Praying with Psalm 4

Answer us when we call,
O God of our salvation!
Free us from these pressures
and distress!

Show us mercy.
Hear our prayer.

People! People!
How long will our hearts be hard?
How long will we love what is worthless
or chase after lies?

Know this: the Lord takes care
of the faithful.
The Lord God hears our cries.

We can be angry
without sinning.
We can take a rest and really
think about what’s troubling us.
We can do what’s right –
even when it’s hard --
and place ourselves
in God’s hands.

Many say, “I want to see
better times. I want the light
of God’s face to shine.”
But God has filled us
with more gladness
than we’ll ever get
from food and wine.

When we lie down,
we can sleep peacefully,
for You alone, O God
help us to rest in safety.

prayer-a-phrased by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2016, with scriptures from many translations on Bible Gateway

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Praising Our Father with The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father,
Our
Father in Heaven,
holy, holy, holy is Your Name.

Oh, how I want
Your Kingdom to come
and Your Will to be done
in my life, in my home,
in my church,
in The Church
on the earth
as it is in Heaven.

Thank You for giving us
Your Word each day –
our bread,
the Bread of Life.

And thank You
for giving us Your forgiveness
and helping us choose
to forgive others
for trespassing against us.

We thank and praise You, Lord,
that we can trust You
to never
lead us into temptation
but always
deliver us from evil
and all kinds of ills.

We praise You, praise You
for Your Kingdom life in us
and Your Holy Spirit power.

May all we are
and all we do
be for Your praise
and glory
forever and ever
in Jesus’ Name,
amen.


©2015, Mary Harwell Sayler

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Praying to know God’s ways

Psalm 25:4-9

Cause me to know Your ways, O LORD.
Teach me Your path for me.

Cause me to walk in Your truth (not mine!)
and teach me, O God of salvation.

Near You
all day
I wait.

And I remember Your mercies, O LORD,
for Your kindness stays with me –
from age to age.

You don’t even recall
my offenses or wrongs,
and yet You remember me!

For the sake of Your goodness, O LORD,
You – the Upright One, the Good One –
guide us in The Way.

Cause us to walk in Your court,
and teach us Your way
today.


© 2014, Mary Harwell Sayler, a poet, writer, and lifelong lover of Christ, the Bible, and the church, prayer-a-phrased today’s reading in Psalm 25 from translations found on Bible Gateway.

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Jesus prays in the Spirit

Filled with joy at the Disciple’s return, Jesus
prayed in the Holy Spirit:

Praise You, Father,
LORD of heaven and earth!

From clever people, You have hidden
things You show to those who come to You
like little children.

Yes! How this pleases You!

All things
have been entrusted to Me
by My Father,
for no one but the Father
really knows Who I Am,

and no one really knows
Who You are, Father,
except Your Son
and everyone
to whom I have shown You
and to whom I will make You known.

Luke 10:21-22

© 2014, Mary Harwell Sayler, a poet, writer, and lifelong lover of Christ, the Bible, and the church, researched today’s reading from the Gospels in translations on Bible Gateway before prayer-a-phrasing this poem.

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