in his strength

Opening Prayer: Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. (Psalm 105:1-4, NIV)

Scripture: Psalm 105:1-4

Journal:  Whose strength do you most often operate in?  What impact does that have on your life?  What would it look like to look to the Lord and his strength?  How will you seek his face today?

Reflection:  One of the greatest temptations of the spiritual life is to live it out of our own strength, by our own efforts.  It is such a subtle thing.  We can start out so well-meaning, so connected to God and determined to live in perfect union and harmony with him.  We start out seeking his face and then, throughout the course of our days, or our lives, we slowly drift away.  The content of our lives takes center stage and causes us to lose our focus.  We begin, once again, to live by our own gifts, our own strengths, and our own agendas—without even realizing it.  It is such an easy trap to fall into.  We are just going about our lives without even giving it a second thought.

     That is until we pray the words of this ancient prayer.  And then we realize that we have not really been seeking God’s face at all.  It was not a malicious thing, we just somehow lost our way.  “What, exactly, have we been seeking?” we ask ourselves.  But we have no answer.  Thanks be to God for the prayer book of the bible, through which we learn the dynamics of life with God.  Eugene Peterson once said that “the Psalms train us in the conversation with God that is prayer.”  And one of the things they train us to see is how easy it is for us to lose our focus, unless we are constantly engaging in the words of these ancient prayers.  Then we remember.  Then we are called back.  Then we stop seeking after whatever it was that may have distracted us for the moment, and turn back to seeking our God.  And when we do, it brings deep joy to our hearts, and his.

     O Lord, help me to seek your face this day.  Help me to live out of your strength and not my own.

Prayer

Closing Prayer: Hallelujah! Thank God! Pray to him by name! Tell everyone you meet what he has done! Sing him songs, belt out hymns, translate his wonders into music! Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs, you who seek God. Live a happy life! Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works; be alert for signs of his presence. (Psalm 105:1-4, The Message)