Psalm 105
March 10, 2024
Father in heaven, may we welcome and embrace these joyous invitations! As individuals and as a church may we enter ever more fully into the worship to which this psalm summons us.
May our lives be characterized by giving thanks to you. May the children and adolescents of our church, as they grow up in their generation, call upon your name. May we as a congregation, and as families, circles of friends, and individuals, make known your deeds among the peoples. Give our global partner, Catherine Graul, protection and progress in making known your deeds among the peoples of this world who do not yet have the Bible written in their own language. Thank you for the expanded sphere of Catherine’s responsibilities and opportunities with Wycliffe. May your Spirit give her wisdom and rich fruitfulness in her labors.
Thank you for the ministry of musical worship in our church and for those who lead us in it. From week to week as we gather, and then, whether at home, in the car, in the shower, in our times of family and individual devotions, may we sing to you, sing praises to you.
Lord, we seek you and your strength this morning; may we seek your presence continually. May those among us who are particularly hurting just now, through bereavement, through physical affliction, through relational distress, through depression or anxiety—may they seek you and your strength. May their hearts once again rejoice.
We want to remember, Lord—we don’t want to forget—the wondrous works that you have done. May we always be especially mindful of the greatest of all your works—your sending of your Son, Jesus the Messiah, into this world. We remember your wondrous works, Lord Jesus: your sinless life, your amazing miracles, your sacrificial death that atoned for our sins, your victorious resurrection, your ascension to the right hand of God the Father, where you sit above all other powers, waiting for your enemies to be finally subdued.
You are worthy, God, of the praises into which we are invited in this psalm. Your works and words are wonderful. Your judgments are right and reassuring. Your promises and covenants are rich and reliable and lasting. Your name is holy. May we glory in your name—in all that you are! May each of us, in our own stations, spheres, and generations of life, treasure you, Lord Jesus, above all else. And in this way may we point others to you, those in our lives who do not yet know your name truly. May they enter into this chorus of happy praise.
Thank you, Father, for Rick’s memorial service yesterday—for the clear and powerful story of your grace in his life and in the lives of his family and his brothers and sisters in Christ who loved him well. Comfort them and bring many good outcomes from that time of meaningful fellowship.
We pray this morning for our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. We remember last week’s sermon from Acts chapter 12. We pray for the deliverance of fellow believers who are imprisoned. We pray for families and churches who are suffering. We ask for their faith and strength and encouragement as they seek you amid their suffering. We ask that your word would grow and multiply despite the opposition and obstacles that these believers face.
And here in our own country, as this election year continues to progress, may we not be sidetracked from a life of praise through self-reliance, fear, anger, or discouragement. May we keep singing and praying the Psalms. Whatever the political fortunes of our nation, may your word grow and multiply. And may our lives and words, characterized by this psalm, point others to the true King, Jesus Christ.
We pray in his name, and all God’s people said, “Amen!”