PSALM 31

God. Abba. Father.

When we are desperate, we run to you, God. Please don’t let us down. Hear our prayer. Rescue us. Hurry! We proclaim that you are our rock, the fortress, our one and only safe place. Guide us. Let others see that we are being led by you and your Holy Spirit. And may you be glorified. We say it again: don’t let us down. Some days we feel we are trapped by sin or addictions or behavior that just isn’t right. So we commit ourselves to you. We put our lives into your hands. We trust you.

We join with the righteous in saying how much we hate the false teaching of following man’s religious rules and orders. Even those who worship idols. No, we celebrate and trust in you and you alone! You have seen our afflictions, our troubles, the heartaches of our souls. And you care for us. You have set us free from those things that have bound us up.

We confess that we often find ourselves, however, back in the same boat of trouble time and time again. People look at us with disdain for we are here again. Even our dear friends ridicule us and want to forget that we are friends. We are broken. We are weary.

Forgive us, Lord! We trust you! You are our God. Our life is in your hands. Smile on us. Save us just because you love us. May your face shine on us. You are wonderful to us. You store up blessings for all who honor and trust you. You are our protector. We find great comfort in your holy name.

We praise you! We thank you for keeping us safe. You have delivered us, even from accusing tongues. Thank you for protecting the faithful and those who call out to you. Thank you for your righteous scales of justice that also bring punishment to the proud and arrogant.

We thank you for the encouragement of this word to be strong and courageous. Our confidence, our hope, our trust is you and you alone. God, you are Yahweh. The One True God. The Great I am.

We worship you because of Jesus, and in the name of Jesus.

Amen and amen.