Praying the Psalms: Praise God, For He is Worthy

I lift you high in praise, my God, O my King!
and I’ll bless Your name into eternity.

I’ll bless You every day,
and keep it up from now to eternity.
God is magnificent; He can never be praised enough.
There are no boundaries to His greatness.
Generation after generation stands in awe of Your work;
each one tells stories of Your mighty acts.
Your beauty and splendor have everyone talking;
I compose songs on Your wonders.
Your marvelous doings are headline news;
I could write a book full of the details of Your greatness.
The fame of Your goodness spreads across the country;
Your righteousness is on everyone’s lips.

God is all mercy and grace—
not quick to anger, is rich in love.

God is good to one and all;
everything He does is suffused with grace.

Creation and creatures applaud You, God;
Your holy people bless You.

They talk about the glories of Your rule,
they exclaim over Your splendor,

Letting the world know of Your power for good,
the lavish splendor of Your kingdom.

Your kingdom is a kingdom eternal;
You never get voted out of office.

God always does what He says,
and is gracious in everything He does.

God gives a hand to those down on their luck,
gives a fresh start to those ready to quit.

All eyes are on You, expectant;
You give them their meals on time.

Generous to a fault,
You lavish your favor on all creatures.

Everything God does is right—
the trademark on all His works is love.

God‘s there, listening for all who pray,
for all who pray and mean it.

He does what’s best for those who fear him—
hears them call out, and saves them.

God sticks by all who love him,
but it’s all over for those who don’t.

My mouth is filled with God‘s praise.
Let everything living bless him,
bless His holy name from now to eternity!

~~ Psalm 145 (The Message)

Morning Praise & Thanksgiving

Today’s Morning Prayer: Morning Praise & Thanksgiving

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”
— 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Thank You, Heavenly Father, for the honor to be able to awake this morning and talk to You in prayer.

Thank You, Father, for Your mercy and grace — Your willingness to walk with me in spite of my sinful nature.

Thank You, Father, for Your faithfulness. I am filled with joy to know that You are always with me. It gives me courage and peace knowing that you are my constant partner.

Thank You, Father, for your loving discipline when I give in to my flesh. Forgive me for the times when I resisted Your Holy Spirit when he tried to give me godly counsel.

I praise You, Father, because You are righteous, and just in all Your ways.
As You have been merciful to me, I desire to be merciful to others.
As You have blessed me, I want to be a blessing to others.
As You have forgiven me, I want to forgive those who wrong me.

Lord, I commend my head, my heart, my tongue, …my life, to Your spirit. Let my life be a reflection of Your glory, when I don’t speak of Your gospel, may my actions and lifestyle, speak for You.

Glory be You Father, and to Your Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

Amen.