DAY 4 (1st week)

​PREPARE TO LISTEN
Light a candle and pray: O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD!
Request for God's Presence: Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
READ Psalm 122
I was glad when they said to me,
   ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’ 
Our feet are standing
   within your gates, O Jerusalem. 
Jerusalem—built as a city
   that is bound firmly together. 
To it the tribes go up,
   the tribes of the Lord,
as was decreed for Israel,
   to give thanks to the name of the Lord. 
For there the thrones for judgment were set up,
   the thrones of the house of David. 
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
   ‘May they prosper who love you. 
Peace be within your walls,
   and security within your towers.’ 
For the sake of my relatives and friends
   I will say, ‘Peace be within you.’ 
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
   I will seek your good.
SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Psalms 120-134 are all headed ‘Song of Ascent.’  It is likely that pilgrims prayed these psalms when they went up (ascended) to the temple in Jerusalem in anticipation of experiencing God’s presence.  (Jerusalem was built on a mountain.)
REFLECTIVE WORDS
It’s as though the psalmist has taken heed to the call in Isaiah 2, ‘Come let us go up to the mountain of the LORD.’  There is gladness and gratitude even though there is also judgment.  There ought also be gladness and gratitude as we look forward to Christ’s coming even though we know there will also be judgment.  But there is hope, and so we can still say, ‘Peace be within you,’ and still seek the other’s good.
REFLECTIVE WONDERING
‘Peace be within you,’ goes very deep and thus will affect all of the person’s life.  Name before the Lord those who need this inner peace today.
RESPOND TO JESUS IN PRAYER.
Jesus, you came to bring peace, that peace that goes deep within our being and changes attitudes and behavior.  As I long for your presence, grant me peace that I in turn may give peace to those with whom I meet today.  Amen.
BE SILENT AND STILL (for as long as you want).  Simply be in the presence of Jesus, who loves you, regardless.