Begin your prayer time by lighting a candle or by ringing the opening bell in the right hand column at the website here. Allow the ringing of the bell to draw you into sacred space with God. Take a few deep breaths, breathing in God's love and presence, breathing out any distractions, plans or worries.
Lord, Jesus Christ, teach me to pray.
Prepare yourself for the reading of the Psalm by quieting yourself and becoming aware of God's presence. Ask God to speak to you through the scripture.
A Reading from the Book of Psalms [121]
I lift up my eyes to the hills;
From where is my help to come?
My help comes from the Lord,
The maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved
And he who watches over you will not fall asleep.
Behold, he who keeps watch over Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep;
The Lord himself watches over you;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand,
So that the sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
It is he who shall keep you safe.
The Lord shall watch over your going out and your coming in,
From this time forth for evermore.
In this Psalm we find a very beautifully expressed prayer of intercession. A prayer of intercession is one in which we pray to God on behalf of another. This could be a person, a community, a particular nation, a difficult situation, or the earth itself. As we have seen previously, very often we don’t know how to pray for difficult or painful situations. We feel overwhelmed and are not sure where to start. This Psalm does not cover a specific situation or ask for a certain outcome, but it deeply affirms God’s presence, care and power.
I invite you to begin by quieting yourself and affirming that God is present with you.
Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to your heart and mind a person or situation that needs your prayer, love and support.
Envision that person or situation as much as you are able.
Now pray this Psalm over them. I would encourage you to repeat it several times.
Ask God to bring someone else to your heart.
Remain in prayer until you feel you have come to a stopping place.
For your journal: Record who or what you prayed for today. Why did God bring this person or situation to your heart today? If it is someone you know, consider sending them a note or an email to let them know that they were on your heart and in your prayers today.
I lift up my eyes to the hills;
From where is my help to come?
My help comes from the Lord,
The maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved
And he who watches over you will not fall asleep.
Behold, he who keeps watch over Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep;
The Lord himself watches over you;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand,
So that the sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
It is he who shall keep you safe.
The Lord shall watch over your going out and your coming in,
From this time forth for evermore.
In this Psalm we find a very beautifully expressed prayer of intercession. A prayer of intercession is one in which we pray to God on behalf of another. This could be a person, a community, a particular nation, a difficult situation, or the earth itself. As we have seen previously, very often we don’t know how to pray for difficult or painful situations. We feel overwhelmed and are not sure where to start. This Psalm does not cover a specific situation or ask for a certain outcome, but it deeply affirms God’s presence, care and power.
I invite you to begin by quieting yourself and affirming that God is present with you.
Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to your heart and mind a person or situation that needs your prayer, love and support.
Envision that person or situation as much as you are able.
Now pray this Psalm over them. I would encourage you to repeat it several times.
Ask God to bring someone else to your heart.
Remain in prayer until you feel you have come to a stopping place.
For your journal: Record who or what you prayed for today. Why did God bring this person or situation to your heart today? If it is someone you know, consider sending them a note or an email to let them know that they were on your heart and in your prayers today.
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