Summer of Psalms
Kristin Foss at Vine of Plenty ran a lovely series last summer, gathering favorite psalms from bloggers and designing beautiful art with them. Go here to see all the psalms in the Summer of Psalms series. Psst-they are free to download and print!
My choice comes from part of Psalm 86, and I memorized it months ago to use as a frequent daily prayer for my family. It’s part of the night prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours, which my husband and I have prayed almost nightly together since we were engaged (13+ years ago!) .The words are simple, poignant, and rich in meaning. I feel like I can pray these words and nearly cover all the bases for my own life, and my family’s lives. Every night, I pray this verse for my husband and each of my children. I substitute their names for “me”, adjust the pronouns, and instantly have a personal, individual prayer. Sometimes I also add improv prayers, with specifics I have on my heart.
“Show me Lord, your way, so that I make walk in your truth. Guide my heart to fear your name.”
“Show T, Lord, your way, so she make walk in your truth. Guide her heart to fear your name. And Lord, please be with her in a special way as she learns to navigate life and friendships this year. Middle school can be a wonderful and difficult time. May she always be assured of your love for her, her beauty, her self-worth, and the love her Daddy and I have for her.”
See how easily you can make a prayer for each family member, or friend, or anyone? I hope you’ll find inspiration in the verse, and print the art designed by Kristin to help you remember to pray for yourself and loved ones. Sometimes, I pray this when I am completely exasperated with a child who keeps making poor choices, and beg the Holy Spirit to guide my child in better choices when I feel lost. You can guess how often this verse comes in handy as a prayer for that!
Click here for the pdf printable. Have a blessed week, my friends.
Beautiful! Though I have not used a formal prayer like the psalm above, it is one of my constant prayers that my kids will always remain in God’s grace, that they will never leave the Catholic faith, and that they never be separated from Him- not even for a day, an hour. I worry as I see their older cousins who have fallen away, despite being raised Catholic.
But I will now print this out and frame it. Your blog has a certain gentleness about it- like a soft fresh breeze passing by to refresh and renew a weary traveler. Thank you.
What a beautiful verse and what a beautiful way of praying!