Daily Prayer: a resource of Forward Movement

The Forward Day by Day Meditation for September 17, 2018

We post a Forward Day by Day Meditation for every day of the year - and we invite you to consider them and talk about them here. If you'd like to comment, please register for an account at Facebook. By checking the "Post to Facebook" box when commenting, you'll be able to find and quickly link back to this page from your Facebook account. You can also find the past week's Meditations in the box at right (or below, for mobile users), or search for previous entries on the Archives page.

Please note: you won't be able to use the Facebook Comment feature unless you enable Javascript in your browser. In general, your overall experience on the Daily Prayer site will be greatly enhanced if you enable Javascript.

MONDAY, September 17

Psalm 56:10 In God the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I trust and will not be afraid, for what can mortals do to me?

The darkness of the world threatens to overwhelm me sometimes. From individual encounters with people who disappoint me to large-scale global tragedies, the darkness can feel like more than the human heart was wired to hold. Notably, Psalm 56 makes no distinction between the one we praise and the one we trust. I must admit that sometimes it’s easier for me to praise God than to trust God.

The gospel song, “The Lord Is My Light,” by the gospel king himself, James Cleveland, has long been a go-to mantra of mine in times of darkness. The lyrics draw from Psalm 23 and echo today’s psalm: “The Lord is the strength of my life, whom shall I fear?” This God I praise in my singing is the same God I trust with my life, with the life of the world, and with the fate of society—the same God who softens our hearts into transformation also makes the impossible possible in historical, real time. Thanks be to God.

MOVING FORWARD: How do you feel about the link between fear, trust, and praise? Spend some of your prayer time today pondering this.

PRAY for the Diocese of Hpa-an (Myanmar)

Ps 56, 57, [58] * 64, 65 | Job 40:1-24 | Acts 15:36—16:5 | John 11:55—12:8