Most High and Almighty God, as I pray the words of Psalm 91, I’m abiding in Your protecting shelter today, a cooling shadow in this intense heat. You are my refuge in this storm, a fortress in this battle, and I trust You today.
Why? Because You are in supreme command over all.1
Faithful Father, as Your reconciled and saved daughter, I’m safely enfolded under Your loving wings,2 so I don’t need to fear anything that could happen today.3
Watching the verbs in God’s promises!
You promise:
“Because he has his heart set on me, I will deliver him;
I will protect him because he knows my name.
When he calls out to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble.
I will rescue him and give him honor” (Ps. 91:14-15 CSB, emphasis added).
Watching the verbs, deriving from our God’s unchanging character
As I suffer, I read the verbs in Your precious promises to me, and my heart rests and calms because I do trust in Your name and unchanging character. Thank You that I know Jesus, Lord! Because You’re also now my loving Abba Father4 …and that’s how I hold fast to You. Jesus is interceding for me and speaking Your Word’s tender promises to me through Your Spirit’s illumination.5
Watching the verbs in God’s promises of the gospel of Jesus Christ
I’m held fast in Your perfect love for me in Christ. Psalm 23’s verbs are also Your gospel treasure to me.
My Shepherd will supply my need;
Jehovah is his name.
In pastures fresh he makes me feed,
Beside the living stream.
(“My Shepherd Will Supply My Need,” Watts, I., 1719)
You’ve already given me redemption through Christ’s blood and the forgiveness of my sin. It’s all according to the riches of Your grace.6 Jesus held fast to the cross for me…so that I can hold fast to You today.
He brings my wandering spirit back,
When I forsake his ways;
And leads me, for his mercy’s sake,
In paths of truth and grace.
Watching the verbs into future suffering
I also don’t need to be afraid of what might happen in the future. You promise to supply everything I need according to Your riches in glory in Christ Jesus,7 to give me the required strength for whatever lies ahead.8
When I walk through the shades of death,
Thy presence is my stay;
A word of thy supporting breath
Drives all my fears away.
Watching the verbs as I ask You for what You alone know I need most
Help me to keep seeking, knocking, and asking You for what I need as I pray.9
But although my immediate thoughts usually gravitate to earthly things, I know what I need most to endure any trial…they’re spiritual.
This is Your always-with-me protecting, delivering, rescuing, honoring, and answering grace, as You promise in Psalm 91, no matter how this trial unfolds in Your loving care for me.
Thy hand, in sight of all my foes,
Does still my table spread;
My cup with blessings overflows;
Thy oil anoints my head.
Your verbs rest me in You as the source!
So, help me to hold firmly to Your perfect love, seeking first Your righteous kingdom work in my heart, for You promise to add earthly things You know I need too.10
Help me to hear Your Word, holding it fast in the honest and good heart that You’ve already planted in me.11 Give me the soul rest that You promise when I come to Jesus and walk yoked with Him.12
My heart rests in Your presence, protection, and promises, in today’s and tomorrow’s needs, thrice holy God and my loving Father.
The sure provisions of my God
Attend me all my days.
O may thy house be my abode,
And all my work be praise!
Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the LORD supports him with his hand (Ps. 37:24 CSB).
He gives strength to the faint and strengthens the powerless. Those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary; they will walk and not faint (Is. 40:29, 31 CSB).
In the name of my Good Shepherd, Your promises all now “yes” to me as Your daughter who is in Christ, amen.
Material adapted from Praying God’s Promises Into Suffering: A Devotional Bible Study Prayer Journal, Lauri A. Hogle, © 2023
Singing God’s promises, memorizing the verbs!
Jesus says,
“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (Jn. 6:35, emphasis added).
Sister in Christ, more than ever, with each day bringing us closer to Jesus’ return to consummate His kingdom in the new heaven and earth, I need to memorize His Word. I need to memorize the verbs in His promises to us as we suffer. He promises believers will suffer tribulation in this world (and we are), so having His Word’s promises hidden is crucial for the frightening, sorrowful, hard days.
I’m having one on the day this is published, as my daughter delivers my dead baby granddaughter. This week’s playlist gift sings many of His Word’s promises, and I’ve been clinging to and watching the verbs. Singing it with my other grandchildren has been His gift to all of us as we sing of who He is, and He reminds us of truths of the gospel.
How does our heart respond?
Praise, thanksgiving, and adoration for our hope in Christ and the peace He gives amid scary and sad sufferings.
If this might bless you as you suffer (or prepare for future suffering), sign up here and let’s praise our Lord for His precious and very great promises to us in Christ.
To read more of Lauri’s writing, you can use her devotional Bible study lament prayer journals: Praying God’s Promises Into Suffering, or Near to God: A Devotional Bible Study of God’s Character as We Suffer, or Singing the Gospel to Job: Finding Hope in Suffering. In the Valleys of God’s Love is written for children aged 3-8, a perfect read for grandparents, parents, and children to share together, preparing them for suffering to come.
For Scripture devotionals, calming hymns, and encouragement from Lauri, click here for YouTube channel
