Psalm 67

"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us..."
I prayed this for us when I first arrived in the prayer room; it's the first line of Psalm 67. It's so clear that we need God's grace even as we try to set aside a week to honor him because our effort is woefully imperfect. The time I've spent here this week has been full of distractions and daydreams, selfish wishes and unloving thoughts. So I plead, Jesus please be gracious to us, please have mercy, look on us with your shining face and bless us though we do not deserve it.

The second verse of Psalm 67 took me by surprise.
"...that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations."
My prayers from verse 1, I realized, had been good but too self-centered. I wanted Jesus for me and my close community. But God so clearly wants something much bigger. He wants his way known on the whole earth, and his salvation shared with the nations. I prayed for my brother and the other people that I wrote on the window of people we want to know Jesus. Lord, bring your children into your kingdom. Bring my brother into your kingdom. Jesus break the hearts of our friends for you, and break our hearts for them. Lord let us look on those around us with gut-wrenching compassion. Thank you Jesus for the Psalms.

sjb