Category: “Listening to God” Devotional

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+065

 

Psalm 65 (ESV)

⁵ By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas;
⁶ the one who by his strength established the mountains,
being girded with might;
⁷ who stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples,
⁸ so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.

⁹ You visit the earth and water it;
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide their grain,
for so you have prepared it.
¹⁰ You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
¹¹ You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.
¹² The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
¹³ the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase? How is that related to your current situation? What does God tell you to do?
3. David expressed God’s provision in terms of a harvest: How would you rewrite verses 9-13 to praise God’s provision for you? Write it down as your praise to God for His abundant provision 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:

Praise is Due To You – www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2GidlZKAPI

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+064

 

Psalm 64 (ESV)

¹ Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
² Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
from the throng of evildoers,
³ who whet their tongues like swords,
who aim bitter words like arrows,
⁴ shooting from ambush at the blameless,
shooting at him suddenly and without fear.
⁵ They hold fast to their evil purpose;
they talk of laying snares secretly,
thinking, “Who can see them?”
⁶ They search out injustice,
saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.”
For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.

⁷ But God shoots his arrow at them;
they are wounded suddenly.
⁸ They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them;
all who see them will wag their heads.
⁹ Then all mankind fears;
they tell what God has brought about
and ponder what he has done.

¹⁰ Let the righteous one rejoice in the Lord
and take refuge in him!
Let all the upright in heart exult!

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase? How is that related to your current situation? What does God tell you to do?
3. What is your biggest complaint about work, church, school or family? With whom are you most free to “whine”?
4. God’s desire is to be with us every step of the way. Have you ever considered bringing your frustrations to God?

 

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 64 – www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd98WeTXI_Y

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+063

 

Psalm 63 (ESV)

¹ O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
² So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
³ Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
⁴ So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.

⁵ My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
⁶ when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
⁷ for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
⁸ My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

⁹ But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
¹⁰ they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
they shall be a portion for jackals.
¹¹ But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by him shall exult,
for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase? How is that related to your current situation? What does God tell you to do?
3. This psalm calls for focused attention on God. In the pamphlet “The Game with the Minutes” (1953) levaire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/The-Game-with-Minutes-Frank-Laubach.pdf, Frank Laubach, a missionary in the Philippines, invited Christians to attempt calling God to mind for at least one second out of each minute of the day.
4. Play this Game with the Minutes today and see how much you score at the end of the day. Talk to God about your score and your attention on him.

 

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:

Better Than Life – www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTtzb1mINiA

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+062

 

Psalm 62 (ESV)

¹ For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
² He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

³ How long will all of you attack a man
to batter him,
like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
⁴ They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
They take pleasure in falsehood.
They bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse. Selah

⁵ For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
⁶ He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
⁷ On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

⁸ Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase? How is that related to your current situation? What does God tell you to do?
3. In this psalm, David describes God as a rock. Find sometime today to be outdoors.  Find a few rocks and look at them. Reflect on the characteristics of rocks and how they describe God’s character. Write down your reflections.
4. Thank God that He is like a rock. Thank God for what each of the aspects of His character means to you. Find a small stone and carry it with you today.  Every time your hand touches it, reflect on the fact that God is your Rock.

 

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 Soul Finds Rest In God Alone – www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSp-3kvKQZs

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+061

 

Psalm 61 (ESV)

¹ Hear my cry, O God,
listen to my prayer;
² from the end of the earth I call to you
when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
that is higher than I,
³ for you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the enemy.

⁴ Let me dwell in your tent forever!
Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah
⁵ For you, O God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

⁶ Prolong the life of the king;
may his years endure to all generations!
⁷ May he be enthroned forever before God;
appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!

⁸ So will I ever sing praises to your name,
as I perform my vows day after day.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase? How is that related to your current situation? What does God tell you to do?
3. Have you ever made any vow to man or to God? What is it? Have you kept your vow? What vow can you make this week to help you grow stronger in faith?

 

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:

Hear My Cry, O God – www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CRTY1xb0NE

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+060

 

Psalm 60 (ESV)

¹ O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses;
you have been angry; oh, restore us.
² You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open;
repair its breaches, for it totters.
³ You have made your people see hard things;
you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger.

⁴ You have set up a banner for those who fear you,
that they may flee to it from the bow. Selah
⁵ That your beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer us!

⁶ God has spoken in his holiness:
“With exultation I will divide up Shechem
and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
⁷ Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet;
Judah is my scepter.
⁸ Moab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I cast my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

⁹ Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
¹⁰ Have you not rejected us, O God?
You do not go forth, O God, with our armies.
¹¹ Oh, grant us help against the foe,
for vain is the salvation of man!
¹² With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase? How is that related to your current situation? What does God tell you to do?
3. What or who is attacking you now from your blind side? What lesson in this psalm can help you face problems head on?

 

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:

We Shall Go Bravely – www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uiu1I82t-fA

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+059

 

Psalm 59 (ESV)

⁶ Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
⁷ There they are, bellowing with their mouths
with swords in their lips—
for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”

⁸ But you, O Lord, laugh at them;
you hold all the nations in derision.
⁹ O my Strength, I will watch for you,
for you, O God, are my fortress.
¹⁰ My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

¹¹ Kill them not, lest my people forget;
make them totter by your power and bring them down,
O Lord, our shield!
¹² For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
¹³ consume them in wrath;
consume them till they are no more,
that they may know that God rules over Jacob
to the ends of the earth. Selah

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase? How is that related to your current situation? What does God tell you to do?
3. How should we pray for criminals or those who persecute God’s people? How do you balance hatred of evil with love for enemies?

 

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 Is My Defense – www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq5HIjL-hOY

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+058

 

Psalm 58 (ESV)

¹  Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?
Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
² No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands deal out violence on earth.

³ The wicked are estranged from the womb;
they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
⁴ They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
⁵ so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.

⁶ O God, break the teeth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
⁷ Let them vanish like water that runs away;
when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted.
⁸ Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime,
like the stillborn child who never sees the sun.
⁹ Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!

¹⁰ The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
¹¹ Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who judges on earth.”

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase? How is that related to your current situation? What does God tell you to do?
3. What social injustice or tyranny gets you stirred up? How is that reflected in your prayers? How can you use cries in verses 6-9 as your own prayer? For whom?

 

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:

There is a God Who Judges the Earth – www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV2E3ghsu24

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+057

 

Psalm 57 (ESV)

¹ Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.
² I cry out to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
³ He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

⁴ My soul is in the midst of lions;
I lie down amid fiery beasts—
the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.

⁵ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!

⁶ They set a net for my steps;
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my way,
but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
⁷ My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
⁸ Awake, my glory!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
⁹ I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
¹⁰ For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.

¹¹ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase? How is that related to your current situation? What does God tell you to do?
3. In his time of distress David cried out to God (v. 2). Think of a time when you were in distress. What was your experience of God like during that time?

 

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 57 – www.youtube.com/watch?v=48ZWpRKulU8

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+056

 

Psalm 56 (ESV)

¹ Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;
all day long an attacker oppresses me;
² my enemies trample on me all day long,
for many attack me proudly.
³ When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
⁴ In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?

⁵ All day long they injure my cause;
all their thoughts are against me for evil.
⁶ They stir up strife, they lurk;
they watch my steps,
as they have waited for my life.
⁷ For their crime will they escape?
In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!

⁸ You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?
⁹ Then my enemies will turn back
in the day when I call.
This I know, that God is for me.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase? How is that related to your current situation? What does God tell you to do?
3. Does being afraid lead you to trust God more or less? How can you choose faith when you are afraid?

 

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:

So Gracious O God – www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vPIxj8UKas