Praying From the Psalms

A Prayer constructed from Psalms 1-18

You, O Lord, are a covering around me, my shining-greatness, and the One Who lifts my head. You have filled my heart with more happiness than they have when there is much grain and wine. I will lie down and sleep in peace. O Lord, You alone keep me safe. Let all who put their trust in You be glad. Let them sing with joy forever. You make a covering for them, that all who love Your name may be glad in You. For You will make those happy who do what is right, O Lord. You will cover them all around with Your favor. You keep safe those who suffer. You are a safe place in times of trouble. Those who know Your name will put their trust in You. For You, O Lord, have never left alone those who look for You. In You I am safe. I have trusted in Your loving kindness. My heart will be full of joy because You will save me. I will sing to You, because You have been good to me. I trust in Your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to You, for You have been good to me. You are present in the company of the righteous. Keep me safe, O God, for in You I take refuge. You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing. LORD, You have assigned me my portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise You, LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set You ,LORD, always before me. Because You are at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because You will not abandon me to the grave. You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand. I call on You, O God, for You will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer. Show the wonder of Your great love. You who save by Your right hand those who take refuge in You from their foes. Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings. You still the hunger of those You cherish. I love You, O LORD, my strength. You, LORD, are my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; You are my rock, in whom I take refuge. You are my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to You, LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. In my distress I called to You, LORD; I cried to You for help. From Your temple You heard my voice; my cry came before You, into Your ears. You reached down from on high and took hold of me; You drew me out of deep waters. You rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. You were my support. You brought me out into a spacious place; You rescued me because You delighted in me. You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; You turn my darkness into light. With Your help I can advance against a troop; with You I can scale a wall. Your way is perfect; Your Word is flawless. You are a shield for all who take refuge in You. For who is God besides You? And who is the Rock except You?
You arm me with strength and make my way perfect. You make my feet like the feet of a deer; You enable me to stand on the heights. You train my hands for battle. You give me Your shield of victory, and Your right hand sustains me; You stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me. You armed me with strength for battle. You live! I praise You and I exalt You. I will praise You among the nations, O LORD;
I will sing praises to Your name. You give me great victories; You show unfailing kindness to me, Your anointed. In the precious name of Jesus I proclaim these truths. Amen!

Exposing and Replacing the Lies

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:32 (New International Version)

Our minds have the amazing ability to retain everything that we have been exposed to in our life time. Not only the things we saw, heard, felt, understood, and experienced but the meanings and interpretations of those things as well. Some of those interpretations are truthful but many are not. The memories that were distorted by lies have the ability to distort reality for us even as adults. How we interpret our actions as well as the actions of the people around us is tied into our store house of memory.

The enemy of my soul was delighted to introduce lies to me from very early on. He stood ready to expose false interpretations with each event and experience. Those lies became “truth” to me and have continued to affect the things I come across on a daily basis. My reactions to things said to me, done to me, or shown to me are stemming from not only my own sin nature but my acceptance of lies from years gone by. For example, when I walk away from a conversation and I am overwhelmed with feelings of insignificance, loneliness, abandonment, rejection, anger, or profound sadness I am re-experiencing lies that were introduced to me by the enemy decades ago. The same emotions, feelings, and thoughts are surfacing and the effect is often painful.

Is there hope? Is there freedom? Absolutely! God stands ready to graciously and tenderly take me back to the very experiences where lies where introduced and interpretations were distorted. He has truth to give me that will change the way I viewed the situations. What happened was real and truthful. That part will not change. What WILL change will be the effect it had on me. As God exposes the lies and introduces the truth I will have a new and dependable grid to look through. The healing of past memories will be the catalyst for experiencing different interpretations of the present.

Will I live problem free and pain free? No, not in this life. But it will have huge ramifications for mindsets and strongholds that affect me now. I have a choice to either continue embracing lies or finally exchanging the lies for truth. It will be a life long process strewn with successes and failures but it will be in the company of my Abba Father…..the God of the past, present, and future. In His arms and under His watchful eye I am safe to go back and finally hear His interpretation of each account.

Father, take me back to the places where the enemy’s lies became my “truth” experientially. As we stand at each scene, expose the lies and introduce me to the truth…Your truth. Thank You for the freedom that will come as a result of each truthful encounter. Amen.