Soulfood

The Psalms of the day to guide our prayers on the twenty-fifth day of the month are 25, 55, 85, 115, and 145.

Psalm 25 is a prayer of trust, to direct us to trust in God in all circumstances. We pray for one another that YHWH would make us to know His ways and teach us His paths, leading us in truth and teaching us as we wait on Him. We remind ourselves in praying this psalm of God’s faithfulness to us in times past, remembering his steadfast is His love for us. We ask that He would turn to us and be gracious to us, guarding our souls against doubt and sin and evil intent so that we would not be put to shame, but walk with integrity and uprightness. We need God our Savior to set us right and teach us to trust in Him in any and every situation – redeem us, O God, out of all our troubles!

Psalm 55 is a prayer to pray when we feel betrayed by someone close to us. When we don’t understand why someone is hurting us or otherwise causing us harm, we can teach ourselves to pray according to this psalm for YHWH to answer us according to His purposes, not according to our desire for vindication or revenge. As we pray against someone who seeks our ruin, we ask not that we would be given victory but that we would be enabled to cast the burden of the pain they cause us on the LORD and be sustained by Him. Let us pray that God will cast them down while we trust in Him – that in our hurt and anger, we would be steadfast in trusting God to hear us and shelter us, not becoming like them but being those who call on YHWH to deliver us and vindicate us! And may we see ourselves rightly and repent if we have sinned against someone close to us. 

Psalm 85 is a plea for God to remember His promises to us, and not leave us in the misery to which our sins and the sins those around us have put us. In praying this psalm we set our minds and hearts to fear God rightly, asking Him to forgive us as we repent as He has forgiven us in the past and has promised to forgive us always when we turn from folly back to His righteous ways. We pray this psalm with humble and repentant hearts, trusting that YHWH will give what is good because He is faithful when we are not. Thanks be to God for His steadfast love and faithfulness to us in Jesus Christ!

Psalm 115 is a prayer for YHWH to glorify Himself in the midst of the nations. The God of the universe is not a mute, deaf, helpless idol but rather the creator and lord over all! We ask the God of Israel and our God to remember us, bless us in Christ, and enable us more and more by His Spirit to worship Him in Spirit and in truth, turning away from foolish idolatry. We will bless YHWH from this time forth and forevermore. Praise YHWH! 

Psalm 145 is a prayer of confidence to the only God Who can answer our prayers for help. As we praise Him and give Him thanks, we remember His goodness to us in big and little things. We marvel at His wondrous works and sing aloud of His righteousness. We join all His works in giving praise to Him and thank Him for all he has given us, even everything we need for life and godliness. We give thanks for the generation that told us of His truth, and pray for the coming generation to hear the truth we faithfully proclaim, that they would believe and tell the next generation! We speak the praise of YHWH and join all flesh in blessing His holy name forever and ever! Amen.