Call To The Lord

CALL TO THE LORD

a prayer to open

Here’s my heart, Lord. Speak what is true.

Here’s my life, Lord. Speak what is true.

I love you, LORD;

you are my strength.

The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;

my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.

He is my shield, the power that saves me,

and my place of safety.

I called on the LORD, who is worthy of praise,

and he saved me from my enemies.

The ropes of death entangled me;

floods of destruction swept over me.

The grave wrapped its ropes around me;

death laid a trap in my path.

But in my distress I cried out to the LORD;

yes, I prayed to my God for help.

He heard me from his sanctuary;

my cry to him reached his ears.

Then the earth quaked and trembled.

The foundations of the mountains shook;

they quaked because of his anger.

Smoke poured from his nostrils;

fierce flames leaped from his mouth.

Glowing coals blazed forth from him.

He opened the heavens and came down;

dark storm clouds were beneath his feet.

Mounted on a mighty angelic being, he flew,

soaring on the wings of the wind.

He shrouded himself in darkness,

veiling his approach with dark rain clouds.

Thick clouds shielded the brightness around him

and rained down hail and burning coals.

The LORD thundered from heaven;

the voice of the Most High resounded

amid the hail and burning coals.

He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies;

great bolts of lightning flashed, and they were confused.

Then at your command, O LORD,

at the blast of your breath,

the bottom of the sea could be seen,

and the foundations of the earth were laid bare.

He reached down from heaven and rescued me;

he drew me out of deep waters.

He rescued me from my powerful enemies,

from those who hated me and were too strong for me.

They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress,

but the LORD supported me.

He led me to a place of safety;

he rescued me because he delights in me.

The LORD rewarded me for doing right;

he restored me because of my innocence.

For I have kept the ways of the LORD;

I have not turned from my God to follow evil.

I have followed all his regulations;

I have never abandoned his decrees.

I am blameless before God;

I have kept myself from sin.

The LORD rewarded me for doing right.

He has seen my innocence.

Calling out to God when hardship comes is often something we resort to after all other options have run out. What if calling out to God was our first response to distress? What if we called out to him at the first sign of difficulty? What might we see him do to rescue us? How might our lives be shaped if prayer were our leading thought instead of an afterthought?

• Read this passage again slowly. What word or phrase stands out to you? Why do you think that word or phrase speaks to you?
• Reflect on the last time God clearly answered one of your prayers. What was your prayer? How did he respond? What was your reaction?
• Is there something going on in your life that seems too big or too hard for you to handle but about which you haven’t yet prayed? How might you bring that issue before God and call out for his help?

Lord, thank you that you hear me when I call out to you. I want to be a person who truly believes that you are a rescuer, a God who reaches into my life when I seek you. When pain and struggle enter my life, remind me of your presence and goodness. Prompt my preoccupied, worried mind to share with you the burdens I carry and the ways I need you. Amen.