Daily Prayer for January 3, 2025: Psalm 3

O Lord, how many are my foes!
    Many are rising against me;
many are saying of my soul,
    “There is no salvation for him in God.”

But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
    my glory, and the lifter of my head.
I cried aloud to the Lord,
    and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

I lay down and slept;
    I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
    who have set themselves against me all around.

Arise, O Lord!
    Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
    you break the teeth of the wicked.

Salvation belongs to the Lord;
    your blessing be on your people!
(Psalm 3:1-8, ESV)

Prayer: As your redeemed people, cherished and loved by you, we come to pray and plead with you, Almighty god, for help and strength in a world hostile toward us and your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise you because you are good and kind, bending your ear to hear the sanctified complaints of your weary children. We praise you for your care for us, providing us with how we can approach you with our troubles and lay our cares at your feet. You are a God who hears us, and through the work of the Great High Priest, we have access to you boldly entering your holy throne room to pray and plead for a righteous and just cause. Father, we confess with shame that we often forget that you are our shield and the one to whom we must rest our lives. We confess that we are often found fretting instead of praying. As a result, we lose sleep, waste time worrying, and allow our minds to focus on things that will not help.

We confess that we forget that you are the one who helps and hears us, giving us the peace that passes all understanding. We thank you for the ability to pour out our cares before you. As your unique and treasured people, you hear us as a loving Father. Though you may not relieve them, you help us through them and protect us from the efforts of the Evil One and evil people. We pray for sustaining grace today. We pray for more grace to help in times of opposition. We know that those who desire to live godly lives will be opposed and persecuted by the wicked. We know that we are often opposed by those in our families and among our friends. Please help us. Please help them! We pray for their salvation. We pray for you to be gracious to them. Yet, Father, if you won't, please vindicate us in a just cause as we seek to follow you. Please exact your holy justice towards those who hate you and your people. Help us to love our enemies as your Son told us. Please grant us the strength to guard our hearts against bitterness toward those who harm us. These things we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Scripture Meditation: Psalm 3