One of the hardest things to do in grief is to pray.
There are times it just doesn't happen!
I think God understands. He knows sorrow's affect upon us: mind-numbing, depressing, anxious . . . We can't find the words . . .
I think that's one reason Psalms are in the Bible--150 of them! When we can't come up with the words, God provides them for us. There are Psalms for every occasion: growth, fear, joy, praise, depression, loneliness, Bible study, worship, quietness, repentence, forgiveness and many more--even complaining!
Please join me in praying based on Psalm 30:1-5. This is from the NIV with my personal paraphrasing from my time of widowhood mixed in.
I will exalt you, O Lord,
for you lifted me out of the depths, and you'll continue to lift me because I'm not quite out of them yet.
and did not let my enemies --despair, pain, abandonment--
gloat over me. Sure, they got me some days, but not forever. Not long enough for them to "gloat." You rescued me, Lord.
O Lord my God, I called to You for help and You healed me --and You will continue to heal me.
O Lord-- I don't know how you did it, but you did--
you brought me up from the grave-- I made it through the funeral.
You spared me from going down into the pit-- Wow, Lord, there are so many kinds of pits I could fall into. Not only depression, but anger, selfishness, greed, temptation and so many more. Please keep me safe from these destructive powers.
Sing to the Lord, you saints of His; praise His holy name. O Lord, I can't sing yet. I choke up everytime they sing in church. Please heal me and let me sing again someday. Until then, like the one who wrote this psalm, I call to your church, your saints, to "Sing to the Lord and praise Your holy name."
For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.
Lord, it's night in my life right now. Will I really rejoice someday in the morning? I count on Your word as a promise. Your mercy, forgiveness and favor never fail, even though I weep. May the morning come soon. Amen.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
6 comments:
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What a beautiful and personal way to make the Psalms our own! Thank you for sharing your heart so openly! I would enjoy spending time with the Lord in this fashion and perhaps sharing the outcome as you did.
ReplyDeleteThat is lovely. God does see us through.
ReplyDeleteI love this, Ferree! When I was in my early months of grief, I turned to a devotional that was all about praying the scriptures. It really comforted me and strengthened me. God is so amazing. If we will just let Him, He can do so much in our lives and His word is the key.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it amazing how God's Word can express what we're feeling? I'm glad you all appreciated this and hope you'll enjoy trying it out too! maybe someday we'll post one that you've done. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so very much for sharing, such an awesome prayer. This spoke to my heart in a special way on this day for it brought hope.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this. I need company at this lonely time and I really appreciate connecting with other widows. My husband went home to God four months ago. I am really feeling his absence now. I miss him very much.
ReplyDelete