January 30, 2017

Praying with excerpts from Psalm 18 today:

I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies.

Without You, we can do nothing Lord. Our warriors have truly done so much through You. We thank You for saving so many. We thank You for giving victory to many missions. We thank You that You heard their voices and rescued them from certain death.

For You alone can part the heavens and come down with dark clouds under your feet. The earth trembles, the mountains shake when You are angry. You soar on the wings of the wind. You can hide behind darkness and advance the clouds in battle. Our enemies scatter because of You.

To the faithful You show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd. You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.

Please forgive us, Lord, for our terrible pride. Forgive us for thinking we can do this on our own. Please forgive us for our lack of faith, our lack of purity. We have sinned greatly, and boldly. Please help repentance to sweep across this nation, and through our military.

As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord's word is flawless; He shields all who take refuge in Him.

Lord we pray for the refugee. Please be their shelter. Give us wisdom, courage, strength to help them. You have given us an incredible responsibility with our strength in the world--help us to rightly use it.

You Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall...
It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; He causes me to stand on the heights.
He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You make your saving help my shield and your right hand sustains me;
Your help has made me great.

Lord, we pray for our warriors:
*please give the young recruit courage to face the day
*please help the units work together and give the leaders selfless wisdom
*please surround the outposts with your angels
*please give the mechanics a keen eye and great skill to keep the machines moving
*may the many people do their part, and above and beyond their jobs. Please give them the skills they need.
*please use the chaplains. May they be about Your business, from the Chief of Chaplains office to those in basic.
*please guard the hearts of our warriors. May their suffering bring them to You.
*please meet the lonely--in the training field, those who are deployed, the veterans in the hospitals and homes across the US. Lord, please be very real to them.
*please strengthen their marriages through the refining. Give the vets' spouses insight and endurance.
*please strengthen the bodies of our warriors. Help our wounded through their recovery. Please give the doctors the knowledge, give the nurses the patience.

For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock except our God?
It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure...
The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!