Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

• Philippians 4:13

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

• Psalm 51:10-12

Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore;
    those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.

• Psalm 12:1

“I have sometimes chosen a phrase from a biblical prayer to repeat throughout the day, not as a talisman but as a needed reminder. When I have failed, I’ll pray over and over, ‘Create in me a pure heart, O God’; when spiritually depressed, ‘Restore to me the joy of your salvation.’ The very repetition of the words throughout the day works its effect on my downcast soul. I ask God to help me believe the words I am praying.”

• Philip Yancey, Prayer

I have used entire psalms as prayers in the past, but Philip Yancey suggests even a phrase can be used.  Instead of all of Psalm 12:1, he suggests “Help, Lord.”

In Lectio Divina Bible Study, you read a short passage and then select the verse that speaks to you and then select a portion of that verse as your daily mantra.  But if we do a search of Scriptures for various verses that speak of strength, a pure heart, joy, help, love, grief, etc., we might choose a favorite verse.  When we feel a lack of joy, as an example, we can quote that phrase as a mantra.  It might be more effective to have two or three verses for each topic and then rotate, so that nothing gets stale.

Then again, when I last lost my job, I spent nearly a year reading or reciting one particular Psalm.  Then a devotion written by Charles Stanley quoted something different, but along the same theme.

Even with repetitive prayer of this nature, God speaks to us.  In fact, we might get an answer from God that we were not expecting.  And that answer might just change the course of our life.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.