Week 2: Lifting

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In this session, we will be praying with Psalm 121.

When weariness seeps into your bones… when your face is held in your hands… when the way ahead is shrouded in darkness… God’s presence lifts you up, so that you can stretch out your limbs, let your head rise tall, and keep moving forward… Spend a few moments in God’s uplifting presence…

Are there situations that leave you downcast? Are there people who make you feel subdued? Are there fragments of shame that still cling to your heart? Allow the words of this psalm to lift up your eyes, and notice where God directs your gaze…

I lift up my eyes to the mountains;

from where shall come my help?

My help shall come from the Lord

who made heaven and earth.

May he never allow you to stumble!

Let him sleep not, your guard.

No, he sleeps not nor slumbers,

Israel’s guard.

The Lord is your guard and your shade;

at your right side he stands.

By day the sun shall not smite you

nor the moon in the night.

The Lord will guard you from evil,

he will guard you soul.

The Lord will guard your going and coming

both now and for ever.

When your eyes were fixed downwards upon the road, God raised them up so that you could look ahead. When your steps were hesitant, God held you so you would not stumble. Whether you walked in the heat of the sun, or walked under the cool of the moon, God was right by your side. Look back over the whole of your life and remember the many times God lifted you up…

Recognise that you cannot be the one to help yourself, and that your own efforts can sometimes get in the way. God has come to help you through people, places and circumstances, but above all through God’s sheer grace, which gathers pace everywhere if you only look. Speak to God about the help that you have received, and the help that you need, and listen to what God says in response…

O Wisdom

Lord and Ruler

Root of Jesse

Key of David

Rising Sun

King of the Nations

Emmanuel

Come, Lord Jesus