Wednesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
When I read today’s psalm, Psalm 16, a powerful memory leapt to mind. My son, Jacob, now 26 years old, endured a period of nightly nightmares when he was 3 1/2 years old. So intense and consistent were these daily torments that I concluded it was, at least in part, a spiritual attack. In addition to his dreams, poor Jacob even described seeing shadowy figures near the windows to his bedroom while he was awake! After a night or two, for my sweet son bedtime became a fearsome thing to be dreaded. I took this opportunity to teach my son how to pray the scriptures. Even though he was only a toddler, I taught him simple verses that he could memorize and declare out loud when he felt scared at night. Psalm 16:1 was the first verse I taught him – “Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.” For him at that age, we kept it to “Keep me safe, God.” I also paraphrased 1 John 5:18 for him, “I am a child of God; the evil one cannot hurt me.” Jacob loved putting on the spiritual armor that St Paul describes in Ephesians 6 as well; that practice became part of our bedtime routine. Perhaps you find yourself facing fear today, either from events in our world and our nation and/or from happenings in your personal life or with your family and friends. My Jacob experienced victory and liberation from his nightmares pretty immediately once he started declaring God’s word for himself. Perhaps we can take our cue from the experience of my little son and pray God’s word boldly for ourselves today. Let’s continue with Psalm 16.
I encourage you to read Psalm 16 in its entirety. You can find it here. If you have time, read it slowly, 2-3 times so that you can allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to you what you need to receive this day from God’s word. Turn the phrases that jump out at you into declarations that you can affirm out loud. If you have just a short time, here are some great verses to declare. Verse 1: Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge. Or perhaps verse 7, I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. (Maybe tonight part of your bedtime prayer can be to affirm this truth that God instructs our hearts even as we sleep.) Verse 8: I have set the Lord always before me . . . I will not be shaken. Verses 9b-10: my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave. Verse 11: You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence . . . Research has revealed that there is a neural pathway in our brain that reinforces statements that we hear our own mouth speak out loud. Making declarations from scripture out loud with your own mouth is a powerful way to imbed God’s truth within yourself. Your mind will more readily believe and integrate statements that you speak aloud over yourself. Let’s try it today! God’s Word is alive and true for you. Declare it over your own life and over the lives of others. I think you’ll marvel at how quickly God’s word takes root in you and begins to bear fruit. Yes and amen!
- Elizabeth Wourms