September 20 — Psalm 142

“With my voice I cry to the LORD; with my voice I make supplication to the LORD. I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. When my spirit is faint, you know my way. In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me. Look on my right hand and see—there is no one who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for me. I cry to you, O LORD; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” Give heed to my cry, for I am brought very low. Save me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. Bring me out of prison, so that I may give thanks to your name. The righteous will surround me,for you will deal bountifully with me.”

We all prefer to live in the abundance of G-d’s grace, but from time to time we get ourselves into dark places. “Dark places” can be a lot of different places: the pit, the prison, the desert, the wilderness—these dark places can be good training for believers.

Joseph had a prison; Moses had the desert; Jeremiah had a pit, Daniel had a den, Paul was in and out of jail so many times, like Motel Six, they “kept the light on for him.” Even Jesus had a wilderness. Every believer gets their time in the “dark places” of life.

What can we learn from the dark places of life? Abraham Lincoln’s life may be a good example of what can come of the dark experiences of our lives — where a truly deep dark night requires an extraordinary development in life. With his early life surrounded by death and loneliness President Lincoln was a seriously melancholic man who, throughout the Civil War, dealt with his many “dark nights of the soul”. Yet, in spite of or through his dark times, he became an icon of wisdom and leadership. He once said, “If there’s a worse place than hell, I’m in it.” But, with his faith, and his courage, these experiences became the ground out of which his leadership grew

If each of us are brave enough to face these dark places, and learn to trust G-d fully, then these dark places may just reveal how much work G-d has done in preparing us for even greater things.

Let us Pray:

God our refuge, when friends have forsaken us and enemies line all our paths, come quickly to our aid. Lead us out from captivity into the light of your freedom, secured for us in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

September 19 — Psalm 141

“I call upon you, O LORD; come quickly to me; give ear to my voice when I call to you. Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice. Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not turn my heart to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with those who work iniquity; do not let me eat of their delicacies. Let the righteous strike me; let the faithful correct me. Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head, for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds. When they are given over to those who shall condemn them, then they shall learn that my words were pleasant. Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land, so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol. But my eyes are turned toward you, O GOD, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; do not leave me defenseless. Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me, and from the snares of evildoers. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I alone escape.”

“Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.”

Incense was widely used in the act of worship in the ancient church — and it is still used today. This is the image the Psalmist uses for his prayers to the Lord. “Let my prayer be set forth to you as incense” — there is intentionality and forethought in this image. We too often treat the need for prayer lightly — or as an afterthought. Prayer is not to be considered lightly, without thought or without care. Yes, we are to consider any time as prayer time — for those spontaneous times when we need to utter words of thanksgiving, or words of concern. But, we are also supposed to set aside time for prayer that is intentional — purposeful — meaningful — and reverent.

Whatever form all of our prayers might take, our one wish is that each one might be acceptable to G-d. Prayer is sometimes presented without words by the very motions of our bodies — we might be on bended knees — we might lift our hands as a gesture of expectant prayer. The Psalmist makes a bold request: he would have his prayers offered and hopes to have them accepted just as we might recite the service of evening prayer, of which this Psalm is used in our Vesper service in the Lutheran Book of Worship.

May our prayers always be acceptable and welcome as a means for offering thanksgiving and praise.

Let us Pray:

Let the incense of our repentant prayer ascend before you, O God, and let your lovingkindness descend upon us, that with purified hearts we may sing your praises with the church on earth and the whole heavenly host, and may glorify you forever and ever.

Amen.