
and give me the strength to go on.

A strength that is much needed to face this broken world!
How much longer will we try to build ourselves up
by tearing down others?
Why do we continue to live by these false divides
that separate us and isolate us;
Robbing us of the strength to make a difference.
When will we open our eyes to the brokenness
And finally unite to demand change.

Until that time I feel God’s calming presence around me,
And I can find peace in the midst of chaos.
God invites me to see the places of good in the world;
My hope is restored,
and my strength renewed.

Put your faith in God,
And you to will know God’s uniting love.
God offers rest and restoration to all.

When we look to God for guidance
we are bound by a uniting love
that offers us strength beyond our own.
God’s love calls us together
and inspires us to make change.
United we can overcome the hatred
that has infected this world.

God’s call to us is unceasing.
When we open our hearts and our minds,
God is there to guide us.
When we unite together in love,
God’s goodness will encompass all the earth!

For the original Psalm visit https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+62&version=NRSV

God can you hear me?
Are you listening to my prayers?
My heart is weary,
So I cry out to you.

Lead me to the top of a holy mountain,
So I may sense your presence in the thin places,
For you are my strength and my refuge.
You fortify my soul.

Let me find shelter in your presence,
Shade me under a canopy of a mighty oak;
Finding rest in your presence.
Just as you have offered shelter and rest
to the generations that came before me;
The ancestors that taught me to love and honour you.

Give me the strength to carry on,
So that I may teach future generations of your wondrous love,
and sing your praises for the rest of my days.

For the original Psalm visit https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+61&version=NRSV

God, do you even hear my prayers?
So many seem to go unanswered.
I still feel so lost, alone unsure.
I am in need of your guidance.

I thought that I was meant to find rest in you,
a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light,
But my burden is rarely light;
More often it is so heavy I feel like I can’t go on,
And where are you then?
Where is your love and support?

I pray, I study, I try to devote my life to you,
And yet the path is so unclear.
I am lost and cannot find the way forward.
Every night I pray for direction,
And each morning I once again stumble blindly through my day.
Where are you now?
Where is your guidance and direction?

God, I need your help,
I need your direction,
I need your light!
Please God, make yourself known to me!

For the original Psalm visit https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+60&version=NRSV