I find Psalm 103 to be so rich and full of the blessings of the Lord that I want in my life. David wrote this Psalm and it is a praise for the Lord’s mercies. I like to pray it out loud to the Lord directly, such as in this manner, adding some of my own prayer inspiration (one can also say “I” instead of “we”):
“We bless You Lord and all that is within us,
“We bless you and do not forget even one of Your benefits. We bless Your Holy Name.
“You have forgiven all of our sins, you have washed us clean and made us to stand in your very own righteousness by taking our sin upon yourself. You have paid for all of our guilt.
“You have healed all our diseases. You have delivered us from the dominion of darkness so that we might experience Your life.
“You have redeemed our lives from destruction, the destruction that satan had planned for the human race and for our lives too. We are redeemed from that. We are delivered and rescued from that destruction.
“You crown us with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
“You have satisfied my mouth with good things, both in eating good food and in tasting of Your word, and because you have satisfied my mouth with these good things, my youth is renewed day by day like the eagles. I shall have strength in my older years even as I did as a young person. I have tasted the powers of the age to come and seen that You are good. (Hebrews 6:5, Psalm 34:8)
“You execute righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.
You made known Your ways to Moses, Your acts to the children of Israel.
You are merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
“You will not always strive with us, Nor will You keep Your anger forever (which has now been appeased through the sacrifice of Your Son). You have not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.
“For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is Your mercy toward us who fear You;
As far as the east is from the west, so far have You removed our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children, so You pity those who fear You.
For You know our frame; You remember that we are dust.
“As for man, our days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so we flourish.
For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, And its place remembers it no more.
But Your mercy is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear You
And Your righteousness to children’s children,
To such as keep Your covenant, And to those who remember Your commandments to do them.
“You have established Your throne in Heaven
And Your kingdom rules over all.
“Bless the Lord, you His angels,
Who excel in strength, who do His word,
Heeding the voice of His word.
Bless the Lord, all you His hosts,
You ministers of His, who do His pleasure.
Bless the Lord, all His works,
In all places of His dominion.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul!”
Psalms 25 and 91 are equally good for praying in this manner. I have prayed this way for many years and have found it very helpful for building my faith in the goodness, mercy, and protection of God.
Dogtags and Pearls...the plain and the precious 