West Park Contributor

Day 20 – Psalm 30

¹ I will extol You, O Lord, for You have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
² O Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You have healed me.
³ O Lord, You have brought up my soul from Sheol; You restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

⁴ Sing praises to the Lord, O you His saints, and give thanks to His holy name.
⁵ For His anger is but for a moment, and His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

⁶ As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.”
⁷ By Your favor, O Lord, You made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face; I was dismayed.

⁸ To You, O Lord, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
⁹ “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it tell of Your faithfulness?
¹⁰ Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper!”

¹¹ You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
¹² that my glory may sing Your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever!

Prayer of Reflection:

“Dear Lord, Your salvation is precious to me. In my realization of my hopeless condition, Your love lifted me from the depths of despair. Thank you for Your grace that allowed my heart to see Your holiness, and I’m pleased and excited to share this experience of Your undeserved mercy.

“Holy Savior, I have confidence in You, because You heard my plea for help and I know my life is important in Your sight. Now, as I sense Your presence and embrace Your goodness, my heart is dancing with Your joy even if my circumstances have not changed.

“To You, my King, be praise and honor forever. In Jesus’ holy name I pray, Amen.”

by Fred Blevins

Day 19 – Psalm 119:33-37

³³ Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes; and I will keep it to the end.
³⁴ Give me understanding, that I may keep Your law and observe it with my whole heart.
³⁵ Lead me in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it.
³⁶ Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!
³⁷ Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in Your ways.

Prayer of Reflection:

“Oh God, there is nowhere else I’d rather be but with You. Yet, there are many times where I give into the temptations or lies that propel me to be busier with the day-to-day demands of life, seeking pleasure, or spending my time making my name great. Yet, as I spend time with You, I realize that seeking after selfish gain or setting my eyes on worthless things will only lead to a lack of delight in You. It truly dries me up and I find that You don’t have my whole heart. So, God, I repent. I turn away from my sin and I run to You. I ask of You to teach me, give me understanding, lead me, incline my heart, and turn my eyes to You.

“Oh Lord, it is You who provides the love and motivation to live a life according to Your Word. Thank you that You have given me Your Word so that I can know You and Your path. Thank you for eternal life through Your Son, Jesus Christ, whom You sent to bear my sin. I realize that I have this unhindered relationship and knowledge of You only because of His righteousness that has covered my iniquity. Thank you for the work You are doing in my life! Thank you for Your relentless pursuit of me, Your child. So, Lord, please increase my love for You today! Amen.”

by Lauren Kappel

Day 18 – Psalm 88:13-18

¹³ But I, O LORD, cry to You;
in the morning my prayer comes before You.
¹⁴ O LORD, why do You cast my soul away?
Why do You hide Your face from me?
¹⁵ Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer Your terrors; I am helpless.
¹⁶ Your wrath has swept over me;
Your dreadful assaults destroy me.
¹⁷ They surround me like a flood all day long;
they close in on me together.
¹⁸ You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;
my companions have become darkness.

Prayer of Reflection:

“O Father, how dark this song of lament is! Afflictions, terrors, helplessness, abandonment, darkness, wrath: these are all the stench of hell. The weight of troubles piled upon this person would be unbearable, and yet, I know this is where many of Your beloved people are even now.

“I know I am not immune to any of the troubles listed in this prayer to You. That is a reality that scares me, Father. You are so powerful, so pure, so holy that I could never stand before You in my sin or human frailty. This Psalmist not only realized that but felt it keenly. Your hand was heavy on him, and he writes out of his deep suffering. It seems as if You’ve abandoned him, Father. Yet the more I’ve read his words, the more I see two truths that prove You never abandoned him: he pleads Your covenant name, meaning he knows you’re a covenant keeping God, and no matter the pain, he keeps praying to You. This is my hope too, LORD: You are a faithful God of covenant to me, and You will hold me fast so I can still cry out to You, even if pain should be my portion.

“Ultimately, I hear the words of my Savior and Your beloved Son Jesus in this Psalmist’s cry. His portion on the cross was affliction, terrors, helplessness, abandonment, darkness and all of Your wrath. I am humbled and worship Him, for when Your children experience deep suffering and anguish now, we will never face Your wrath. In Your love for us, You afflicted and abandoned your Son. And You raised Him in power from the dead to reign over our grief, giving us purpose in them. Thank you, Father.

“Help me and my grieving brothers and sisters to remember Your covenant with us and to continue fervently in faithful prayer to You. Amen.”

by Joe Kappel

Day 17 – Psalm 146

¹ Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
² I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

³ Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
⁴ When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.

⁵ Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
⁶ who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
⁷ who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free;

⁸ the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
⁹ The Lord watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
¹⁰ The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!

Prayer of Reflection:

“Heavenly Father, I praise your holy name! You brought me out of the slavery of sin with the blood of Jesus Christ and set me free to eternal life in Him forever. Great is Your name and most worthy of praise. I will praise You all my life in word and song. My trust is in You, oh God, for only You can save. You are my helper and my hope, and I am blessed because I trust in You.

“You are the maker of heaven and earth and everything in them, and You remain faithful forever. You do not abandon us in our time of need, but uphold us and provide for us. You set us free from the bondage of sin and oppression, and give us strength when we are weak.

“Father, thank you that You watch over us without slumber. Your love is faithful and never ending. You love the righteous who call on Your name. You sustain us and watch over us. Great are Your mercies toward us! You are King of Kings and Lord of Lords and You reign forever through all generations! Blessed be the name of the Lord our God forever! I love You and praise You my Lord, my Savior, my King! In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.”

by Todd Conant

Day 16 – Psalm 44:17-26

¹⁷All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten You, and we have not been false to your covenant.
¹⁸Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from Your way;
¹⁹yet You have broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death.
²⁰If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
²¹would not God discover this? For He knows the secrets of the heart.
²²Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

²³Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse Yourself! Do not reject us forever!
²⁴Why do You hide your face? Why do You forget our affliction and oppression?
²⁵For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly clings to the ground.
²⁶Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!

Prayer of Reflection:

“God, You are in control of every situation, whether I feel it or not. You have created me to worship and exalt You, help me not lose sight of that purpose when trials come. It can seem that You are “asleep” at times, as if You do not care or are hiding from me. But Lord, I know because of Your love for me, You are not hiding and You never will. You are working in ways that I may never understand, but You know exactly what You are doing.

“Please teach my heart to look to You in times of struggle and to not lose hope. Give me patience as You have me wait in difficult situations. Allow me to recognize Your work in my life so that I will praise You for Your great faithfulness. Thank you for loving me unconditionally even though I do not deserve it. Amen.”

by Allison Bishop

Day 15 – Psalm 73:25-28

²⁵Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You.
²⁶My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

²⁷For behold, those who are far from You shall perish; You put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to You.
²⁸But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works.

Prayer of Reflection:

“Lord, thank you for my suffering. This life is hard, my body fails me, but I know that through it all You are the strength of my heart and my portion forever. My suffering drives me even deeper into Your love and shows me that Your grace is enough, every single day.

“Thank you for the hope of heaven. Thank you for the hope that one day I will live in a place without sin and brokenness. I will be reunited with loved ones, have my tears wiped away, and experience the life without sin I was always meant for.

“But Lord, always remind me that if I don’t have You I have nothing. Remind me that nothing else will satisfy me. What makes heaven is that You are there. I look forward to that far more than anything else. You will be my portion forever.

“Help me to always remember Your promises. That, because of Jesus, I will spend eternity with You. That You are making all things new. And that the pain and sorrow of this life will one day be a memory because of Your amazing grace. Amen.”

by Jake Bishop

Day 14 – Psalm 94

¹O Lord, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth!
²Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve!
 ³O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?
⁴They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast.
⁵They crush Your people, O Lord, and afflict Your heritage.
⁶They kill the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless;
⁷and they say, “The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

⁸Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise?
 ⁹He who planted the ear, does He not hear? He who formed the eye, does He not see?
¹⁰He who disciplines the nations, does He not rebuke? He who teaches man knowledge—
¹¹the Lord—knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath.

¹²Blessed is the man whom You discipline, O Lord, and whom You teach out of Your law,
¹³to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.
¹⁴For the Lord will not forsake His people; He will not abandon His heritage;
¹⁵for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

¹⁶Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers?
¹⁷If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
¹⁸When I thought, “My foot slips,” Your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.
¹⁹When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.
²⁰Can wicked rulers be allied with You, those who frame injustice by statute?
²¹They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.
²²But the Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.
²³He will bring back on them their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the Lord our God will wipe them out.

Prayer of Reflection:

“Father, we live in times that seem to raise more questions than answers. The media bury us with images that depict a world spiraling out of control. Violent, lawless men commit their atrocities believing they are serving a god – whom they have created in their own image. The leaders of our nation find it more expedient to appease the loudest voices while closing their ears to Yours.

“Lord, at times I get discouraged like those the psalmist calls “the dullest of people.” I forget that the One who planted the ear still hears. You, who formed the eye, see all that is going on.

“Your unfailing love and tender care for Your people, for me and my family, is a rock that we stand on every day. May our confidence in the Lord our God and His ultimate justice serve to encourage believers who are part of our lives and give hope to those who have none. To God be the glory. Amen.”

by Karl Snyder

Day 13 – Psalm 113

¹ Praise the Lord!
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!

² Blessed be the name of the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore!
³ From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the Lord is to be praised!

⁴ The Lord is high above all nations,
and His glory above the heavens!
⁵ Who is like the Lord our God,
who is seated on high,
⁶ who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
⁷ He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
⁸ to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of His people.
⁹ He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the Lord!

Prayer of Reflection:

“Lord, praise Your name for all eternity! I pray for believers to call on Your name and give You praise!

“Lord, I know You were before time began. Before the day starts and before the day ends, help me to remember to bless Your name and give You praise!

“There is none above You in all the earth; may Your glory be known. There is no one like You, God, who came from heaven and glory to know me personally. I pray to know You more each day.

“You are merciful and gracious, beyond what I deserve. You give joy to the humble – teach me to be humble in Your sight.

“May I give You all glory in all things! Amen.”

by Cindy Reynolds