A Prayer about the Lord’s Guidance
A Prayer about the Lord’s Guidance
You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Psalm 73:24
Faithful Lord,
As we read Asaph’s words,
we relate.
He begins Psalm 73 confessing his envy of the wicked,
who seem to prosper,
their bodies “fat and sleek,”
with no “trouble” as he and others face.
And yet, as he confesses his envy and resentment,
he remembers the riches he has in you:
“You hold [our] right hand” (Ps. 73:23).
“You guide [us] with your counsel” (Ps. 73:24).
We pause to consider what this means:
You,
the all-knowing,
all-wise,
all-powerful
Creator of the Cosmos,
guide us, steer us, shepherd us,
with your counsel, wisdom, knowledge, power, and love.
“And afterward you will receive [us] to glory” (Ps. 73:24).
Not, you “might” receive us to glory if we are good enough,
but you “will” receive us,
welcome us, embrace us,
to glory:
the state of beauty, perfect peace,
rest, wholeness and flourishing—shalom.
Oh Lord, what hope we have in your counsel.
Keep our eyes firmly fixed on you
and on our hope in heaven and on earth
as we plan for the new year.
Turn our eyes away from others
whom we might envy
that we might see how near
you have come to us in Christ,
that we might “tell of all your works” (Ps. 73:28).
Amen.
Read Psalm 73.
![What is your greatest longing?
Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.
Isaiah 40:4 ESV
Holy God,
I love this day, a day to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
and his dream,
yes,
but also a day to name our longing
for the day when that dream will finally come true.
As I re-read the powerful words
Dr. King spoke at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963,
the gospel roots of his dream are unmistakeable.
He said,
“I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted (Yes),
every hill and mountain shall be made low,
the rough places will be made plain (Yes),
and the crooked places will be made straight (Yes),
and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed [cheering],
and all flesh shall see it together. (Yes Lord)”.
As Dr. King dreamed of a day when the wrongs of slavery
would be made right,
when the ravages of racism
would be healed,
we still long for that day
when your glory will be fully revealed (Isaiah 40:5).
Even now, just over sixty years past the date of his speech,
the sin of racism remains,
and many are discouraged.
Draw us to look to you, Lord,
to see you working in your kingdom already come in Christ,
to create a land in which there is the freedom
for which Christ set every man and woman free (Galatians 5:1).
Help us, even as we long for justice to roll down on this earth
to know there is a day coming
when justice for all people will be the reality
for every person who trusts in Christ as their king.
Even as we long for justice and lean toward that final day,
empower us to love our neighbors by working toward that equality
for every human being today.
In the name of the one who humbled himself
that we might all call your kingdom our home.
Amen.
Read Isaiah 40:1-5.
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