To the Praise of His Glory: Prayers from the Psalms, Book Iii

By Lynnda Ell

To the Praise of His Glory gives voice to our hearts impulses to praise God in our prayers. When Joshua wanted to remind everyone of events in which God displayed His glory, he erected a mound of rocks. In a like manner, psalms serve as rocks of remembrance to the steadfast love of God. If your prayers have focused more on personal crises, natural disasters, or fear of the future, join Lynnda Ell as she shapes prayers of praise from the Psalms. As you pray with her, remember the many ways God shows you His love. Use To the Praise of His Glory to devote time each day focusing on who God is reflect on Gods control of events discover a path out of discouragement or depression remember times when God carried you through write your own prayers of praise and rejoicing

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 8, 2013
• ISBN: 9781490814018

Lynnda Ell

Lynnda Ell, a committed Christian for more than fifty years, decided that her retirement from a career in electrical engineering gave her the perfect opportunity to write books on getting personal with God. She is the author of three books (a trilogy of prayers from the Psalms), a contributor to several devotional books, and a blogger at lynndaell.com. She and her mother share a home in Sulphur Springs, Texas.

Book preview

Contents

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Psalm 84

Blessings beyond Compare

Psalm 85

Folly Like a Rudderless Ship

Psalm 86

Wishy-Washy Ways

Psalm 87

City of Peace

Psalm 88

Solitary Confinement

Psalm 89:1–18

Sing? Oh, Yes!

Psalm 89:19–37

Thousands of Years

Psalm 89:38–52

Humble My Heart

Psalm 90

From Everlasting

Psalm 91

The Promise of Protection

Psalm 92

It’s Better in Here

Psalm 93

The Lord Reigns!

Psalm 94

Whitewashed with Legal Lies

Psalm 95

Our Eternal Celebration

Psalm 96

Heart Song

Psalm 97

The One and Only King

Psalm 98

Our Most Holy Hope

Psalm 99

Where Are the Worshippers?

Psalm 100

Releasing the Joy

Psalm 101

Integrity of Heart

Psalm 102:1–17

Repair the Breach

Psalm 102:18–28

The Work of Your Hands

Psalm 103

Challenge

Psalm 104:1–23

Splendor Greater Than the Universe

Psalm 104:24–35

Trusting the One Who Conducts

Psalm 105:1–22

Keeper of Promises

Psalm 105:23–45

Uprooted

Psalm 106:1–23

A Man to Stand

Psalm 106:24–48

Without Excuse

Psalm 107:1–22

Love beyond Comprehension

Psalm 107:23–43

Those Who Go Down to the Sea

Psalm 108

Before the Battle

Psalm 109:1–20

Bad Men

Psalm 109:21–31

My Wounded Heart

Psalm 110

Exalted King

Psalm 111

Even Your Name Is Holy

Psalm 112

Miraculous Change

Psalm 113

Why Do You Care?

Psalm 114

Working Wonders

Psalm 115

Designed to Worship

Psalm 116

The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord

Psalm 117

Extravagant Praise

Psalm 118:1–18

Steadfast Love

Psalm 118:19–29

The Open Gates

Psalm 119:1–8 (Alef)

How Do I Know?

Psalm 119:9–16 (Bet)

No Forgetting

Psalm 119:17–24 (Gimel)

The Winds Blow

Psalm 119:25–32 (Dalet)

A Life Worth Living

Psalm 119:33–40 (He)

My Heart Would Break

Psalm 119:41–48 (Vav)

Absolute Truth

Psalm 119:49–56 (Zayin)

Climbing Out

Psalm 119:57–64 (Heth)

Copper Pennies

Psalm 119:65–72 (Teth)

Golden Coins

Psalm 119:73–80 (Yodh)

Surgeon’s Scalpel

Psalm 119:81–88 (Kaph)

When?

Psalm 119:89–96 (Lamedh)

Unlimited Perfection

Psalm 119:97–104 (Mem)

Honey in the Comb

Psalm 119:105-112 (Nun)

Joy of My Heart

Psalm 119:113-120 (Samekh)

God Alone

Psalm 119:121-128 (Ayin)

Time Fulfilled

Psalm 119:129-136 (Pe)

Life for the Simple

Psalm 119:137-144 (Tsadhe)

Hearts Who Love Your Word

Psalm 119:145-152 (Qoph)

Long Ago, Far Away

Psalm 119:153-160 (Resh)

You Give Me Life

Psalm 119:161-168 (Sin and Shin)

Our Hearts in Awe

Psalm 119:169-176 (Taw)

Your Eternal Word

Psalm 120

Lying Lips, Deceitful Tongues

Psalm 121

The Days at the End

Psalm 122

City of Peace?

Psalm 123

Mute Misery

Psalm 124

But God …

Psalm 125

Mountain of the Lord

Psalm 126

Tears of Desperation

Psalm 127

Solomon’s Wisdom

Psalm 128

Godly Men

Psalm 129

School of Consequences

Psalm 130

Because of Your Mercy

Psalm 131

In Your Presence Is Peace

Psalm 132

Can One Man Shape the World?

Psalm 133

Unity’s Blessing

Psalm 134

Good Night

Psalm 135

Your Name

Psalm 136

Steadfast Love

Psalm 137

Missing the Song

Psalm 138

What Wondrous Love!

Psalm 139

The Knowing

Psalm 140

Expose My Enemies

Psalm 141

Best Friend

Psalm 142

Pastor’s Prayer

Psalm 143

The Crossroads

Psalm 144

One Soldier at War

Psalm 145

My Forever King

Psalm 146

Far from Futile

Psalm 147

Lost among the Mountains

Psalm 148

Now Is the Day to Praise

Psalm 149

The Bride’s Song

Psalm 150

Eternal Delight

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Other books by Lynnda Ell:

Changing Me, Change the World: Prayers from the Psalms, Book I

Words of Power, Echoes of Praise: Prayers from the Psalms, Book II

Books are available in print, digital, and audio formats.

Presented to:

________________

By:

________________

On:

________________

To my sisters in Christ who attend Anna’s Bible study.

Your prayers, encouragement, and review comments

helped me write the three Prayers from the Psalms books.

Acknowledgments

Writing is always very personal, and writing books on eternal matters is downright scary. I write what I think I understand of God. The more I write, The greater is my understanding of my ignorance of Him! Nevertheless, I delight in sharing my experiences. I marvel as well when the Holy Spirit shapes my thoughts and words toward experiences I could never know. Writing the prayers for the 176 verses of Psalm 119 daunted me. Every day, however, God gave me fresh inspiration, and the twenty-two prayers took shape. I share this with you so you can understand my profound gratitude for the people who upheld me in prayer as I wrote this book. Thank you, prayer partners. I hope you know this is your book too.

The prayer support was critical, but no less important was my review team. They kept me from making mistakes in the usual grammatical ways. They also helped me clarify what I wanted to say and encouraged me greatly. Many thanks to Muriel Watson, Judy Hoormann, Anna Chatelaine, Brenda Tullos, Janet Torres, Ann Gregg, Wyvonne McDaniel, Vickie Williams, and Pat Russell.

Due to the generous editorial policies of Crossway publishing, complete psalms from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version are included with the prayers. Thank you, Crossway, for allowing me to use significant portions of the ESV Bible in these books.

My heartfelt appreciation goes to Peter Perdue and the publishing professionals at WestBow Press. It was their commitment to excellence and their patient encouragement of an emerging author that allowed these manuscripts to become books.

Most of all, I am blessed by the opportunity to share these prayers with you. Thank you for your interest in praying from the Bible. May your life bring glory to God as you praise Him in your prayers and by your life.

Foreword

According to Mark D. Roberts in his Daily Reflection for January 12, 2013 (thehighcalling.org), neither our association nor our prayers will be neat and tidy if we have a true relationship with God. Rather, we will abandon all pretenses and tell Him our doubts and fears as well as express our faith and trust. Modeling that truth was my purpose in the first two volumes of this series, Changing Me, Change the World and Words of Power, Echoes of Praise. This final volume of Prayers from the Psalms, however, focuses on another dimension of our prayers, displaying God’s glory as we praise Him. Regardless of our circumstances or our level of spiritual maturity, we glorify God in our prayers when we praise Him. Praise can change our attitudes and free our minds from worry and fretting. I can only repeat St. Paul’s command to the church at Philippi: Rejoice in the Lord always (Philippians 4:4).

The photo on the front cover has special significance. For centuries, many cultures used rock cairns as physical reminders of significant events. God told Joshua to take rocks from the bed of the Jordan River and stack them on the shore after they crossed into Canaan. Many of the psalms in this book stand as rocks of remembrance to God’s steadfast love. May you meditate on His love and praise Him.

If you are reading one of this series for the first time, it may help you to know that the format differs from most books. The psalm always appears on the left page, while the prayer for the psalm always appears on the right page; this format may be confusing when the psalm or prayer spills over to another page. You will also find blank pages reserved for recording your own prayers.

Be blessed!

Lynnda Ell

Sulphur Springs, TX

Psalm 84

1   How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!

2   My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.

3   Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.

4   Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!

Selah

5   Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

6   As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools.

7   They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.

8   O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob!

Selah

9   Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed!

10   For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

11   For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.

12   O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Blessings beyond Compare

Lord, blessings—special blessings for people who love and obey You—flow from Your temple in heaven. You open our eyes to see the beauty of Your holiness from afar. You delight us by giving us the lyrics to wonderful songs sung by the heavenly choir. Your Word fires our imagination with descriptions of exuberant worship around Your throne. You fill our hearts with the desire to join the saints in worshipping at Your feet. With confidence, we stoop to enter the mean and lowly door of death, so that once we have passed through, we can stand erect and enter Your gates with praise and come into Your courts with thanksgiving.

Heaven is our goal; life eternal in Your presence is the prize You have set before us. Yet now, in this life, we continue on our pilgrimage, but Your Spirit maps the highways in our hearts. You provide us with the strength to fight our battles, to plant the seeds, to work in Your fields.

In this sinful, desert world, You use us to carry the water of life and to spill it upon the thirsty ground, making it a place of bubbling springs and overflowing pools. We go from strength to strength in each season of our lives until we appear before You and hear You say, Well done, my faithful one.

All these blessings that flow forever come to us because of Jesus. Behold Him, Father; He shields us from evil and makes a way for us to stand before Your throne, clothed in His righteousness. Look on His face and see His sacrifice. Look at Him and see me, forgiven.

I would rather live a single day at peace with You than to live a thousand lifetimes in rebellion. Even if You place me at the outermost edge of Your courts, I would rather live there than anywhere else. You are the satisfaction of all I desire.

As we journey through this world You give us life, protection, usefulness, and honor. We cherish every occurrence of Your care for us. Nevertheless, we yearn for the day when we shall stand before You in heaven. The smog of this sinful world often hides Your glory. In heaven, we will see Your brilliance in its fullness, not like the flickering light of a single candle. No, we will see glory brighter than the shining of the brightest star.

Oh, that will be glorious and blessing beyond compare.

Psalm 85

1   Lord, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.

2   You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin.

Selah

3   You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.

4   Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us!

5   Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?

6   Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?

7   Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.

8   Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.

9   Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.

10   Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.

11   Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky.

12   Yes, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.

13   Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way.

Folly Like a Rudderless Ship

Father, across the world, You favor those You have chosen. By Your unfathomable grace, You redeem us, covering our sins with the blood of Your Son. You forgive our iniquity and withdraw Your wrath. Because of Your incredible love, we have new hearts and new lives, and Your Holy Spirit is in our souls.

Jesus, as if it were yesterday, I remember the joy, the peace, and the awe I experienced the day I accepted You as my Savior. As I focused on You, I felt Your presence. I read the Bible to learn of You, cherishing each new understanding. I talked to You about anything and everything. My days sparkled, and my nights glowed with Your glory.

As time passed, however, I lost my sense of the wonder of Your love. The events in my life distracted me. I stopped talking to You and reading the Bible. I let the pastor’s sermons and the deacon’s prayers substitute for the time I once spent in Your presence. Eventually, even my church attendance dwindled and became just an occasional activity.

What folly! My heedlessness has driven me into moral stupidity, like the winds driving a rudderless ship onto a reef. Anger, resentment, and bitterness are sending roots into my heart. Bleakness fogs my days, and depression nibbles away at my nights.

I hate this, Lord. I’ve hit the bottom; I’m looking up to You. Revive me, God. Restore the joy of my salvation. Yank out the weeds of sin that grow in my life.

I will fight to retake the ground I lost. Holy Spirit, by the power You provide, I resolve to recover my life in You, listening to Your Word and obeying it. Father, I want to be diligent, faithful, and fruitful. Thank You for renewing these desires in my heart.

Your steadfast love ignites faithfulness in my life, and Your righteousness provokes peace in my spirit. Thank You for opening my eyes to my folly. You empower me to change, not leaving me to wallow in the futility of self-improvement.

You will give me what is good, and I will accept it. As I plow the fields and tend the crops, You will provide the harvest. You will make the path, and I will walk upon it. I will abide in You.

Psalm 86

1   Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.

2   Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.

3   Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day.

4   Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

5   For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

6   Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace.

7   In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.

8   There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours.

9   All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your