April 20, 2020
We are taking 21 days as a church to focus on prayer.
During this time we are going to use the prayer and songbook of the people of God, the Psalms. Read and meditate on the psalm each day with us and then, in response, pray that psalm in your own words. Our devotional authors have provided an example of how they prayed the psalm as well!
Our desire is to see our people grow in their prayer life during this time.
Here in Psalm 1 we have the gateway in to the prayer and songbook of the people of God. We see that any who would delight in the law of the Lord and not walk in the counsel of the wicked will be blessed. The imagery of a tree planted by streams of water is used for the one who meditates on the word of God. Meaning, there will always be fruit in the life of one who loves and meditates on the Word of God!
Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
In response, take the words of Psalm 1 and make it your own prayer!
For example:
Father, I want to experience the blessing that only comes from delighting and meditating on your Law.
Help me to not walk in the counsel of the wicked. Give me the wisdom and discernment to not stand in the way of sinners.
Please give me the desire to meditate on your law day and night and to delight in it! I want to bear fruit for You.
Help me to be like a tree planted by streams of water. Help me to be continually nourished by you and Your word. Amen.
Thank You for this new prayer study guide
Matthew 21:13 My House will be called a House of Prayer
Only recently, have I learned how to pray. I was set in rituals & repeated meaningless ‘prayers’ over & over. I now know the way to the Lord and ask for His guidance through knowledge of the Bible.
I not only want to be filled with His words, for I do devotionals on a daily basis, but I need to show it with my words and actions.
To really know You, I must spend time with you. When I do, I will be fed and will grow.
Thank you for the prayer, it’s very encouraging.
I want to be filled with His words, and know more about Him and get closer with Him.
Chapter 1 of the Psalms is so encouraging to the believer. We have everything we need to thrive in Christ Jesus!
What a wonderful way to start the day, grounded in the Word of God as a tree standing strong and tall nourished by Living Water. Only God can provide what we need during this time of chaos and uncertainty, I pray that as a tree at waters edge, I will hear only His voice.
Lord you alone are sovereign. What you call me to will not fail.
Awesome to wake up and be fulfilled with the word of God. Help me to pray.
Luke 11:1. Lord teach us to pray.
Father Lord, as I study your word daily, make your ways known to me like never before. Let the light in your word illuminate my path to you more. Psalm 103:7.
Dear Lord,
Today, on my birthday, I want to pledge to you my heart, mind and soul to be a living vessel for You. I want to enrich my life even more and nourish my mind and soul with Your living waters, so that I can be a fountain for You. Thank you for loving me and always reminding me that You are with me always. What a friend I have in Jesus!
Happy birthday Jan?
Happy Birthday
I love the tree analogy.
Me too, Sue! I often like to meditate on v. 3, along w/ Isaiah 61:4 and Jer. 17:7-8.
Lord, guide me today that I honor You in all that I do and say. I am so apt to slide in thought and speech. Guard both. Amen.
Father, renew my mind today as I meditate on your Word. You are my Living Water, and I pray you will continue to water my desire to spend daily time with You in Your Word so I can produce good fruit and be a blessing to others. Amen.
I absolutely loved reading this Psalm and then making it a prayer. I feel it’s a wonderful way to get closer to God.
I desire to be the tree described in Jeremiah 17:7-8. Father, give me the burning desire to meditate on your word.
“The man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed. He will be like a tree planted by water: it sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn’t fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.”
Jeremiah 17:7-8 HCSB
https://www.bible.com/72/jer.17.7-8.hcsb
Great connection!
Father thank you for continuing to nourish me. Lead me to always feed on your word.
Daily prayer is my personal time with God. Help me to go deeper with this!
So thankful for a church that focuses on prayer. And equips us to be prayer warriors as well. So excited about the next 21 days! Let’s do this!!
Yes!
Lord allow me to have the consistency needed to meet you each day for prayer, take away my laziness and put your passion in my heart. For I need you and love you Amen!
Thank you, Lord, for placing the desire in my heart to commune with You and to desire the things of You and not of this world.
My son and I were reading and then discussing the psalms. My son says prayer is like a shield.
Order my steps in your word dear Lord. I am weak but thou art mighty, hold me with thy powerful hand. Please help me to meditate on your word day and night.
Thank you Lord for this season, for the growth you want to produce in my life.
For years, I have used Tozer For the Christian Leader and Billy Graham’s Wisdom For Each Day for my daily devotions. I am pleased to add 21 Days to His time.
Amen.
Thank you for the devotional!
Thank you to those who shared additional scripture.
Mark 1:35….The next morning, Jesus awoke long before daybreak and went out alone into the wilderness tp pray. I too will make PRAYER a priority in my life.
Amen! As a tree needs water, so we also need God. What a joy and a blessing to be able to drink his living water every day, from his word. Praise HIM from whom all blessing’s flow.
YES?
For a musical interpretation of Psalm 1, I recommend Kim Hill’s Psalm 1; and for a dramatic recitation of Psalm 1, I recommend Piercing Word: go to their video section on fb and view An Evening in the Psalms. They start with Psalm 1. It’s one of my favorite Psalms.
Thank you for the reference, Joy. I’ll do that and pray a prayer for you!
Thank you, Joy Yates! I am blessed by your walk with the Lord. I’ll check out An Evening in the Psalms!
Father, in these days of so many competing voices, may I still my heart and mind and patiently wait on your voice. As I read your word, speak to me. For it is with praise and adoration I lift up my voice in the still of the morning. You are the creator of all. You are my God.
Before I tackle this day, like Jabez, I simply pray: Bless me indeed for You know my needs. Enlarge my territory. Use the airwaves to reach one more for your precious Son. Fill me anew and afresh with your Holy Spirit to enable me to accomplish your plans for me this day. Open my eyes to see evil so I can run from it. So as not to cause pain in this world, nor in your heart. Amen.
Amen! You are in such a unique place, and it is awesome that you are able to use your platform to share God’s wisdom and peace.
I am so excited to start this devotional with my brothers and sisters from CFBC ! Thank you Pastors
Happy birthday Jan Gezaffi!
Thank you CFBC for giving us this 21 Days of Prayer. To focus on our connection to God and the Power through it!
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Lord Jesus thank you for Your fellowship. Come to each of our homes and dine with us. Speak to us Lord. For we need You so Lord Jesus. In Your Name I pray Amen.
Today Psalm 1 reminds me to be patient and steadfast. I am meant to produce fruit in my season…in God’s timing. A lot is going on during the interim. Growth, tending to needs, getting rid of weeds…bacteria, pruning. God is always busy working on and with us.
What a blessing to read the other 26 comments. Thanks for the scripture. https://www.bible.com/bible/72/jer.17.7-8.hcsb really spoke to my heart.
God is showing us with this season to be steadfast in your faith. He is growing each of us. This morning I woke up, and my thoughts were racing…and I thought, get control of your thoughts. My mind calmed immediately. That is how the Holy Spirit works.
This Psalm pairs well with Proverbs 20 (I am using the nasb this month). Look at the date, today is the 20th, so I read Proverbs 20. What a blessing every day! I start over every month. I had to look up the word winnow. How it gave me a deeper understanding of verse 4 specifically, but also the whole psalm.
Blessings,
Nadia
Just as a tree benefits from where it is planted, as in Psalm 1, so do we benefit, first from God’s Word, and then from others who have read and prayed over His Word and shared their heart. Each strikes a chord and is part of the rhythm of prayer. What a blessing and a great start to day one of the twenty one. Thank you Lord!
Amen Billie!
Yes, Nadia. Envision a harp and each prayerful comment strikes a chord, to make beautiful music.
I love that!
Loved the devotional for today, Psalms 1:1-6. I pray that I will walk in the way of the righteous. Luke 11:28 Jesus says, “Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey it.” Father, help us all to see all that you have blessed us with today! Question is: Which of God’s blessings come to your mind today?
There is such comfort knowing that many of my Christian brothers and sisters will be reading the same passages and praying together. Thank you Lord for giving us this opportunity to grow and know you better.
Lord, thank you for your guidance every morning during my prayer time with you. It is these times that I know what you want me to do to take care of my husband. I can not do it without you and your help.
Lord, your Law is the path of life. I delight in it and I meditate on it day and night, for it leads me to you. Thank you for making me fruitful and prosperous in all that I do. I long for more of you each day, and you answer my longing, Amen!
My desire is to get to know you lord and to continually walk in your will.
Thank you for those that have joined us on this 21 Day Prayer Journey. We believe God is moving in a huge way through this unique season.
Lord, help me delight in Your Word!
Father God, in the Blessed name of Jesus, summit this my prayer. I thank you for your Son, Jesus, My Savior and Lord. My link to your presence
You know my heart, my thoughts, my ways and my body language. Every detail of my day ahead, and of my life both past and future is in your hand.
Please Lord, if it be your will, forgive my past discretions where I failed to see and make decisions you favored. As I begin this 21 day devotional I seek to draw closer to you in spirit, word and deed.
I ask that your WILL will become clearer as I walk though this 21 day devotional. Reset my focus to see you more clearly.
You are already forgiven ❤
Expectant over the next 21 days! Lord, do a work in me that only YOU can do!
Thank you Lord that we can come together as a church body and pray as one. We pray God that we will all read the word each day and you will lead us to the path of righteousness for your name sake. Help me to be continually nourished by your word so i can glorify your name each day. Thank you Lord for your blessings in Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Thank you all for your comments and devotion to connecting more closely with our Lord. We are blessed with this season and timing of events .
These daily devotionals help me to be more Christ like and provides insight with messages of how prayer is so important in our life. Such an awesome reminder what God has in store for us on a daily basis with His Grace! God bless each of you as we read the 21 day devotional track.
God’s Word is life!!! Thank you for the opportunity to share the 21 day reading with others and learn from each one .
Heavenly Father, show me how to love your the way you love me so that I may experience the blessing that only comes from you. Mark your holy word & cleanse my heart so that I may not continuously sin against you. Show me how not to desire worldly things and to walk in your ways. I pray for wisdom & discernment to make choices that honor you. Give the desire to meditate in your word day and night. I pray for my children, Lord, Father guide them in their daily walk and that they also desire your holy word so that they can gain wisdom and discernment in a way that please you. Father, I ask that you bless my children and myself. Thank you, Father, for always taking control of my life. Thank you for sending your son to die on the cross for my sins. In Jesus Name I Pray, Amen.
What a blessing in this season of turmoil. May we heed God’s instruction.
In You alone oh Lord I expect help to be able to delight in your Word and meditate it day and night.
Father, thank you for giving us your Word…and your desire to hear from us often…very similar to a parent’s desire to hear from their children regularly… Help me to delight in your Word and to pray spontaneously as you lead me… Amen
In you Lord, I can do all things. Draw me closer to you each day and give me strength to be more like you.
Psalm 1:1-2
Blessed is the man[a]
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law[b] of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
To make God’s word our words in prayer is so powerful! Lord, give me the focus to Delight and meditate on your words and law day and night.
O Lord, let my tree absorb Your wisdom and knowledge that I may bear fruit for your glory.
I thirst for the waters that will quench my soul and for a newness that will spring up and shower all that are tired and weary. I am but a vessel in need of her Lord and Savior that will steer me in His ways so that others will know Him and desire His word and His law.
So happy our church is doing this prayer challenge together! Discipline is definitely not one of my strengths. Excited to see how God will use this time to challenge me and grow my faith!
I love the analogy of the tree, something I never really meditated on before. I’ve had this passage in my daily bible reading many times, but it’s as if I’m seeing it for the first time. It says a tree planted by streams of water “that yields its fruit in its season”. Lord, may I yield fruit pleasing to you, that points others to you. And may it be in the right season – in YOUR timing – and how you want, not in my timing or how I may think. Help me to meditate on your word daily and show me what you want me to learn.
Heavenly Father, you are my Creator. You are my Redeemer. May your light so shine through me that others may see Jesus in me. I desire a more intimate relationship with you, my Father. Help me to meditate on your word and hide it in my heart. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. You are Love, and I want to love others as you love me. By the power of the Holy Spirit, help me to walk in your will and your ways. In Jesus holy name, I pray. Amen
Lord let us mediate on your word as we journey through this season of life.
Lord, thank you that you are my savior. Help me to be that tree by the stream where I can meditate on your word and your goodness. We’re on a journey we never even dreamed of, but you are always faithful and I can lean on you and your promises. Through this pandemic, you have brought people together, not physically, but spiritually. I pray that when we come out on the other side of this journey, we will be stronger in our faith
This reminds me of Jeremiah 17:7-8: “But I will bless the person who puts his trust (daily action) in me. He is like a tree growing near a stream (unlike the tree, we make the daily choice whether or not we will encamp near our living water) and sending out roots to the water. It is not afraid (our choice) when hot weather comes, (and it will) because its leaves stay green; it has no worries (our choice) when there is no rain; it keeps on bearing fruit.” So many truths when we compare ourselves to trees.
Lord God, Heavenly Father, in my times of weakness, I confess that I have walked in the counsel of the wicked, that I have stood in the way of sinners, and that I have sat in the seat of scoffers. Would that in my weakness, you might be my strength and enable me to be like a tree planted by streams of water so that I might delight in your law and meditate on it day and night.
Lord, thank you for this opportunity to study your word with my church family over these next 21 days! I desire to be more like you! Help me to set aside time each day to not only read your word, but to hear your voice & have a deeper understanding of its meaning so that I may shine your light in my daily walk! I love you Lord with all my heart!
Thank you for this wonderful opportunity to meditate on God’s words. God bless you all.
Thank you for a perfect scripture Psalms 1 to begin this 21 day challenge. It describes the desire to have and the benefits of thirsting for God’s direction and a closer relationship.
I have always been sporadic when speaking with God. I’m eager to find a better rhythm in my prayer!
Day 1 has already enlightened me to enjoy my Lords word and be blessed by him, May God Bless us all!
Too convicting!
“Sitting in seat of scoffers” hits too close to home as I plopped myself on the recliner and quarantined binge-watched a British TV show where any religious character was the evil villain …sigh… now where did I put that fruit of the Spirit called self-control?… and where is the delete button ? …Lord give me a heart for you!
Well said Terry Lowry!! I needed that!!
Dear God, help me to consistently find my delight in your law and meditate on your word both daily & nightly
Dear Lord, I delight in your word. Precious to us your promises and your faithfulness for every word in this first psalm is so true. I pray Lord for abundant fruit in my life in our lives as we obey your command. I pray Lord that when you come back we would dance before you rejoicing because we have the right kind of gifts to present to you. Our gifts, fruit of sacrificial obedience and love for you. In Jesus mighty name Amen!!