Month: July 2026

Psalm 28: Praying Scripture

Scripture

Sometimes praying can be repetitive, unimaginative, stale, or something weaker than an authentic conversation between you and God. There is a book I recommend called Praying the Bible by Donald S. Whitney that describes a low-stress, “language of Scripture,” gift of God that can bring God’s word purposefully into our praying. Renewal of our prayer lives is sure to follow with this described model.

In addition, there is a free app for smart phones called “Five Psalms” that can also provide handy passages each day for catalyzing deeper, more meaningful prayers. The Psalms are a good place to start because Psalms are like a “little Bible” containing every doctrine of the Bible and the entire range of human emotion.

So, as I prayed through Psalm 28, here is what took shape in my morning conversation with God:

Lord, You are my Rock. I lean on Your love for mercy and grace. Please hear and respond to my cries for Your provision. (I listed 5 specific and personal things that needed God’s provision here.) Help me to use my words with others with integrity. Help me to keep silent when necessary, help me to speak when appropriate, help me to avoid participating in gossip.

Lord, please prevent harmful actions from entering today’s circumstances for my family, my church, and my sisters/friends in Christ. Raise up believers in my community to have high regard for You, Lord. If I can be part of that process, please include me. Thank you for giving me the faith to know that You hear me; You are my Strength and Shield; You help me and I trust You. You have given me the Refuge found in salvation through Christ, the best gift imaginable! Continue to bless your children, of which I am one, with Your capable shepherding. Thank You for carrying me through challenging days (2026 for sure). Amen.

A wise counselor once told me that her consistent prayer in ministering to others as a biblical counselor is basically “Just tell me what to do, Lord.” These things about praying scripture I have learned from her and I am grateful.

Why Are We Drawn to the Horizon?

Scripture

Sunrises and sunsets are magical somehow. We photograph them and don’t particularly care to get friends and family into these pictures. From a far away perspective, that impressive border between the outermost layer of a celestial body and its sky captures photographers, both professionals and amateurs. With the help of smart phone cameras, we breathe in the majesty of these moments like nothing else.

Is it the lifting of our hearts to worlds beyond, or the beauty of the brightest star, or the idea of heaven that transports us to that dazzling display of color and wonder? It might just be the shadow image that makes our hearts know for certain that Creator God is the accomplished Artist Who knows that we can glimpse His glory a tiny bit more as we take in such scenes.

Why do we reserve Airbnbs with a view? Why do we take our kids to Grand Canyon? Why do we sit on porches looking at mountains? Why is the beach one of the happiest places? The horizon is always magnetic! When on my favorite cruise line, one of my preferred places (actually called “Horizons”) has been the top level lounge that looks out over the ocean facing forward. What a vantage point! The wonder, the expanse, the endlessness, the splendor! These are all attributes that hint at an even more wonderful, magnificent and splendorous Creator God. Really, there is no other rational place for the mind and heart to go.

Psalm 19:1-6 says, “To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving His chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.”

God does not hide Himself. He speaks personally through Creation. The universe is a silent sermon all its own. Sunrises and sunsets are the bursts of created majesty that confirm that God is good and that He has much to say about His own goodness. The brilliant colors are only a whisper of His majesty. The rhythm of our days and nights message God’s order and pattern imprinted on Creation. The variety seen on the horizon – no two sunsets alike and no two sunrises alike – persuades us that diversity and uniqueness happen by God’s amazing design.