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Pray:
Ask God to orient or reorient you to himself. Confess any known sin. Thank him for his forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and his sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s word. Pray for others in your life that they too would know and love God today.
Read:
Psa. 25:1 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; 2 in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. 3 No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse. 4 Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; 5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. 6 Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. 7 Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord. 8 Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. 9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. 10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant. 11 For the sake of your name, O Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great. 12 Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him. 13 He will spend his days in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land. 14 The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. 15 My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare. 16 Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. 17 The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish. 18 Look upon my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins. 19 See how my enemies have increased and how fiercely they hate me! 20 Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. 21 May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you. 22 Redeem Israel, O God, from all their troubles!
Understand:
The Psalms are like private diaries used in public worship. They are very personal but were compiled to be used in community and people walked together with God. You will not always “see yourself” in every Psalm at all times, but you will find that throughout time humans have had common struggles and they have a common solution.
Apply:
“May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you.”
A ship with integrity in its hull has no “cracks.” It is in the water but the water is not in in it. This is a good definition of integrity. To be “in the world but not of the world.” To live as if God is real and therefore we do not have to use deceit, or revenge, or self-seeking actions in order to live life.
Perhaps you do not feel like you have “integrity” that you are not putting your hope fully in God. Maybe you feel like your hull has cracks and the water is pouring in. The good news is your integrity is not the point, his integrity is. You do not put your hope in your ability to “float” but rather in his ability to keep you afloat…cracks and all.
So how does “integrity” protect us? His integrity does. We continually “mess up and fess up” he continually keeps us from sinking.
Spend what time you have left confessing hope and confidence in the Lord.
*From what you have just read and considered what is a personal implication/application for your life today?
Live:
(Personalize this prayer for today, make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through his Spirit as you go through your day. Ask him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell him “Yes” to his will today and ask him for his power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask him to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today. KEEP PRAYING THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY TODAY.