Read Psalm 67
Three prayers for the day before you
A Morning Call to Worship
May you rise to the shining face of God.
May you rise with an awareness of the grace
that kept you through the night.
May you walk in a newness of joy
knowing the purpose of God to use you
to bring the joy of the gospel to your neighbors.
And may you join with the nations
in giving praise to His name.
A Mid-Afternoon Confession
Lord, I have not represented you well.
I have squandered both time and opportunity
to give verbal testimony to Your supremacy in my life.
I’ve not thought mighty thoughts about You.
I have allowed myself to be tossed here and there
by flickering stories on a screen that an algorithm
has thrown at me.
Forgive me, O God, and rescue me.
that the second half of this day
might be more useful to the peoples around me,
and more glorious for You have redeemed me.
O God, hear my prayer, and help me to live
a life more entranced with Your grace toward me,
that all the ends of the earth might reverence You.
An Evening Benediction
May you rest this night knowing He watches
over you and yours.
May you sleep with praise on your lips
and thanksgiving in your heart
for the grace He has shown you.
And may you rise in the morning to give Him new praises
that might use you to bless the people around you
to the praise of His glorious grace.[i]
[i] Psalm 67 Commentary: This tiny treasure of a Psalm might easily be called “a missionary’s psalm!” The psalmist prays for the blessing of God to be upon him “that Your way may be known on the earth” (NASB95, cf. verse 7). In the span of seven verses, the “nations” or the “peoples” or “the earth” (as a synonym for the nations) no less than eleven times, and the concern of the psalm is that the nations would know God’s salvation.
The psalmist seeks the blessing of God so that the nations will see the graciousness of His care. He wants the ways of God to be known on the earth so that the nations would bow in worship. Why does the psalmist cry for God’s mercy to be shown to his nation (vs. 1)? Verses 2-7 give the answer: First, so that God’s way of salvation would be known to the peoples of the earth (vs. 2). Second, so that the nations would praise Him (vs. 2, 5). Third, so that the nations would be made glad and sing (vs. 4). Fourth, so that the nations would be guided by the living God (vs. 4b). Fifth, so that the blessings given to his people would cause the people of the earth to fear (reverence) the God of Israel (vs. 6, 7). The psalm’s entire focus is on the salvation of the peoples of the earth, which would be known through the blessings that Israel receives from God!
“Make it so, O God. Make it so.
Help us to pray for our own nation,
that we too might be a blessing to the world
by showing them the way to You.”
Go to Psalm 68
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