The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 93:1-5 (day four)

When I read verse 4, “Mightier than the thunder of the great waters…” (NIV), my mind immediately goes to John 12. Jesus says, beginning in verse 27:

“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

This Psalm feels like the Father speaking to the Son for everyone’s benefit. Yahweh effortlessly glorifies Himself through the mighty sea and the awesome weather around us. All creation sounds out praise. Even when those made in His image choose to glorify themselves, He is no less praised or glorified, because He needs nothing. He is completely self-sufficient and independent. “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” What a mighty God we serve!

After the Father’s voice thundered from heaven, Jesus said:

“This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:30–32).

This is how the Father is glorified. Jesus came to glorify the Father. The Holy Spirit glorifies the Son by revealing and reminding us of what Jesus wants us to know (John 16:14). And we glorify the Father by bearing much fruit, showing ourselves to be Jesus’ disciples (John 15:8).

Let’s join with all creation in bringing Him glory!

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 93:1-5 (day three)

¹ The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty;
the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.

In the moments of my life that I have felt the most anxious or worrisome, I can recognize that these are the moments that I have lost sight of the fact that God is, always and forever, sitting on His throne and ruling over this world. It was (and still is) in these moments that the Lord gently reminds me through his Word that there is nothing to fear (Isaiah 26:3; Psalm 93; Colossians 1:16-17; Ephesians 1:11; and Joshua 1:9 to name a few).

Psalm 93 reminds us that God has ruled from the beginning of time, and that His reign will be forevermore. In a world that is chaotic and uncertain (like the waves of the sea), He is our stay. He is the anchor that holds fast. We end our fantastic study of Psalms with this reminder: in the midst of an uncertain world, God is steadily in control and will be forevermore. May we be reminded of that all the more and never forget who sits on the throne!

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 93:1-5 (day two) 

Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.
² Your throne is established from of old;
You are from everlasting. v. 1b-2

Over the past 13 weeks our study of the book of Psalms has provided us with many incredible images of strength: towers, foundations, and fortresses. The readings have also given us a picture of the uncertain world in which we live: floods, earthquakes, mountains raging, and fires. The artist in me loves fantastic language that inspires creativity of expression in worship. More than that, however, I love the picture of the steadiness of God. His throne, his reign, his majesty is from everlasting. We cannot plumb the depths of the foundations of his kingdom. He will not be moved. While acknowledging that the world can be unstable, there is comfort in knowing that God is neither panicked nor threatened by chaos. When you are experiencing instability, cast your gaze toward that which is immovable. Gain comfort that the Lord will not be moved by circumstances. He is your rock, now and forever.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 46:1-11 (day seven)

Come, behold the works of the Lord. Psalm 46:8

What makes today more special than any other day? Nothing… yet, everything. Today we celebrate Pentecost: the day the Church received the Holy Spirit. The day when Spirit of God manifested Himself in the heart’s of all believers, allowing us to become adopted as sons and daughters of the King, giving us direct access to Him. The same Spirit that was given on that day dwells with us every day. In light of that, today is as special as any other day. Do we treat each day this special? Do we expect the Spirit to move in a mighty way every Sunday that we gather? We should!

However, today is special! Today is an opportunity for us to celebrate what the Holy Spirit is doing in the life of our church locally and the Church globally. Come, behold the works of the Lord. Come, behold what the Lord is doing here at FBCSA. Come, behold the miracle of baptism. Come, behold the power of unity in the body. Come, behold the importance of diversity in the congregation. Come, behold what God is going to do in you. May we gather in anticipation and expectation that the Spirit will move amongst us today!

 Re:Verse passage – Psalm 46:1-11 (day six)

²⁴ After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power.²⁵ For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. ²⁶ And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. 1 Corinthians 15:24-26

Psalm 46 is often read as an individual invitation to inner peace: “Be still, and know that I am God.” We imagine silence, calm waters, and personal serenity. But Psalm 46 is far more dramatic than that.

The Psalm opens with the world collapsing: mountains falling into the sea, waters roaring, kingdoms raging, and nations at war. At the center stands the Lord of Hosts, the Divine Warrior, the greater King, the commander of heaven’s armies. The repeated promise is not “you will feel calm,” but “The Lord of Hosts is with us.” (Like Emmanuel, “God with us.”)

Then comes the command: “Be still,” or “cease striving.” In context, these words are not whispered primarily to anxious individual believers but thundered to rebellious nations. Cease striving. Lay down your weapons. Recognize who truly reigns.

Psalm 46 is not fundamentally about an individual finding inner stillness; it is about God declaring His victory over chaos, war, and every rival kingdom (like 1 Corinthians 15:24-25). The good news is not merely that we can feel peace, but that Jesus Himself is establishing it through His sovereign reign.

 Re:Verse passage – Psalm 46:1-11 (day five)

What’s the plan or action step we can take when life gets hectic?  When we sense and see a world spinning out of control, what do we do?  When we are caught up in confusion, calamity, or uncertainty, what helps us?

In this Psalm the only direction given to the reader is to stop striving. Other versions will translate our action step “be still”. Seems counterintuitive doesn’t it?  We in our humanness and finiteness want to work on it or fix it- Remove (on our own) the tension and terror we often feel.  What is it that we are to learn or know about God? I went through this Psalm and circled the answers to this question. I often read verse one, but then get quickly caught up and frazzled by the next 2 verses. Perhaps the wisdom we can gain is differentiating what we feel from what we know. God is a refuge and strength. We have experienced it (if no other time, certainly when we were born again). He is a present help. He is with us. He is a stronghold. Do you KNOW these things to be true?

 Re:Verse passage – Psalm 46:1-11 (day four)

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (NIV)

I am delighted to write about this Psalm! Psalm 46:10 is often reduced to the phrase, “Be still, and know that I am God,” as if it were merely a call to peace and quiet. But the rest of the verse reveals God’s greater purpose: His name will be exalted among the nations and throughout all the earth. To exalt God among the nations is to know Him and make Him known.

Do we truly know the Lord? Have we sat at His feet, learned His ways, and seen His unchanging character in a fallen world? To “know” God is not merely intellectual—it is to encounter a holy God. Scripture reminds us that holiness matters. God told Moses, “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground” (Exodus 3). Likewise, Isaiah cried out, “Woe is me!” when he stood before the Lord’s holiness (Isaiah 6:5).

We often approach God too casually, forgetting that we stand before the Creator of all things. We are called to “be still” because we are humbled before His majesty, aware of our sinfulness and His glory.

To exalt God among the nations, we must first surrender to Him ourselves. We cannot fulfill the Great Commission or faithfully witness to the world if we neglect repentance, holiness, and worship. God is worthy of praise in all the earth. Will you bow before Him, fight sin, pursue holiness, and make His name known among the nations?

 Re:Verse passage – Psalm 46:1-11 (day three)

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.

² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;

³ Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. (vv. 1-3)

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Even in the Old Testament, it was clear to God’s people that things would not always be easy. Evil and calamity are ever present (until the Lord makes all things new again) because sin broke what God made. But, right alongside the evil and calamity is the ever-present reassurance that evil, fear, calamity, shame, hopelessness, guilt, grave, and pain do not win. The Psalmists point this out with the first lines of the Psalm. God is always there even when things around us take a turn for the worse.

Jesus then reminds us of the same thing in the New Testament. His words bring a heaviness that reminds us of the fallen nature of this world, but He doesn’t leave it there. “Take heart! I have overcome the world.” What a good reminder from our Savior! He lifts us from the depths of despair to the knowledge that He has won.

Today, as the world reminds you of how calamitous and fallen it is, may you take refuge in the Lord, trusting that He has overcome. Though everything should change and the world should shake to its core, may you trust in the Solid Rock of God today. He has overcome!

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 46:1-11 (day two)

 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High. v. 4

Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.     Revelation 22:1-2

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.                                                                         Psalm 1:1-3

 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”     John 7:37-38

Water has always meant life. From the beginning to end of scripture, there has been an aquatic narrative which has helped our understanding of God’s provision and grace. It is a beautiful picture of restoration to see in Revelation how a river of life flows from the throne of God. In our Psalm this week, we are reminded how God is not unaware of the tumult of the world, but he is a comfort in the midst of the storm. He is still life and provision while the world shakes. We can cease our striving only when we drink from the water of life.