iPray (or, a conversation with God) June 5

Psalm 141
A David Psalm

GOD, come close. Come quickly! Open your ears - it’s my voice you’re hearing!
Treat my prayer as sweet incense rising; my raised hands are my evening prayers.
Post a guard at my mouth, GOD, set a watch at the door of my lips.
Don’t let me so much as dream of evil or thoughtlessly fall into bad company.
And these people who only do wrong - don’t let them lure me with their sweet talk!
May the Just One set me straight, may the Kind One correct me,
Don’t let sin anoint my head. I’m praying hard against their evil ways!
Oh, let their leaders be pushed off a high rock cliff; make them face the music.
Like a rock pulverized by a maul, let their bones be scattered at the gates of hell.
But GOD, dear Lord, I only have eyes for you.
Since I’ve run for dear life to you, take good care of me.
Protect me from their evil scheming, from all their demonic subterfuge.*
Let the wicked fall flat on their faces, while I walk off without a scratch.

(The Message)

*subterfuge means deceiving someone in order to get what you want


There are as many ways to pray as their are people on the earth. God has never put limits on how we talk to him. Neither has God given us strict instructions on how to pray. Prayer at its basic level is having a conversation with God.
We have conversations all the time. We talk to our family members. We talk to our friends. Sometimes, after we have spent a lot of time talking with a friend, we feel like we can finish their sentences or know what they will say next. We can even tell what they will say by the way they stand or their facial expressions.
How do you talk to your best friend? What kinds of things do you talk about?

Do you think you could talk to God that way? Do you spend time talking to God like you spend time talking to your best friend?

When we talk to God, we can talk to him about anything. We have the freedom to ask God for anything. According to Psalm 141, what kinds of things does David ask of God?

When you pray, what do you ask of God? Do you confess your sins? Do you ask God to help you not to sin? Do you ask for God to set you straight? Do you cry out for God’s justice?

A Prayer...
Father God, sometimes we don’t do a good job of praying. Some days we forget to pray altogether. Some days we do not know what to pray for. Will you help us? Forgive us for not knowing how and when to pray. Help us be aware of the Holy Spirit in us. We know the Holy Spirit helps us pray and even prays for us. Help us hear him.
Keep us from sin. Help us not follow people who are doing wrong. We do not want to fall into evil’s traps. Give us strength, confidence, and power to be good examples to our friends. Take care of us.
Bring justice, God. Free people who are oppressed. Heal people who are broken. Comfort people who are hurting. Keep your people safe. We pray to you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.