Summer Daily Readings - Psalms Pt. 2
Readings for this week January 8 - 12
Click here for a pdf of this week’s readings
Due to the holiday season, the January daily readings were prepared far in advance of the Summer Series, and so therefore are not connected with the content of the Summer Series. The readings for the next four weeks will take on a slightly different format than usual.
Each daily reading will contain a passage from the Psalms, as well as several questions, words and phrases, or ideas to be used as prompts (if you wish) for you to pray through in response.
This second week of readings focuses on confessing our sins and weaknesses to God and seeking his forgiveness.
Day 1 – Openness and Honesty Before God
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Psalm 6
1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint;
heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.
3 My soul is in deep anguish.
How long, Lord, how long?
4 Turn, Lord, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love.
5 Among the dead no one proclaims your name.
Who praises you from the grave?
6 I am worn out from my groaning.
All night long I flood my bed with weeping
and drench my couch with tears.
7 My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
they fail because of all my foes.
8 Away from me, all you who do evil,
for the Lord has heard my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my cry for mercy;
the Lord accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish;
they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.
Prompts for Prayer
· Complete honesty before God.
· What effects does sin have upon us and our relationship with God?
· What stops us being honest with God?
· What do you hope for when you confess to God?
· The forgiveness of God.
· What do you need to confess to God?
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 2 – From the Depths of Despair
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Psalm 130
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;
2 Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.
3 If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
so that we can, with reverence, serve you.
5 I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
6 I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
8 He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.
Prompts for Prayer
· From what depths has God rescued you in the past?
· In what areas of your life do you need God’s help at the moment?
· God as rescuer.
· Forgiveness and restoration.
· What is the waiting that verse 5 talks about? How do we wait?
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 3 – Prayer in the Midst of Hopelessness
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Psalm 143:1-9
1 Lord, hear my prayer,
listen to my cry for mercy;
in your faithfulness and righteousness
come to my relief.
2 Do not bring your servant into judgment,
for no one living is righteous before you.
3 The enemy pursues me,
he crushes me to the ground;
he makes me dwell in the darkness
like those long dead.
4 So my spirit grows faint within me;
my heart within me is dismayed.
5 I remember the days of long ago;
I meditate on all your works
and consider what your hands have done.
6 I spread out my hands to you;
I thirst for you like a parched land.
7 Answer me quickly, Lord;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me
or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I entrust my life.
9 Rescue me from my enemies, Lord,
for I hide myself in you.
Prompts for Prayer
· What does it mean to trust in the Lord?
· What does David do to remind himself who God is?
· What relationships in your life need repairing?
· Hiding ourselves in God in times of trouble.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 4 – A Sense of Wretchedness
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Psalm 51:1-9
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
Prompts for Prayer
· Ask for a pure heart and a clean, renewed spirit.
· The power of genuine repentance.
· Offering God a broken spirit rather than sacrifice.
· What are your weaknesses? How can God help you in your weakness?
· What should be our reaction when we sin?
· What does David ask God to do?
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 5 – Forgiveness and Renewal
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Psalm 51:10-19
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
you who are God my Saviour,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
18 May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Prompts for Prayer
· Has sin ever put a specific barrier between you and God? How have you dealt with a situation like this?
· What is the problem with unconfessed sin?
· How does God’s forgiveness affect our forgiveness of others?
· Helping others find forgiveness.
· Corporate confession, community confession.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)