Lament and praise with Psalm 13

O LORD, how long
will this keep going on?
Are You going to forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?

How long must I keep talking to myself
with confusion and soul-sorrow every day?

How long will people of ill will beat me down?

O LORD God, please listen!
Please answer my prayers.
Give me light, or I might
sleep the sleep of death!

Rebellious people rejoice
and think they’ve won
with words that shake us!

But LORD, I trust Your love
and kindness.
I celebrate Your saving grace!

How good You are, O LORD!
With psalms, I sing Your praise.

Psalm 13 prayer-a-phrased by Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2017, with translations from Bible Gateway.

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Praising God with Psalm 9

LORD, my whole heart thanks You.
I can’t begin to count Your wonderful deeds.
How glad I am in You! Oh, how I rejoice!
Even my enemies repent in Your presence.

You maintain me and all I stand for –
the righteous rulings You bring.

Nations will receive Your rebuke,
and people will perish in wickedness
that has no part in You.

You have uprooted cities
and brought to an end
every ruining thing.

But You, LORD, sit securely
on Your throne of justice,
and You treat all people fairly.

What a stronghold You are
in troubled times, O LORD!

All who know Your name
can totally trust in You,
for You, O LORD, do not forsake
those of us who seek You sincerely.

We sing Your praises, Lord,
and tell of Your wondrous acts
for You are mindful of us
and do not forget our cries.

Psalm 9:1-12 prayer-a-phrased by Mary Sayler, © 2017

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Praising God with Psalm 8

Psalm 8

O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is Your Name
in all the earth!

Above the heavens,
Your glory!

Out of the mouths of babes,
Your power
to overcome ills!

O look at Your heavens –
the moon and stars,
pointing
to the Your fingertips.

Who are we
to come
to Your mind?

Who are we
to be held close
in Your care?

You made us a little lower
than heavenly beings
and crowned us
with Your glory and honor.

You gave the work of Your hands
into our hands –
the animals, birds, fish,
the land and water.

O LORD, our Lord –
Your Name fills the earth
with majesty.

prayer-a-phrased by Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2016

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Praising God with Psalm 1

Psalm 1

How blessed are we
who walk not in the ways of the wicked,
nor stand in the way of sinners,
nor sit seated in cynicism and scorn!

For we delight in the law of the Lord,
and on God’s Word, we meditate
day and night.

We are like trees
planted by streams of water,
yielding our fruit in due time.
Our leaves will not wither,
and all we do in the Lord will prosper.

Not so, the wicked!
They’re like dust driven away by wind,
and their ways won't stand
when tried,
nor will they find rapport with the righteous.

For God identifies with
righteous ways,
but wicked ways will someday cease.

prayer-a-phrased by Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2016

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This ruckus of crows, dogs, hawks

will not keep me from liking
the silken air, the deep green
shadows in the field, the joy
of loving You in my life.

Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2016

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Beside my desk, seashells

show evidence of life
outgrowing the old self
and discarding hard
protective layers
that once encompassed
vulnerabilities.

Praise the Lord! You
have risen from the grave
condition of mankind
and found Yourself,
buoyed in the Spirit
but anchored in us,
Your blessed Body on earth.

© 2016, Mary Harwell Sayler

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The universe sings of the glory of God

and The Word can be heard to the ends
of the world!

Listen! Hear the happy hum of
bees, the melodic call of a wren,
the swoosh of an eagle’s wings,
the cattle lowing in a far-off field.

Can you hear the trees clapping
for Ruah or the ocean’s surf
slapping the shore with waves
of applause?

May we and all of creation find our key
for singing praises to God in harmony!

by Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2016