This Day in History: 0000-02-07

February 7 – Psalms 5 

Oh Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning.
Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but You.
Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to You and wait expectantly. 

Oh God, You take no pleasure in wickedness; You cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked.
Therefore, the proud may not stand in Your presence, for You hate all who do evil.
You will destroy those who tell lies. The Lord detests murderers and deceivers. 

Because of Your unfailing love I can enter Your house; I will worship at Your temple with deepest awe.
Lead me in the right path, oh Lord, or my enemies will conquer me. Make Your way plain for me to follow. 

My enemies cannot speak a truthful word. Their deepest desire is to destroy others.
Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with flattery.
Oh God, declare them guilty. Let them be caught in their own traps.
Drive them away because of their many sins, for they have rebelled against You. 

But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever.
Spread Your protection over them, that all who love Your Name may be filled with joy.
For You bless the godly, oh Lord; You surround them with Your shield of love. 

What a beautiful Psalm to guide our prayers this morning! Let’s come before the Lord together and pray along with the Psalmist. 

“Heavenly Father, we’re coming before You now in humble expectation knowing that You can be counted on to answer us when we pray to You. You are the only true God, and our hope is in no one but You.  Hear our prayers and take notice of our troubles. Help us, for You are our King and our God.   

We are confident in this, Father: You are not pleased with wickedness, and You have no tolerance for sin.  So, we’re counting on You to ruin the plans of the enemy, and to frustrate the lies of anyone who seeks to delude us.  The enemy is trying to destroy us Lord, and is constantly trying to trap us with treachery and lies. Turn their schemes against them and corner them in their own evil plans.  Open our eyes to recognize their flattery for what it is – a snare that stems from a desire to ruin us.  Drive them away God.  

Father, we take refuge in You. We ask You to lead us along Your path for our lives and to keep us secure in Your will so that the enemy will have no power over us.  Lord, we want to follow You, make Your way clear so that we can obey.  We are filled with joy because in Your unfailing love. You have welcomed us into Your presence. We will worship You with every breath because we are in awe of who You are, God.  What a privilege to know that we will sing Your praises forever! We are filled with joy at the thought! We love You Lord. We love the power that is in Your Precious Name.  Surround us with Your love for the rest of this day and for all of our tomorrows. Make it a shield around us Lord. We love You! In Jesus’s Name, amen.”