Psalm 25

Grace for when I can't let go of the past...

Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways;

according to your love remember me, 

for you are good, O Lord.

Blessing for when I swallow hard the pride...

Good and upright is the Lord;

therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.

He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.

Comfort for when the path seems random...

He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.

Prayer to pray when I don't know what to pray...

Show me your ways, O Lord,

teach me your paths;

guide me in your truth and

teach me

Why...

For you are God my Savior,

and my hope is in you all.day.long.

verses from Psalm 25

We're done with the summer read through of the Psalms but I'm back in them again. This time around I'm making lists.

 

In the midst of all this grasping for words to tell the world who He is, I felt challenged to find out exactly who the Psalmist says He is. So far, who He is and especially what He does is way longer than any other list. I'm overwhelmed by what HE DOES. It's this paying attention to what He does, who He is that will cloak my words, not by stumbling through, but with truth and authority that comes from Him. Make most of Him with His own glory!

You could read through them again with me and try making your own lists.

Here's what my Psalm lists are categorized as:

• Who God Is
• What God Does
• Who the Wicked Are
• What the Wicked Do or What is Done to the Wicked
• Who the Righteous Are
• What the Righteous Do
• Blessings of the Righteous

Go through chapter by chapter and write down what you read relating to each category ( add more categories if you want to).

Now what to do with these lists once you've taken time to write them out: read through them. 25:1 "Lift up your soul" to Him. Ask Him to examine your heart. Pray them. Don't know how to pray? Then use the words straight from what you read. You probably want to say what it says anyway so why re-invent it? God doesn't need flourish-y language to know your heart. A prayer to start with is 25:4,5 (see above) or anything you are drawn to in your reading. You might need to get humble and ask for forgiveness. He wants you there. Then you are teachable, guidable. He's no ogre... "All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful" v. 10. Leave the questionables up to Him. You say to yourself, 'Gee, I just don't know about this enemy thing (or whatever).' then that's not your thing to worry with. 'He (meaning the Lord) will instruct him (meaning the person who fears the Lord or you, hopefully) in the way chosen for him (him specifically). Then look for Him to work it out. And make a list. A thankful list. And pray the thanks back to Him.