DAY 5 (3rd week)

​PREPARE TO LISTEN
Light a candle and pray: O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.
Request for Presence: You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay!
READ Psalm 146:5-10
Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; 7who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry.  The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.  The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.  The LORD watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.  The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations.  Praise the LORD!
REFLECTIVE WORDS
This psalm begins with a word used often in the Psalter, happy.  It’s a word that can be translated as ‘blessed’ or, better yet, ‘content’.  It denotes a settled conviction that this is right and thus the pray-er can rest fully in what is claimed.  Those whose help comes from the ‘God of Jacob’, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, can rest contentedly.  In the craziness of the Christmas season, contentedness and resting seem far removed from us.  Advent is, in part, a preparation to be trained in being content in the help our Lord God gives us.
REFLECTIVE WONDERING
The psalmist does a wonderful job of naming some of the qualities of the God who is our help.  Pick one and focus on the picture of God it portrays.
RESPOND TO JESUS IN PRAYER.  
Lord God, once again I look to you as my help.  May I, like you, watch over the strangers (aliens) among us, uphold the poor as I hope for your eternal reign for all generations.  Praise the LORD,  Amen.
BE SILENT AND STILL (for as long as you want).  Simply be in the presence of Jesus, who loves you, regardless.