Category: “Listening to God” Devotional

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+094

 

Psalm 94 (ESV)

The Lord Will Not Forsake His People

1 O Lord, God of vengeance,
O God of vengeance, shine forth!
² Rise up, O judge of the earth;
repay to the proud what they deserve!
³ O Lord, how long shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked exult?
⁴ They pour out their arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast.
⁵ They crush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage.
⁶ They kill the widow and the sojourner,
and murder the fatherless;
⁷ and they say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

⁸ Understand, O dullest of the people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
⁹ He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
¹⁰ He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
He who teaches man knowledge—
¹¹ the Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
that they are but a breath.

¹² Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord,
and whom you teach out of your law,
¹³ to give him rest from days of trouble,
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
¹⁴ For the Lord will not forsake his people;
he will not abandon his heritage;
¹⁵ for justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.

¹⁶ Who rises up for me against the wicked?
Who stands up for me against evildoers?
¹⁷ If the Lord had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
¹⁸ When I thought, “My foot slips,”
your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.
¹⁹ When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.
²⁰ Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
those who frame injustice by statute?
²¹ They band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.
²² But the Lord has become my stronghold,
and my God the rock of my refuge.
²³ He will bring back on them their iniquity
and wipe them out for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will wipe them out.

 

REFLECTION:

1. How do you feel about injustice? Is it our job or do we wait for God to intervene and set the record straight?
2. In the Old Testament, the idea of “vengeance” does not point to revenge (getting even) but to justice, acting to set things right to overcome the distortion of reality that oppression brings. Ultimately it is God’s job.
3. The arrogant wicked crush and kill the vulnerable people believing themselves unseen by God. But the one who created the eye does see and will discipline. When evil threatens and seems to prevail, God is still our sure refuge.
4. In many places, victims of political and economic oppression have only God to rely on. Faith says God will set things right.
5. Identify one group of people who are under oppression right now. Read this psalm again. And pray and petition to God on behalf of these people in order to identify with them and to overcome your own indifference and numbness to evil in society and in the world.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

God of Vengeance – www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o2i8PL0R9I

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+093

 

Psalm 93 (ESV)

The Lord Reigns

1 The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty;
the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
² Your throne is established from of old;
you are from everlasting.

³ The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their roaring.
⁴ Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
mightier than the waves of the sea,
the Lord on high is mighty!

⁵ Your decrees are very trustworthy;
holiness befits your house,
O Lord, forevermore.

 

REFLECTION:

1. The living God is the King from the beginning of time (vv1-2). As King, He exercises authority over all. He does not fear a resurgent sea. (vv3-4) Not only is the Lord omnipotent, but He is truthful and holy. (v5)
2. God’s power demonstrates that He is alive and active. God’s throne was established in eternity. He is the one and only stable element in the universe. Consequently, everyone should submit to Him and obey His commands.
3. The Lord’s kingship is established here through the creative power that makes the world unshakable. And God’s power is greater than that of the tumultuous seas that move with irresistible force and great noise.  Therefore, when chaos rattles our foundation, admiring God’s power in creation can strengthen our stability and hope.
4. Is it sometimes hard to believe that God controls nature and history? What does this belief imply? What might obscure it?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Psalm 93 – www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNFcKCv5eAQ

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+092

 

Psalm 92 (ESV)

How Great Are Your Works

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath.

1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
² to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
³ to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
⁴ For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

⁵ How great are your works, O Lord!
Your thoughts are very deep!
⁶ The stupid man cannot know;
the fool cannot understand this:
⁷ that though the wicked sprout like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction forever;
⁸ but you, O Lord, are on high forever.
⁹ For behold, your enemies, O Lord,
for behold, your enemies shall perish;
all evildoers shall be scattered.

¹⁰ But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;
you have poured over me fresh oil.
¹¹ My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.

¹² The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
¹³ They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
¹⁴ They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
¹⁵ to declare that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

 

REFLECTION:

1. This psalm proclaims God’s love, praises God for the goodness of His acts and the righteousness of His character. We too can exalt God and sing for joy as we contemplate God’s works and His thoughts.
2. Palm trees symbolize fruitfulness and cedars stood for long life. Both types of trees were also beautiful and desirable. The godly are like these trees planted in the temple environs who delight in drawing near to God.
3. Which of God’s deeds brings you joy? How do you express such joy?
4. How can you stay fresh and “flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar” as time goes by? What fruit do you bear?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

O Most High – www.youtube.com/watch?v=jERlH2pg7e4

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+091

 

Psalm 91 (ESV)

My Refuge and My Fortress

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

³ For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked.

⁹ Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my refuge—
¹⁰ no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.

¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
¹² On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

¹⁴ “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
¹⁵ When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”

 

REFLECTION:

1. God Himself is our security. The psalmist described Him as the Most High (Sovereign Ruler) and the Almighty (one having all power). Those who rely on Him find that He is a shelter from the storms of life and a shadowy place of security, much like the area under a bird’s wing. He is a refuge where we can run for safety in times of danger and a fortress that will provide defense against attacking foes.
2. What are you particularly anxious about these days, for which God is waiting on you to call His name and acknowledge your need?
3. How can you make God your dwelling place, your refuge, and your shield in times of trouble?
4. God is waiting to hear from His people who love Him and acknowledge their need of Him. Tell Him whatever is on your mind, whatever fears you have and whatever terrible circumstances you are facing. Trust Him to answer.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Psalm 91 – www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWe4nqgZrao

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+090

 

Psalms Book 4 – The Book of the King

Psalm 90 – English Standard Version (ESV)

From Everlasting to Everlasting

A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.

1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
² Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

³ You return man to dust
and say, “Return, O children of man!”
⁴ For a thousand years in your sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night.

⁵ You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning:
⁶ in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.

⁷ For we are brought to an end by your anger;
by your wrath we are dismayed.
⁸ You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.

⁹ For all our days pass away under your wrath;
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
¹⁰ The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
¹¹ Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?

¹² So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
¹³ Return, O Lord! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
¹⁴ Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
¹⁵ Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
¹⁶ Let your work be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
¹⁷ Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!

 

REFLECTION:

1. Death is not a popular subject. We live in a society characterized by the denial of death. However, most people who have lived on this earth have given a great deal of attention to death. Preparing for a good death has been, in centuries past, an accepted goal in life. Psalm 90 has been part of that preparation for millions of Christians.
2. Death sets a limit to our lives and stimulates reflection on the context of life, which is not death, but God. Acknowledging our weakness and frailty is a step toward wisdom. (v12)
3. Read meditatively verses 14-17. What emerges as most important for you: what you do for the rest of your life, or what God will do in your life?
4. When you think about your own death, what do you think about? What do you feel? How long do you expect to live? How do you plan to live the years left to you?
5. Express your awareness that you will die. In your prayers be conscious of Christ’s death.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Teach Us To Number Our Days – www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP64ik633oU

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+089

 

Psalm 89 (ESV)

I Will Sing of the Steadfast Love of the Lord

A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

1 I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever;
with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
² For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever;
in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”
³ You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
⁴ ‘I will establish your offspring forever,
and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah

⁵ Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
⁶ For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,
⁷ a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
and awesome above all who are around him?
⁸ O Lord God of hosts,
who is mighty as you are, O Lord,
with your faithfulness all around you?
⁹ You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you still them.
¹⁰ You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
¹¹ The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.
¹² The north and the south, you have created them;
Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
¹³ You have a mighty arm;
strong is your hand, high your right hand.
¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
¹⁵ Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,
who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,
¹⁶ who exult in your name all the day
and in your righteousness are exalted.
¹⁷ For you are the glory of their strength;
by your favor our horn is exalted.
¹⁸ For our shield belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Psalm 89 is a long psalm of 52 verses. It celebrates something basic in the nature of God and vital to our relationship with Him. Because God’s love stands firm forever, because faithfulness surrounds Him, we who walk in His presence are assured of blessing, strength, and a ready answer to our prayers.
2. Read this passage, or better yet, read this psalm in its entirety thoughtfully. What evidence does it give that God is faithful forever? What does the fact of God’s faithfulness mean to you?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Forever I Will Sing (Ps 89) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRfBaoRGflM

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+088

 

Psalm 88  (ESV)

I Cry Out Day and Night Before You

A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

¹ O Lord, God of my salvation;
I cry out day and night before you.
² Let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry!

³ For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
⁴ I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am a man who has no strength,
⁵ like one set loose among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
for they are cut off from your hand.
⁶ You have put me in the depths of the pit,
in the regions dark and deep.
⁷ Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah

⁸ You have caused my companions to shun me;
you have made me a horror to them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
⁹ my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O Lord;
I spread out my hands to you.
¹⁰ Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
¹¹ Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
¹² Are your wonders known in the darkness,
or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

¹³ But I, O Lord, cry to you;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
¹⁴ O Lord, why do you cast my soul away?
Why do you hide your face from me?
¹⁵ Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.
¹⁶ Your wrath has swept over me;
your dreadful assaults destroy me.
¹⁷ They surround me like a flood all day long;
they close in on me together.
¹⁸ You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;
my companions have become darkness.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Most psalms which express despair or distress lead us from the depths to the heights. This psalm is different. It speaks of an unrelenting darkness. The psalmist found himself “in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep.” Though he called out to God “every day”, there was no answer, and the psalmist felt rejected by the God on whom he depended.
2. This psalm reminds us that faith promises no quick solution to our problems, nor instant spiritual highs. There may well be days, weeks, or even years when all seems dark, and God remains silent. While faith frequently offers us inner peace in outward turmoil, some men and women with a true faith will find themselves living in unexpected and unexplained darkness.
3. When that happens we need not blame ourselves, as if the darkness were evidence of some personal spiritual lack. This psalm reminds us that for some, who honestly trust and cry out to God, the answer is withheld and the darkness remains. When this happens and we cannot say why, then we must believe that even the darkness is a gift intended by God to be our “closest friend.”

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Let My Prayer Come Before You Lord – www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHVrEMKd3-0

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+087

 

Psalm 87 (ESV)

Glorious Things of You Are Spoken

A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song.

¹ On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
² the Lord loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
³ Glorious things of you are spoken,
O city of God. Selah

⁴ Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;
behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush—
“This one was born there,” they say.
⁵ And of Zion it shall be said,
“This one and that one were born in her”;
for the Most High himself will establish her.
⁶ The Lord records as he registers the peoples,
“This one was born there.” Selah

⁷ Singers and dancers alike say,
“All my springs are in you.”

 

REFLECTION:

1. This psalm emphasizes the fact that Zion is not only a place, but also a people. To be born in Zion is to be one with the people of God, who gather round His revelation and rejoice in the Lord.
2. The stunning emphasis of this psalm is that those who have been Israel’s historic enemies, Rahab (Egypt), Babylon, and Philistia too, will one day know the Lord. It will be said of them as well as of Israel, “This one was born in Zion.”
3. What an amazing reminder of God’s grace, nestled here among psalms that celebrate forgiveness. And how we need to remember that those who seem to be God’s most implacable enemies remain the objects of His forgiving love.
4. Pray for your unbelieving friends or relatives that they will also receive God’s forgiveness and be counted among God’s people one day.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

My Jerusalem – www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSGsyz0J8Bk

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+086

 

Psalm 86 (ESV)

Great Is Your Steadfast Love

A Prayer of David.

¹ Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
² Preserve my life, for I am godly;
save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.
³ Be gracious to me, O Lord,
for to you do I cry all the day.
⁴ Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
⁵ For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
⁶ Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
listen to my plea for grace.
⁷ In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
for you answer me.

⁸ There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
nor are there any works like yours.
⁹ All the nations you have made shall come
and worship before you, O Lord,
and shall glorify your name.
¹⁰ For you are great and do wondrous things;
you alone are God.
¹¹ Teach me your way, O Lord,
that I may walk in your truth;
unite my heart to fear your name.
¹² I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name forever.
¹³ For great is your steadfast love toward me;
you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

¹⁴ O God, insolent men have risen up against me;
a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
and they do not set you before them.
¹⁵ But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
¹⁶ Turn to me and be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant,
and save the son of your maidservant.
¹⁷ Show me a sign of your favour,
that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

 

REFLECTION:

1. David (who wrote this psalm) acknowledged to God that he needed mercy and looked only to God for salvation and joy. Having experienced God’s love, he prayed freely to Him alone for marvelous deeds.
2. David asked to know God more fully: “Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”(v11) He focused completely on God and responded to God’s great love with a wholehearted effort to glorify the Lord.
3. Do you have an undivided heart? What divides your heart? How many “pieces” of heart do you carry inside? What can restore your internal unity?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Psalm 86 – www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9Aiqrcphkc

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+085

 

Psalm 85 (ESV)

Revive Us Again

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

1 Lord, you were favorable to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
² You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you covered all their sin. Selah
³ You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger.

⁴ Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us!
⁵ Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
⁶ Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
⁷ Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.

⁸ Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
but let them not turn back to folly.
⁹ Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
that glory may dwell in our land.

¹⁰ Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
¹¹ Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from the sky.
¹² Yes, the Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
¹³ Righteousness will go before him
and make his footsteps a way.

 

 REFLECTION:

1. The psalmist began by thanking God for forgiving and restoring His sinning people. Even though Israel was free, she still needed spiritual restoration and revival. Therefore, the psalmist petitioned God to put away all of His anger against His sinning people. They needed His faithful love and His deliverance “that your people may rejoice in you.”
2. How can we understand forgiveness? By seeing it as a place where God’s love, faithfulness, and righteousness unite to bring peace. Because God loves us, He forgives. Because He is faithful to His covenant promises, He forgives. Because God is righteous, He pays the price in Christ that forgiveness requires.
3. When we see forgiveness as an expression of God’s character and attitude toward man, we can be sure that “the Lord will give what is good.”
4. Are you disappointed that something didn’t turn out the way you hoped it would? How might this psalm help you?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Restore Us, O God of Our Salvation – www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cfo-toNbaTM