Psalm 86:15

Psalm 86:15

Praise you, my heavenly Father, for your steady, unwavering love and goodness. I am so much the opposite: my emotions are up and down, my sense of achievement and worth waver, my happiness with myself fluctuates with what I perceive to be success or failure, and my feelings change with how people interact with me, even with how well I sleep and even with my dreams. But you, Lord God, have made yourself my Rock, my Protector, my Fortress, my Forgiver, my Cleanser and my Father.

I praise you for the whole-hearted, deep and full acceptance you have given me in Christ. I thank you for the gracious correction, the loving help, the continual support from your glorious riches, for your constant presence, protection and provision.

In you I am forgiven, in you I am transformed, in you I am on the upward journey to heaven, in you I have worth and meaning and unfailing love.

Lord Jesus, as I consider what I am in myself–a selfish, proud, weak, unstable, lustful, lazy, impatient, unbelieving rebel—and considering what I deserve—rejection, punishment, suffering, failure, death and eternal separation from you—I am more and more amazed at your unending, rich, power love for me. You are too good to be true, too wonderful to be real, you are beyond human conception.  Yet, your love is real, demonstrated at the culmination of history, the cross, and then repeated affirmed in my life each day.

You, O God, are the One to trusted and loved, glorified and lifted up. I praise you for the beauty of your Character as shown in Psa 86:15  “…you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”

You lean over the side of heaven and in compassion follow carefully every aspect of my life, preparing each day in detail, providing protection, chastening, guiding and blessing. In compassion you also take me through difficulties to break, shape and transform. You are wholehearted and full orbed in your compassion.

You are gracious: kind and good in your dealings with me. You are also richly generous, pouring out upon me blessing after blessing. You have given me health, strength, the ability to see, hear, walk, talk, you have given me a fine family, good friends, meaningful work, constant protection and many belongings. I lack nothing because you are my Shepherd.

You are slow to anger: deeply patient, graciously patient, perfectly patient and therefore persistent with me. I so often fail, especially in my thought life and in my motives, in each sin grieving you, giving you pain. Yet you do not respond in anger, but instead kindly correct me over and over. You start with very small alerts and if I don’t respond, slowly work your way up to larger rebukes, patiently giving me chance after chance to see, confess and repent of one sin after another. I praise you for your great, rich, comforting, healing patience.

You are abounding in love: you are an overflowing spring of love with an endless stream of goodness that pours out of your rich person, for you are agape love itself. Praise you that your love is unstoppable by my failures and sin, that your love flows deeply, widely, powerfully, forever. It evokes from me an answering love, a desire to do what is pleasing to your heart. Your love transforms, cleanses, equips and leads us on, consistently, abundantly, graciously.

You are abounding in faithfulness: you are perfect, unchanging, unwaveringly consistent. You are faithful to your Character, to your Word, to your wisdom to your promises, to your plan. We can trust you wholly, wholeheartedly, totally and eternally. You are faithful when we are not; you are faithful when it costs you. You are faithful forever.

Glory be to you, Lord God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You are totally worthy of worship, of honor, of exaltation. I bow before you in awe, I rise up to obey in praise and thanksgiving. May you be lifted up, glorified and honored in my life today in my motives, thoughts, words and deeds.