Praying the Psalms: Personal and in the Night

Psalm 9 (part 2)
9-10 God's a safe-house for the battered,a sanctuary during bad times.
The moment you arrive, you relax;
you're never sorry you knocked.

Father God--Your house is a safe place. In hard times, I know that there is a place of safety and peace. When you arrive there is also worship and witness that is apart of the story as well. Worship that brings me back to your house again and again in grateful expression of your mighty acts of love.

 11-12 Sing your songs to Zion-dwelling God,

tell his stories to everyone you meet:

How he tracks down killers

yet keeps his eye on us,

registers every whimper and moan.

Father God--I love the thought that you keep you eye on me...I remember growing up and my mother would always use that line. It was both a comfort and a call to accountability at the same time. I suspect that I need both.

You are the one who tracks down killers...but you also hear the whimpers of your people. You are at work in creating an environment of safety but also a place where grace and love are experienced in my heart and life.

As I write this Father, I realize that it sounds so...I don’t know...religious and somehow distant. Yet, a whimper and moan are such personal expressions of hurt and mourning. Tonight as the rain falls outside, I realize the personal, intimate and up close and personal nature of your love for me. You remind me of hope that can be present in my life just because you listen and act. 

Act in those places, Father, where I hurt tonight...where your people hurt tonight. Work Father. 

In the day that begins in just a bit, Father lead as you see fit. Help me to include you in my inner conversation as the moments tick away, call me back to conversation with you. A conversation that never needs to end....