Quiet for your noisy conscience

 Invitatory[1]: “Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;

    listen to my plea for grace.
7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you,

    for you answer me."  Psalm 86.6-7

Prayer for the week: “Almighty God, you richly and unceasingly furnish us with all good things and preserve us day by day.  Make us to acknowledge this with our whole heart, that we may thank and praise you for your lovingkindness and mercy here and for evermore; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (K.B. Ritter, Gebete fur das jahr der Kirchen, 2^nd  ed. Kassel: Barenreiter Verlag, 1948, p. 200). 

Bible reading for the day:  Psalm 131

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
    my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
    too great and too marvelous for me.
² But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
    like a weaned child with its mother;
    like a weaned child is my soul within me.

³ O Israel, hope in the Lord
    from this time forth and forevermore.

Prayer (based on T.R.I.P. method*): Gracious and almighty Father, my conscience can be a loud busy-body… but when you are on the throne there I am indeed calmed and quieted like a contented child with momma. Thank you! Deliver my heart from its own pride and my conscience from occupying myself with things that are beyond me. Every hour, every minute, put Christ on the throne in my conscience that I may have true hope in you… and diligence and patience for what is right in front of me. In Jesus’ name I ask this, amen.

Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic that gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENtL_li4GbE

I am the Lord your God.

The First Commandment

You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20.3

What does this mean?  We should fear, love, and trust God above all things.  (from The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther ©Reclaim Resources, Sola Publishing, 2011)

Benediction: May the God of peace himself grow you in his will entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this. Amen.  I Thess 5.23

[1] As the word implies, an invitatory is a verse that invites or invokes the Lord’s ear and his work upon you.

*The T.R.I.P. approach to prayer is based on the way Martin Luther prayed and taught others to pray.  It was later developed by Walter and Ingrid Trobisch and then adapted by Mount Carmel Ministries (Alexandria, MN).  The method is founded on scripture and easy to remember:
T: thanksgiving
R: regret (repentance)
I: intercession (asking God to take a specific action)
P: plan or purpose
Reading a biblical text and then applying this method gives one a sound, simple way to form one’s prayers...not to mention that it helps one learn how to faithfully reflect on God’s Word and talk to God.