{"id":4070,"date":"2017-09-12T08:21:19","date_gmt":"2017-09-12T12:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/?p=4070"},"modified":"2017-09-12T08:21:19","modified_gmt":"2017-09-12T12:21:19","slug":"an-evening-prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/2017\/09\/an-evening-prayer.html","title":{"rendered":"An Evening Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"sunset-night-dark\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Prayer is not always easy, and while we don\u2019t necessarily want all our prayers scripted out for us (for we are in relationship with God, and we can speak with\u00a0Him heart-to-heart all day long), our souls can benefit greatly from borrowing the prayers of the Bible, particularly the Psalms. David wrote a lovely evening prayer that has been enjoyed by God\u2019s children for generations.<\/p>\n

Today we will avail ourselves of David\u2019s evening prayer found in Psalm 5, making it our own, plain and simple:<\/p>\n

Answer me when I call to you,<\/strong><\/em>
\n O God who declares me innocent.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Spend time thanking God for His forgiveness. Jesus doesn\u2019t condemn us; rather, He told us that He came to save us!<\/p>\n

Free me from my troubles.<\/strong><\/em>
\n Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.<\/strong><\/em>
\nHow long will you people ruin my reputation?<\/strong><\/em>
\n How long will you make groundless accusations?<\/strong><\/em>
\n How long will you continue your lies?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

David dives right into the dilemma he was facing at that moment. As a leader, he was hit with much opposition. It hurt to the core, and he freely pours out his lament to his God. Do likewise;\u00a0spill your heart concerning your current challenge. Lay it before your God honestly and transparently. As you do, you will know your heart even better. He already knows it, but longs to hear you as a parent longs to hear the voice of his child.<\/p>\n

You can be sure of this:<\/strong><\/em>
\n The Lord set apart the godly for himself.<\/strong><\/em>
\n The Lord will answer when I call to him.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

David assures and reminds himself that God is listening and not only listening but providing solutions to his dilemmas. Build your faith\u00a0by doing likewise.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t sin by letting anger control you.<\/strong><\/em>
\n Think about it overnight and remain silent.<\/strong><\/em>
\nOffer sacrifices in the right spirit,<\/strong><\/em>
\n and trust the Lord.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

David takes a short break from addressing God and talks to himself. He reminds himself that staying angry will not help the situation, rather taking control of his anger, giving himself time to think it over quietly, and coming to God in the right spirit will help. Trusting God will avert his anger, for God has all the answers he is searching for. Talk to yourself as you talk with God; instruct and admonish at will.<\/p>\n

Many people say, \u201cWho will show us better times?\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

David\u2019s not one of those people who don’t believe in the goodness of God. God will indeed show us better times; better times are on the way, because we have a God to whom we run for guidance and protection. Remind yourself that God is good. Always!<\/p>\n

Let your face smile on us, Lord.<\/strong><\/em>
\nYou have given me greater joy<\/strong><\/em>
\n than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine.<\/strong><\/em>
\nIn peace I will lie down and sleep,<\/strong><\/em>
\n for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

God is smiling. He isn\u2019t an angry, vindictive God. He is a joy-giving God, a God of abundance, a safe God. Therefore, David hits his pillow with quiet confidence in his God, resting assuredly in Him in spite of the frightening battles he’s experiencing, and so can you. Thank God for specific blessings in your life as you drift off to sleep.<\/p>\n

Good-night\u2026.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photo credit:\u00a0Foter.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prayer is not always easy, and while we don\u2019t necessarily want all our prayers scripted out for us (for we are in relationship with God, and we can speak with\u00a0Him heart-to-heart all day long), our souls can benefit greatly from borrowing the prayers of the Bible, particularly the Psalms. David wrote a lovely evening prayer…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":478,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,15,7,4,25,3,1],"tags":[2204,2205,603,1944,1443],"class_list":["post-4070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-bible-prayer","category-daily-prayer","category-god","category-jesus","category-prayer","category-uncategorized","tag-an-evening-prayer","tag-davids-prayers","tag-learning-to-pray","tag-prayers-of-the-bible","tag-who-is-god"],"yoast_head":"\nAn Evening Prayer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An Evening Prayer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Prayer is not always easy, and while we don\u2019t necessarily want all our prayers scripted out for us (for we are in relationship with God, and we can speak with\u00a0Him heart-to-heart all day long), our souls can benefit greatly from borrowing the prayers of the Bible, particularly the Psalms. David wrote a lovely evening prayer…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/2017\/09\/an-evening-prayer.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Prayer, Plain and Simple\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-09-12T12:21:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/files\/2017\/09\/sunset-night-dark-300x200.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark and Jill Herringshaw\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"An Evening Prayer","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"An Evening Prayer","og_description":"Prayer is not always easy, and while we don\u2019t necessarily want all our prayers scripted out for us (for we are in relationship with God, and we can speak with\u00a0Him heart-to-heart all day long), our souls can benefit greatly from borrowing the prayers of the Bible, particularly the Psalms. David wrote a lovely evening prayer…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/2017\/09\/an-evening-prayer.html","og_site_name":"Prayer, Plain and Simple","article_published_time":"2017-09-12T12:21:19+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/files\/2017\/09\/sunset-night-dark-300x200.png"}],"author":"Mark and Jill Herringshaw","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/2017\/09\/an-evening-prayer.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/2017\/09\/an-evening-prayer.html","name":"An Evening Prayer","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/2017\/09\/an-evening-prayer.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/2017\/09\/an-evening-prayer.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/files\/2017\/09\/sunset-night-dark-300x200.png","datePublished":"2017-09-12T12:21:19+00:00","dateModified":"2017-09-12T12:21:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/#\/schema\/person\/29563cda917dd596f93dba2ff3a7fedf"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/2017\/09\/an-evening-prayer.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/2017\/09\/an-evening-prayer.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/2017\/09\/an-evening-prayer.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/files\/2017\/09\/sunset-night-dark-300x200.png","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/files\/2017\/09\/sunset-night-dark-300x200.png"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/2017\/09\/an-evening-prayer.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"An Evening Prayer"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/","name":"Prayer, Plain and Simple","description":"Prayer, Daily Prayer, Simple Prayers, Quick Prayers, Prayer Requests","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/#\/schema\/person\/29563cda917dd596f93dba2ff3a7fedf","name":"Mark and Jill Herringshaw","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/94f\/94fb184ea80985d82e603e3d8dd0056bx96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/94f\/94fb184ea80985d82e603e3d8dd0056bx96.jpg","caption":"Mark and Jill Herringshaw"},"description":"Mark and Jill Herringshaw and their four children have been ministering in their local church since 1990. Jill is an accomplished worship leader and recording artist with several CDs in Target stores\u2019 \u201cLifescapes\u201d collection. Mark is the former pastor of the 7,000 member North Heights Lutheran Church. He holds a Ph.D. in leadership from Regent University, is the author of three books and a recognized conference speaker.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/author\/mherringshaw1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/478"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4070"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4070\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4074,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4070\/revisions\/4074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}