Lauren Sparks

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First Friday Prayers: The 23rd Psalm

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First Friday Prayers: Psalm 23 by Lauren Sparks

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a study by Jennifer Rothschild on the 23rd Psalm.  An exercise in the last week of the curriculum surprised me.  I easily slipped into praying scripture without even trying!  So I thought I might take you through this section of the workbook and let you have a go of it too!

 

The author asked us to write a script using the 6 verses of the 23rd Psalm with other passages of her choosing to write our own personal narrative.  She asked us to use the first person, talking about our Shepherd.  So here are the story starters in bold, while my answers are in pink:

 

Combine the 23rd Psalm verse 1 with Nahum 1:7:

God takes care of me and I have everything I need in Him.  He is so good and gives me shelter when things are hard.

 

Combine the 23rd Psalm verse 2 with Psalm 16:8:

God nourishes me and brings me peace.  If I keep my eyes on Him, I am strong.

 

Combine the 23rd Psalm verse 3 with Jeremiah 6:16a

My God refreshes me and leads me to do what’s right so He will be glorified.  Obeying Him is restful.

 

Combine the 23rd Psalm verse 4 with Isaiah 58:8 and Psalm 5:12

No matter what hard thing I face, I’m not afraid because you’re with me and you comfort me.  You bless me and show me favor.

 

Combine the 23rd Psalm verse 5 with Psalm 3:3

I can overflow with joy at what You have for me.  You protect me and keep my chin up.

 

Combine the 23rd Psalm verse 6 with Psalm 125:2

Your goodness and mercy pursue me and I get to be with you forever.

 

On the first three prompts, I answered in the manner requested.  I spoke ABOUT God.  But I did not realize until after I completed the exercise and looked back over it that I subconsciously slipped in speaking scripture TO God.  I all that practice praying scripture is instilling a good habit.

 

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to look up these scriptures and pray them yourself.  You can use my words or your own.  Either way, this message will not self destruct.

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If you give this a try, I would love to know how it went.  I’m praying for you in this.  And don’t forget to share on social media or with a friend who could benefit.  It would mean so much to me.  If you don’t want to miss a Praying God’s Word post, subscribe over on the right hand side of this page.

 

Lauren

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up.

 

Linda Stoll’s A Rare Gift Indeed will make you think.  It really challenged me and I’d love to hear if it challenges you.

 

The Link Up

 

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

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MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
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LAUREN SPARKS
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LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
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TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
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Princess Consuela Banana Hammock…and Grace and Truth Link Up

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Today is National Name Yourself Day!  Can you tell I’m paying a little too much attention to the weird and random holidays lately?  This one reminded me of an episode of the TV show Friends.  In it the principle character Phoebe decided to legally change her name to Princess Consuela Banana Hammock.  The problem?  She had no idea what a banana hammock actually was.  Hilarity ensued.

 

A few years ago, I learned that I sang the wrong words to the 2005 song “Move Along” by The All-American Rejects.  Apparently oblivious to the NAME of the song, I believed the lyrics to the chorus were, “And even when your hope is gone, mow the lawn, mow the lawn just to make it through.”  Changes the meaning a bit.  Just like Phoebe’s name of choice changed from whimsical to weird when she understood that Banana Hammock was more than just a funny word.

 

Following my realization, I threw up a post on Facebook asking others to share their best misheard lyrics.  I’ll share a couple that made me spit coffee out of my nose.  My Allie used to sing the praise song, “You are the everlasting God” as “You are forever asking God”.  Might be some truth there.  If pop music is more your thing, a friend’s grandson sang Maroon 5’s megahit “Moves Like Jagger” as “I’ve got to move like dragons, I’ve got to move like dragons.”  And Princess Consuela herself thought Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” went “Hold Me Closer, Tony Danza”.  I’m sure many Who’s the Boss fans relate.  But one of my favorites, Billy Joel’s “Keeping the Faith”, has a whole new meaning when interpreted as “Yeah, yeah, yeah, just a kick in the face!”

 

A couple of weeks ago, the 23rd Psalm, Verse 6 reminded me of a misheard lyric of my own.  I grew up singing the hymn based on this passage, “Surely Goodness and Mercy”.  Even as a child, I had the words right – I held the hymnal with them in my hand.  “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.”  A cheery song that left me wondering what in the world surely goodness was.

 

I believe the word of God is without error, but a comma would have helped 2nd grade Lauren understand just what we sang about.  Read this with a pause where I placed the comma.  “Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.”  Surely.  A sure thing.  Without a doubt, goodness and mercy follow me wherever I go.  Because I belong to Jesus, goodness and mercy surround me.  Always.  In every way.  Wow.

 

May a pause between two words encourage you today.

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

Jennifer Ross touched me with her sweet tribute to her daughter and a miracle working God in The Gift of a Rose…  I have a baby girl (16 now) with the middle name Rose as well.  Praise God for His precious gifts.

 

Grace and Truth_Rules

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

 

Grace Truth_Button

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

HEATHER HART & VALERIE RIESE – Candidly Christian
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
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Now Let’s Link Up!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

 

 

Sharing is caring! If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

To find some great places where I might be sharing this post, click here.

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