Thursday, June 10, 2010

Psalm 146: 1-2

Psalm 146: 1-2

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long
as I live;
I will sing praises to my
God all my life long.



Praising the Lord! Good old David....praising God. Good old David who was one of the greatest sinners of all time was intentionally praising God. David had an amazing relationship with God- Yahweh. In spite of David’s sinfulness, David understood Gods compassion and forgiveness first hand. David was literally telling his “soul” to praise God. Wow!
Praising God is a “Spiritual Practice.” Praising God requires intentionality because sometimes we don’t think about intentionally praising God. Sometimes we don’t even want to take the time because our lives are so busy. Take the time and give it a try. Just for today take a couple of minutes, close your eyes, and begin praising God. Breathe deeply several times and begin reading these two verses from the Psalm slowly several times. Now if you really want to try something new and different, try using the first line of the Psalm as a “breath prayer.” First close your eyes, take a few relaxing breaths...then inhale and pray “Praise”, then exhale with “the Lord.” Or inhale “Praise the Lord” then exhale “O my soul.” Pray these “breath prayers” over and over many times, practicing, until they become a mantra. These prayers will make their way to your heart and before you know it you may be praying these verses without even knowing it. It’s a wonderful way to pray scripture and it’s easy. Thanks be to God!

Gracious God,
Thank you for your Word that fills our hearts and lives with hope and peace. As David, your servant praised you, teach us to praise you every day. You, dear Lord, are worthy to be praised. All of creation praises You! Amen.