Here is the scripture prayer I have chosen to begin each new day in my “prayer circle” in 2019. I have decided to begin each new day by glorifying our Wrap-around God! So, I have chosen The Passion Translation for Psalm 115, because in addition to reading Mark Batterson’s, Draw the Circle I have also chosen as a companion volume, Prayers On Fire: 365 Days of Praying the Psalms, by Gretchen Rodriguez and Brian Simmons.
Here is just a “first taste” from Prayers on Fire…
There is so much power that comes from walking in your truth. Abiding in your Word is the path to wisdom and purity. It is the only way I know to steer through the labyrinth of life. It is the light that guides my steps and the voice that speaks louder than my fears. It comforts me and kisses me with freedom. It is the strongest weapon in my arsenal-the power of your Spirit upon my lips.
Psalm 115 ~ The Passion Translation
God, glorify your name!
Yes, your name alone be glorified, not ours.
For you are the one who loves us passionately,
and you are faithful and true.
Why should the unbelievers mock us, saying,
“Where is this God of yours?”
But we know our God rules from the heavens
and he takes delight in all that he does.
The unbelievers worship what they make—
their wealth and their work.
They idolize what they own
and what they make with their hands,
but their things can’t talk to them or answer their prayers.
Their possessions will never satisfy.
Their futile faith in dead idols and dead works
can never bring life or meaning to their souls.
Blind men can only create blind things.
Those deaf to God can only make a deaf image.
Dead men can only create dead idols.
And everyone who trusts in these powerless, dead things
will be just like what they worship—powerless and dead.
So trust in the Lord, all his people.
For he is the only true hero,
the wrap-around God who is our shield!
You, his priests, trust in the Lord.
For he is the only true hero,
God-wrapped-around-us as our shield.
Yes, all his lovers who bow before him, trust in the Lord.
For he is our only true hero,
God-wrapped-around-us as our shield.
The Lord will never forget us in our need; he will bless us indeed!
He will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron, his priest.
Yes! He will bless his lovers who bow before him,
no matter who they are.
God himself will fill you with more.
Blessings upon blessings will be heaped upon you
and upon your children from the maker of heaven and earth,
the very God who made you!
The heavens belong to our God; they are his alone,
but he has given us[b the earth and put us in charge.
Dead people cannot praise the Lord, but we can!
Those who sink to the silence of the grave
can no longer give glory to God, but we can!
So let’s praise the Lord!
Let’s begin now and let it go on until eternity is done.
Hallelujah, and praise the Lord!
Here’s another tiny sample from Prayers on Fire titled, To Laugh Again.
Lord God, unlock my heart, unlock my lips, and I will overcome with my joyous praise! Psalm 51:15
Sometimes I feel stuck, the cares of life gluing me within a cocoon of melancholy that I cannot escape. There is only one solution and you are it. I want to soar with you and feel the intoxicating delight of freedom once again.
Fan away the gloomy clouds of heaviness and unclutter my mind. Catch the little foxes hidden deep within my heart and untangle my soul from anxiety. Come, take my hand and together we’ll dance away my cares.
I can’t help but smile when I feel you near. You cause the stars to shine and my heart to sing. When I’m with you, I’m alive-raptured by pleasures few have ever known. Your presence unlocks the treasures of joy within me. You breathe wonder and delight into my soul, so I can laugh again!
(Tomorrow’s devotion is titled, You Have Restored My Roar…)
Really! Okay, is finding this devotional right now not a God-thing, or what?
Click this link to get Prayers on Fire available on Amazon.
Women With Destiny 