I wonder what leads us into praise. That’s what I got caught up thinking about in this psalm in this series of prayers inspired by the Revised Common Lectionary. I talk about how this wondering started here. I also got to thinking about God’s heart and that song that I so loved singing as a grieving child, He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands. I loved the idea that God held me in the palm of just one of those big loving hands. I wondered what was held in the other — and found myself wondering similar questions in imagining God’s heart.
Before I get to my prayer, here are some other possibilities for your mediation on Psalm 138. The Living Psalms project offers two versions of Psalm 138. There is this retelling of the psalm that might be hard to read as it includes singdancetastemovecryoutplay but it captures the bigness of praise in this psalm’s heart. Then, there is this prayer psalm that I might be tempted to use for a the Prayers of the People. I think you might be able to add intercessions in there. This might work for a call to worship with the following prayer.
Prayers of Invocation Inspired by Psalm 138 Come, O God, bring your whole heart into this moment. Our hearts have been broken so many times in such a short time. We have lost faith in each other and, well, you know. We have cried out and you have answered. Come, O God, bring your whole heart to our hearts so that we might come alive again and find new reasons to sing your praise. Come, O God of our hearts. Come into our worship today.
Though I’m not allowed to share the video, this song might follow this invocation. This, of course, means that permissions will likely be hard to come by and so I went looking for something else. What I found is this beautiful meditation on something so familiar and something I so miss singing in worship.
Last but not least, I wanted to share these labyrinth stickers from my talented friend Jo Owens at Vibrant Church Resources. For times like these when everyone feels uncertain and our hands are restless with worry, it feels just prefect to be able to slowly find your center in God’s being through carefully traveling the labyrinth path on your computer or notebook.
These 3-inch vinyl stickers are sold in packs of all different sizes — great for church staffs, deacon boards, leadership committees and whoever else in your church might need to be reminded to find their center in God’s being. Order here.
That’s all I’ve got for now.
I am praying for you, dear pastor. I’m praying for you so much.
Cooking with Elsa 
Amen. A blessing as always.
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