October 24, 2020 Daily Devotional

Friends, let's first stop and acknowledge that today we move into the final ten psalms of the book of Psalms. If you've been following along with us daily over these past months, you've made it a long way!

Psalm 141 "is a cry for God's help when facing the choice between good and evil." (Psalms for All Seasons) It is a personal prayer, and it offers us words to introduce our own prayers. Tonight, consider using these words, based on the first two verses of Psalm 141, as a beginning to a bedtime prayer:

Lord, come quickly,

listen to my voice as I pray.

May these words be like a sweet smell rising up,

as I close my eyes and fold my hands in prayer.

Or alternatively, play this beautiful sung version to lead you into prayer tonight: 

Psalm 141

1 I call upon you, O Lord; come quickly to me; give ear to my voice when I call to you.

2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.

3 Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.

4 Do not turn my heart to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with those who work iniquity; do not let me eat of their delicacies.

5 Let the righteous strike me; let the faithful correct me. Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head, for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.

6 When they are given over to those who shall condemn them, then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.

7 Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land, so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.

8 But my eyes are turned toward you, O God, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; do not leave me defenseless.

9 Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me, and from the snares of evildoers.

10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I alone escape.

October 23, 2020 Daily Devotional

“I know that the Lord maintains the cause of the needy, and executes justice for the poor.”

On this Friday evening, let us pray this prayer of Justice and Peace from the Iona Community together...

Let us pray for the breaking in of God’s kingdom in our world today.

Lord God, because Jesus has taught us to trust you in all things, we hold to his word and share his plea:

Your kingdom come, your will be done.

Where nations budget for war while Christ says, “Put away your sword”:

Your kingdom come, your will be done.

Where countries waste food and covet fashion while Christ says, “I was hungry . . . I was thirsty . . .”:

Your kingdom come, your will be done.

Where powerful governments claim their policies are heaven blessed while Scripture states that God helps the powerless:

Your kingdom come, your will be done.

Where Christians seek the kingdom in the shape of their own church as if Christ came to build and not to break barriers:

Your kingdom come, your will be done.

Where our prayers falter, our faith weakens, our light grows dim:

Your kingdom come, your will be done.

Where Jesus Christ calls us:

Your kingdom come, your will be done.

Lord God, you have declared that your kingdom is among us. Open our ears to hear it, our hands to serve it, our hearts to hold it. This we pray in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

Psalm 140

1 Deliver me, O Lord, from evildoers;

protect me from those who are violent,

2 who plan evil things in their minds

and stir up wars continually.

3 They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s,

and under their lips is the venom of vipers.Selah

4 Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;

protect me from the violent

who have planned my downfall.

5 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,

and with cords they have spread a net,[a]

along the road they have set snares for me.Selah

6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God;

give ear, O Lord, to the voice of my supplications.”

7 O Lord, my Lord, my strong deliverer,

you have covered my head in the day of battle.

8 Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;

do not further their evil plot.[b]Selah

9 Those who surround me lift up their heads;[c]

let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!

10 Let burning coals fall on them!

Let them be flung into pits, no more to rise!

11 Do not let the slanderer be established in the land;

let evil speedily hunt down the violent!

12 I know that the Lord maintains the cause of the needy,

and executes justice for the poor.

13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;

the upright shall live in your presence.

October 22, 2020 Daily Devotional