"How can we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?"  

The psalmist's question in Psalm 137:4 can seem like a perfect lament for the hard and callous pressures of modern life. In times like these--with our cities under attack and our personal lives under stress and strain-

the exiled songwriter painfully asks: How can God's people sing?

 

A great question. But consider a greater answer:

Let God sing for you. Then listen for His singing. For God's Spirit Himself "helps us in our weakness," interceding for us "with groanings too deep for words," says Romans 8:26.

Then our Savior Jesus, who "is able to save all those who come to God through Him," also "lives forever to pray for them," says Hebrews 7:25. But there's even more.

God the Father is singing Himself. "For the Lord your God is living among you," says Zephaniah 3:17. "He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs."

As we turn from the grind of the daily news to the joy of the Good News, invite the Lord to sing over you today--to sing over all aspects of your situation. To help your praying, I wrote this simple psalm to remind us, in times like these, God still answers prayer and He reigns.

Psalm for Spring 2013

That song of love is quiet, Jesus.

Hope stays locked in my mouth.

Even my praise lies mute and my

Lyrics feel out of place,

Off key and thin--pinched by fear as I

Rip open the hard news,

Daring not to disarm it with my praise.

Reason finds me finally,

Easing open my soul,

Igniting my heart,

Giving my mouth this promise it needs to claim:

Never will You leave me!

So sing, O Savior God! Your servants hear. So sing!

©2013 by Patricia Raybon/Prayer and Praise

(And, yes, beloved friends, this psalm is an acrostic, with the first letter of each line spelling a phrase to inspire our faith: The Lord Reigns!

With His love!

Patricia 

P.S.

I was blessed to write two Bible Studies for upcoming issues of the Charles Stanley Ministries' magazine, In Touch. I'll let you know when they publish.

Also, on request, I wrote a piece on Praying Past Fear for the Today's Christian Woman online site. I'll post a link when it's published.

What's your prayer today? Let my personal story inspire your answers in this month's featured books, I Told the Mountain to Move and the One Year God's Great Blessings Devotional. Great Mother's Day gifts, too! Click here to purchase. Thank you.

Prayer Line Open!

   

Blessed by our monthly newsletter? To join, click on icon below.

Finally: Since I send the newsletter late in the month, I will christen each one with the next month's name. Thus, this is now the May newsletter--not April--for anyone keeping track. Thanks for reading, liking and sharing. Onward!  

This Month's Prayer Tip:

When I can't sing, God sings for me!

This Month's Prayer Word:

"He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God." -- Psalm 40:3

This Month's Prayer Thought:

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it." -- Helen Keller

Amen.  

And that's a wrap. 

                                      Photo Credit: Singing Bird by Pam Morris

                                                 At PhotoPin/Flickr with Creative Commons

                                          Bible translations featured this month include 

                                          the New American Standard Bible, New Life                                               Version and the New Living Translation.