Psalm 55

0 To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.
1  Give ear to my prayer, O God;
  do not hide yourself from my supplication.
2  Attend to me, and answer me;
  I am troubled in my complaint.
 I am distraught
3 by the noise of the enemy,
  because of the clamor of the wicked.
 For they bring trouble upon me,
  and in anger they cherish enmity against me.
4  My heart is in anguish within me,
  the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5  Fear and trembling come upon me,
  and horror overwhelms me.
6  And I say, “O that I had wings like a dove!
  I would fly away and be at rest;
7  truly, I would flee far away;
  I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
8  I would hurry to find a shelter for myself
  from the raging wind and tempest.”
9  Confuse, O Lord, confound their speech;
  for I see violence and strife in the city.
10  Day and night they go around it
  on its walls,
 and iniquity and trouble are within it;
11   ruin is in its midst;
 oppression and fraud
  do not depart from its marketplace.
12  It is not enemies who taunt me—
  I could bear that;
 it is not adversaries who deal insolently with me—
  I could hide from them.
13  But it is you, my equal,
  my companion, my familiar friend,
14  with whom I kept pleasant company;
  we walked in the house of God with the throng.
15  Let death come upon them;
  let them go down alive to Sheol;
  for evil is in their homes and in their hearts.
16  But I call upon God,
  and the LORD will save me.
17  Evening and morning and at noon
  I utter my complaint and moan,
  and he will hear my voice.
18  He will redeem me unharmed
  from the battle that I wage,
  for many are arrayed against me.
19  God, who is enthroned from of old, Selah
  will hear, and will humble them—
 because they do not change,
  and do not fear God.
20  My companion laid hands on a friend
  and violated a covenant with me
21  with speech smoother than butter,
  but with a heart set on war;
 with words that were softer than oil,
  but in fact were drawn swords.
22  Cast your burden on the LORD,
  and he will sustain you;
 he will never permit
  the righteous to be moved.
23  But you, O God, will cast them down
  into the lowest pit;
 the bloodthirsty and treacherous
  shall not live out half their days.
 But I will trust in you.

Daily Prayer (based on Psalm 55:17)

How reassuring it is to know that I can turn to You wnenever I need You. You aren't a god who can be accessed only through elaborate rituals, or only in one holy place, or only if I know the right magic words. No. You are the God who is present, the God who sees me, the God who hears my prayers all day. You are Emmanuel, God with us. Thank you, dear Father, for Your persistent presence, and for being with me all day.

Postscript

According to 1 Thessalonians 5:17, we're to "pray without ceasing." I've often wondered what this really means. On one level, it seems to be impossible. How can I pray without ceasing and still do the other things I'm required to do each day? As I grow in my relationship with God, I realize that it's possible to live in ongoing communion with God, in a prayerful relationship even when I'm not praying in the most literal way. I say this is possible, not that I achieve it very often. Yet it is a goal for my life to live each moment for the Lord and in conversation with Him.

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Except for the Scripture text, all material of The Daily Psalm Copyright © 2006 by Mark D. Roberts

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The Scripture text used in The Daily Psalm is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved