Psalm 103:1-6

Praise you Lord, O my Soul;
All my inmost being, praise his Holy name.
Praise the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits -
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like eagle's.

The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

I read Pslam 103 this morning as part of my prayer time. The events of the last few days have convicted me to endevour to increase my personal devotions to God. More specifically to have more appropriate and meaningful prayer with the Lord. I don't thnk that duration matters as much as intimacy. Bonehoeffer prayed the Psalms, as Jesus did, so I figured taht I would follow that eaxample in my life. Gods Words back to God, as I am trying to avoid the basics pleas of my past prayer habit.

I opened to Psalm 109, and my first thought was "oh, thats a long one". So, i turned the page back a few until i found a Psalm that fit my time table. I am being honest here! Old habits die hard I guess. Anyway, 103 seemed to be the one for me.

As I read, I pused at the end of each part, Praise the Lord, O my soul. I wanted to reflect on each part. I wanted to feel the emotion and thought of God through the Psalmist. I need to place these things in my heart as the treasure of heaven. It is where I failed over the last few days. My Spirtual Armor was missing it's weapons.

All my inmost being, Praise His Holy name. I tried to do things onmy own. When the layers of my own percieved protection were peeled away aI had very little of the Lords protection placed on the inside. My inner strengths was week, like a fascade with no backing.

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. As I continued down into my dark place of loniness and dispair I did forget all His benefits. I did not even think about what his promises for me were. What it meant to be His child, an heir to His throne. I did not remeber His benefits until it was too late.

Who forgives all my sins and heals all my disease. He can do all things. He can as we see time and time in the Gospels that our sin and afflictions are related. That Jesus comes and takes away sin and heals the lame or the blind. Was I not blind to the true light as I only looked down at my feet? When I was standing alone, I forgot to ask Him for relief. My faith was weak.

Who redeams my life from the pit and crowns me with love and compasion. Yesterday, that is where I was, in the pit. I was down and seeking Him but relying on my own. His love, is forever and He crowns me with it. His compassion won't allow me to be alone and without His help.

Who satisifes your desire with good things so that your youth is renewed like eagle's. Not the things that I would just satisfy my desires as they fall short of His glory. My desires would have taken the easy way out, found a simple relief. But He satisfies my desires with His Goodness, with the things that work for His glory. With these I truly can be in His glory and soar as an eagle. I nolonger feel the burdons of my life as I become as He leads me to be.

The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He righteousness and His justice prevail. Not my condemnation and pitty for myself. Not the slum that I had myself and my behavior in but where he wants me to be. He holds me and has mne stand tall for Him, to stand on who He is, not who I am. I am to be in Him, not in this world and with that be free.

In His perfect timing, I flipped past the Psalm that was too long, on a day when I was going before Him for the first time in a while. In humility and prayer He spoke to me. He had allowed me to be in the pit just long enough to show me the path. He allowed me sorrow so I could see His Glory again. He showed me His Word to seal in my heart a lsson that I can keep stored up as a treasure of heaven.

Allow His glory to be released in your life. Humble offering of your time in prayer and devotion. Not amounts of time and not with an agenda, only complete love for Him. Give Him your all, if only for a brief moment throughout the day, give it to Him completely.

Lord, thank you for your desire to crown me with your glory. Thank you for your love and compassion and the way it manifest into tangible things throughout my day. Thank you for the messages that I can see when I am looking up. All my love and care to you Lord. Amen