Life + Faith

Tag: Psalms

  • Luther’s Evening Prayer and The Practice of Written Prayers

    Luther’s Evening Prayer and The Practice of Written Prayers

    Reading written prayers of saints of the past, or writing our own prayers for specific events or days of the week can be beneficial for our walk with Jesus and life of prayer.

    In recent years I have sensed greater communion with God, and a more helpful and deeper practice, to be reading and writing written prayers. The more I have experienced prayer in my life, and the more I have read about the life of prayer others have, the more convinced I have become about the necessity of prayers that articulate what I can’t.

    We could say this is what the Psalms are written for, articulating what we can’t. And this is true. Like the Lord’s Prayer, it is helpful to be trained or train ourselves in praying these written prayers of the Bible. It’s also helpful to have others speak words to God that we want to speak but can’t conjure up ourselves.

    Recently, I came across Martin Luther’s evening prayer, written in his Small Catechism (circa 1529). I found it a prayer that encourages rest and solid sleep, recognising God’s hand and trusting his oversight and care in our lives.

    “I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray You to forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the wicked foe may have no power over me. Amen.”

    Sleep well.

  • God Hears Our Prayers

    “The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer.” (Psalm 6:9)

    Isn’t great that we can be safe in the knowledge that the Lord hears our prayers?

    While reading Psalm 6 this morning this verse stood out to me. It gives me assurance of a God who listens to me, who hears me, and who accepts me.

    Prayer can be a difficult and weary task at times. Our relationship with him may be rather dry, or it is difficult to speak to God when we are conscious of our own sin. However, the Lord is good and he hears our prayers and cries for help.

    David, the writer of this Psalm, is troubled and knows he has done wrong. It seems he is conscious of his sin and is guilt-ridden because of it. He is crying out to God, desperate for his help.

    It can be easy to resonate with David here.

    How often are we in sin? How often have we done things we don’t want to do? How often have we gone against God and chosen the wrong path, the wrong words, the wrong actions toward others? Sometimes this leads to regret, to a knowledge of guilt, a knowledge of sin.

    There is no worse feeling, I believe, than knowing you have sinned against the Almighty. He is an all-powerful, glorious, and magnificent God who knows all and is in all and is through all.

    Here David rests in the knowledge that the Lord has heard his pleading, his cry for help, and his cry for mercy. What great assurance! To know the Lord has heard our pleas and heard our cries brings an assurance from above.

    Yet, he not only hears them, he also accepts them! He is willing to accept what we say to him, hearing our anguished cry for forgiveness and for help. Through our Mediator, Jesus Christ, our cries are heard and accepted and we are made new once more.

    Through the work of Jesus Christ upon that beautiful cross the Lord hears and accepts our prayers. But even more, he hears and accepts us! Us! With all our sin, foibles, and quirks he takes us into his loving arms and holds us in our time of need.

    O what assurance, O what loving grace!