April 20: The prayer no one wants to pray...

Psalms 13, 17, 23, 26, 28, and 31

Psalm 13

Amplified Bible (AMP)

Psalm 13

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

¹ How long will You forget me, O Lord? Forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?

² How long must I lay up cares within me and have sorrow in my heart day after day? How long shall my enemy exalt himself over me?

³ Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; lighten the eyes [of my faith to behold Your face in the pitchlike darkness], lest I sleep the sleep of death,

⁴ Lest my enemy say, I have prevailed over him, and those that trouble me rejoice when I am shaken.

⁵ But I have trusted, leaned on, and been confident in Your mercy and loving-kindness; my heart shall rejoice and be in high spirits in Your salvation.

⁶ I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Psalm 17

Amplified Bible (AMP)

Psalm 17

A Prayer of David.

¹ Hear the right (my righteous cause), O Lord; listen to my shrill, piercing cry! Give ear to my prayer, that comes from unfeigned and guileless lips.

² Let my sentence of vindication come from You! May Your eyes behold the things that are just and upright.

³ You have proved my heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tried me and find nothing [no evil purpose in me]; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.

⁴ Concerning the works of men, by the word of Your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent (the paths of the destroyer).

⁵ My steps have held closely to Your paths [to the tracks of the One Who has gone on before]; my feet have not slipped.

⁶ I have called upon You, O God, for You will hear me; incline Your ear to me and hear my speech.

⁷ Show Your marvelous loving-kindness, O You Who save by Your right hand those who trust and take refuge in You from those who rise up against them.

⁸ Keep and guard me as the pupil of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings

⁹ From the wicked who despoil and oppress me, my deadly adversaries who surround me.

¹⁰ They are enclosed in their own prosperity and have shut up their hearts to pity; with their mouths they make exorbitant claims and proudly and arrogantly speak.

¹¹ They track us down in each step we take; now they surround us; they set their eyes to cast us to the ground,

¹² Like a lion greedy and eager to tear his prey, and as a young lion lurking in hidden places.

¹³ Arise, O Lord! Confront and forestall them, cast them down! Deliver my life from the wicked by Your sword,

¹⁴ From men by Your hand, O Lord, from men of this world [these poor moths of the night] whose portion in life is idle and vain. Their bellies are filled with Your hidden treasure [what You have stored up]; their children are satiated, and they leave the rest [of their] wealth to their babes.

¹⁵ As for me, I will continue beholding Your face in righteousness (rightness, justice, and right standing with You); I shall be fully satisfied, when I awake [to find myself] beholding Your form [and having sweet communion with You].

Psalm 23

Amplified Bible (AMP)

Psalm 23

A Psalm of David.

¹ The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack.

² He makes me lie down in [fresh, tender] green pastures; He leads me beside the still and restful waters.

³ He refreshes and restores my life (my self); He leads me in the paths of righteousness [uprightness and right standing with Him—not for my earning it, but] for His name’s sake.

⁴ Yes, though I walk through the [deep, sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with ^[a]oil; my [brimming] cup runs over.

⁶ Surely or only goodness, mercy, and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and through the length of my days the house of the Lord [and His presence] shall be my dwelling place.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 23:5 It is difficult for those living in a temperate climate to appreciate, but it was customary in hot climates to anoint the body with oil to protect it from excessive perspiration. When mixed with perfume, the oil imparted a delightfully refreshing and invigorating sensation. Athletes anointed their bodies as a matter of course before running a race. As the body, therefore, anointed with oil was refreshed, invigorated, and better fitted for action, so the Lord would anoint His “sheep” with the Holy Spirit, Whom oil symbolizes, to fit them to engage more freely in His service and run in the way He directs—in heavenly fellowship with Him.

Psalm 26

Amplified Bible (AMP)

Psalm 26

[A Psalm] of David.

¹ Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity; I have [expectantly] trusted in, leaned on,and relied on the Lord without wavering and I shall not slide.

² Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; test my heart and my mind.

Okay here's another prayer I may have prayed before but I don't remember praying this. Test my heart and mind. I don't like tests! From God or anyone else! To me this is a scary prayer. But it's in the Word, so here goes...

"Dear God, this is scary. Okay. Deep breath. Test me and try me. Prove me. But can You please give me a little head's up? "This is a test, only a test." would be helpful. I feel like I would pass, anyway. But I'm a little, okay a lot scared of some unknown test sneaking up on me. I want to be prepared. Prepare my heart for this test You're about to spring on me, Oh God. Is it like a pop quiz? How I hated those! Nevertheless, bring it on. Because I want to be that fine gold vessel You are needing for the furtherance of Your kingdom in this late hour. Whew! This is hard! I'm trembling right now in fear and awe of You, Oh Great God. How I want to be pure hearted like King David."

³ For Your loving-kindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth [faithfully].

⁴ I do not sit with false persons, nor fellowship with pretenders;

⁵ I hate the company of evildoers and will not sit with the wicked.

⁶ I will wash my hands in innocence, and go about Your altar, O Lord,

⁷ That I may make the voice of thanksgiving heard and may tell of all Your wondrous works.

⁸ Lord, I love the habitation of Your house, and the place where Your glory dwells.

⁹ Gather me not with sinners and sweep me not away [with them], nor my life with bloodthirsty men,

¹⁰ In whose hands is wickedness, and their right hands are full of bribes.

¹¹ But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; redeem me and be merciful and gracious to me.

¹² My foot stands on an even place; in the congregations will I bless the Lord.

Psalm 28

Amplified Bible (AMP)

Psalm 28

[A Psalm] of David.

¹ Unto You do I cry, O Lord my Rock, be not deaf and silent to me, lest, if You be silent to me, I become like those going down to the pit [the grave].

² Hear the voice of my supplication as I cry to You for help, as I lift up my hands toward Your innermost sanctuary (the Holy of Holies).

³ Drag me not away with the wicked, with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace with their neighbors, but malice and mischief are in their hearts.

⁴ Repay them according to their work and according to the wickedness of their doings; repay them according to the work of their hands; render to them what they deserve.

⁵ Because they regard not the works of the Lord nor the operations of His hands, He will break them down and not rebuild them.

⁶ Blessed be the Lord, because He has heard the voice of my supplications.

⁷ The Lord is my Strength and my [impenetrable] Shield; my heart trusts in, relies on, and confidently leans on Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song will I praise Him.

⁸ The Lord is their [unyielding] Strength, and He is the Stronghold of salvation to [me] His anointed.

⁹ Save Your people and bless Your heritage; nourish and shepherd them and carry them forever.

Psalm 31

Amplified Bible (AMP)

Psalm 31

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

¹ In You, O Lord, do I put my trust and seek refuge; let me never be put to shame or [have my hope in You] disappointed; deliver me in Your righteousness!

² Bow down Your ear to me, deliver me speedily! Be my Rock of refuge, a strong Fortress to save me!

³ Yes, You are my Rock and my Fortress; therefore for Your name’s sake lead me and guide me.

⁴ Draw me out of the net that they have laid secretly for me, for You are my Strength and my Stronghold.

⁵ Into Your hands I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth andfaithfulness.

⁶ [You and] I abhor those who pay regard to vain idols; but I trust in, rely on, and confidently lean on the Lord.

⁷ I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy and steadfast love, because You have seen my affliction, You have taken note of my life’s distresses,

⁸ And You have not given me into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a broad place.

⁹ Have mercy and be gracious unto me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; with grief my eye is weakened, also my inner self and my body.

¹⁰ For my life is spent with sorrow and my years with sighing; my strength has failed because of my iniquity, and even my bones have wasted away.

¹¹ To all my enemies I have become a reproach, but especially to my neighbors, and a dread to my acquaintances, who flee from me on the street.

¹² I am forgotten like a dead man, and out of mind; like a broken vessel am I.

¹³ For I have heard the slander of many; terror is on every side! While they schemed together against me, they plotted to take my life.

¹⁴ But I trusted in, relied on, and was confident in You, O Lord; I said, You are my God.

¹⁵ My times are in Your hands; deliver me from the hands of my foes and those who pursue me andpersecute me.

¹⁶ Let Your face shine on Your servant; save me for Your mercy’s sake and in Your loving-kindness.

¹⁷ Let me not be put to shame, O Lord, or disappointed, for I am calling upon You; let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol (the place of the dead).

¹⁸ Let the lying lips be silenced, which speak insolently against the [consistently] righteous with pride and contempt.

¹⁹ Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear, revere, and worship You, goodness which You have wrought for those who trust and take refuge in You before the sons of men!

²⁰ In the secret place of Your presence You hide them from the plots of men; You keep them secretly in Your pavilion from the strife of tongues.

²¹ Blessed be the Lord! For He has shown me His marvelous loving favor when I was beset as in a besieged city.

²² As for me, I said in my haste and alarm, I am cut off from before Your eyes. But You heard the voice of my supplications when I cried to You for aid.

²³ O love the Lord, all you His saints! The Lord preserves the faithful, and plentifully pays back him who deals haughtily.

²⁴ Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for and hope for and expect the Lord!