Why do You stand far off, O Lord? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble? In arrogance the wicked persecutes the poor; let them be caught in the devices they have planned. For the wicked boasts of his soul’s desire; he blesses the greedy and despises the Lord. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek God; God is not in all his thoughts. His ways are always prosperous; Your judgments are high and distant from him; as for all his enemies, they scoff at him. He says in heart, “I shall not be moved; for generations I shall not meet adversity.” His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue is mischief and iniquity. He sits in the lurking places of the villages; in the secret places he murders the innocent; his eyes lurk against the unfortunate. He lies in wait secretly as a lion in his den; he lies in wait to catch the poor; he catches the poor, drawing them into his net. He crouches; he lies low, so that the unfortunate fall by his strength. He says in his heart, “God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see it.” Arise, O Lord! O God, lift up Your hand! Do not forget the humble. Why do the wicked despise God? He says in his heart, “You will require an account.” You have seen it, for You observe trouble and grief, to repay it with Your hand. The unfortunate one entrusts it to You; You are the helper of the orphan. Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man; seek out his wickedness until You find none. The Lord is King forever and ever; the nations perished from His land. The desire of the humble You have heard, O Lord; You make their heart attentive; You bend Your ear to judge the orphan and the oppressed; man on earth no longer trembles. [Psalm 10]
Holy Spirit how long will I continue to fail my fellow man. How long will I disappoint those who have high expectations of me? How long will I not hear or do what it is I am supposed to do? I try to walk in the path of wisdom. I try to lend my ear to hear Your voice and all those who depend upon me, yet I feel like I am completely deaf and dumb. How long will I walk with grief in my heart and anger? How long must I suffer a job I despise? How long will I keep walking a path I neither understand or find easy? How long will I be cursed? How long will I have to tolerate people who are in my classroom that I find a waste of time because they will not even try to change? How long must I be plagued with bosses and coworkers who do not know how to do their own jobs properly but find all kinds of time to point out my flaws when I ignore theirs?
Holy Spirit I am tired of fighting a fight that I see no end, no victory. I know Your word says victory is there but I seem to be blind to it. I feel no joy, all I feel is a broken, old body that is useless. I look for You but don’t seem to find You. I am trying to trust Your word but I see so much of the opposite in the world around me. Open my eyes to the good, to the joy I thought I once knew. Help me to bear with the stupidity of the people I am forced to work with daily. Some of my coworkers are fine people but some can’t think themselves out of a box. Help me to keep from saying anything or being so judgmental. Help me to worry only about me and about my responsibilities. Let me not compare myself to them. Let me not watch and think that the world favors them. Help me to put all my focus on You and those You have given to me as a responsibility. Help me to be better attentive to my wife, children and grandchildren. Let me ignore the rest for it is out of my control. Help me to return to devoting my time to being a living sacrifice to You and You only.
I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
We live within the shadow of the Almighty, sheltered by our God who is Lord of Lords, King of Kings, the Alpha and Omega, the great I am and our Creator.
To You, O Father, I declare that You are my refuge, my secure and fortified place, that I put my trust and faith into You with all my heart and all that I am. I believe and know that You, O Lord, guide my steps, so that I do not fall into temptation or snares that the enemy has placed before me trying to turn me or to capture my heart.
Heavenly Father, You have equipped me with spiritual armor to allow me to stand, and you have placed a hedge of protection with Your hands around me. I no longer fear evil or the terror of the night because I know that my soul and salvation is in His Hands and my name is written on the palm of his hand. I will face all troubles and trials because I know Your Holy Spirit stands with me giving me encouragement and strength. Thousands may fall or fail but I will serve the Lord. Ten thousand may run next to me but give up, I will trust in my salvation from Jesus Christ. I know on the day of judgment I will hear, “Come thy good and faithful servant.” While others will only know the punishment and pain for sin unredeemed because they refused to accept the gift of salvation from Jesus Christ.
Because I am faithful to always testify of my salvation from Christ and my full dedication to walking in step with the leading of the Holy Spirit, while being a living sacrifice, the Lord says, “Because he loves me, I will rescue him; I will make him great because he trusts in my name. When he calls on me, I will answer; I will be with him in trouble and rescue him and honor him. I will satisfy him with a full life and give him my salvation. (quote from Living Bible Translation)” In Jesus’ precious and mighty name, Amen! [Psalm 121; Psalm 91]