I am away from home, visiting out-of-state family. Tomorrow I will attend a familiar, but not our home, church. No matter where I go, though, the words of Psalm 84 resonate: I yearn for the loveliness of God’s dwelling place. Today let us pray that all those whose hearts cry out for the Living God, will be filled with overflowing hope, joy, and peace. May our worship at our local churches be pleasing and glorifying to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
Lord God Almighty,
You, Lord God are a sun and a shield about us. Blessed are the ones who trust in you. You bestow favor and honor; no good thing do you withhold from those whose walk is blameless. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! Our hearts and flesh cry out for the living God; deep within us are the lovesick longings, desires, and daydreams of living in union with you. We are filled with joy as we worship in your presence. We are blessed as we dwell in your spiritual house; we are blessed when we find our strength in you. We know you as the Lord, our deliver and sustainer. When our life-paths wind through dark valleys and struggles, you help us go from strength to strength – giving us brooks of blessings, filled with the rain of your Spirit’s outpouring. You strengthen us with every step forward. Hear our prayers, Lord God Almighty; look with favor on your children and the anointing you have placed upon us. We would rather be a doorkeeper to your house, than dwell in the tents of the wicked. We would rather spend one day in your intimacy and presence than a thousand days elsewhere. You are our brilliance, our shield, generous with your gifts of grace and glory. You provide all we need when we walk along your paths with integrity. What joy and blessing fill those who forever trust in you! God, our fountain of hope, fill us to overflowing with uncontainable joy and perfect peace as we trust in you. May the power of the Holy Spirit continually surround our lives with your superabundance so we radiate with hope! How lovely is it to dwell with you! With the empowerment of Holy Spirit and in Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
1 God of Heaven’s Armies, you find so much beauty in your people!
They’re like lovely sanctuaries of your presence.
2 Deep within me are these lovesick longings,
desires and daydreams of living in union with you.
When I’m near you, my heart and my soul
will sing and worship with my joyful songs of you,
my true source and spring of life!
3 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God,
even the sparrows and swallows are welcome to build a nest
among your altars to raise their young.
4 What pleasure fills those who live every day in your temple,
enjoying you as they worship in your presence!
Pause in his presence
5 How enriched are they who find their strength in the Lord;
within their hearts are the highways of holiness!
6 Even when their paths wind through the dark valley of tears,
they dig deep to find a pleasant pool where others find only pain.
He gives to them a brook of blessing
filled from the rain of an outpouring.
7 They grow stronger and stronger with every step forward,
and the God of all gods will appear before them in Zion.
8 Hear my cry, O God of Heaven’s Armies
God of Jacob, listen to my loving prayer.
Pause in his presence
9 God, your wraparound presence is our defense.
In your kindness look upon the faces of your anointed ones.
10 For just one day of intimacy with you is like
a thousand days of joy rolled into one!
I’d rather stand at the threshold in front of the Gate Beautiful,
ready to go in and worship my God,
than to live my life without you
in the most beautiful palace of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is brighter than the brilliance of a sunrise!
Wrapping himself around me like a shield,
he is so generous with his gifts of grace and glory.
Those who walk along his paths with integrity
will never lack one thing they need, for he provides it all!
12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
what euphoria fills those who forever trust in you! (Psalm 84 TPT)
“Now may God, the fountain of hope, fill you to overflowing with uncontainable joy and perfect peace as you trust in Him. And may the power of the Holy Spirit continually surround your life with His superabundance until you radiate with hope!” (Romans 15:13 TPT)
1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.[c]
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.[d]
7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;
listen to me, God of Jacob.
9 Look on our shield,[e] O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.
10 Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.
12 Lord Almighty,
blessed is the one who trusts in you. (Psalm 84 NIV)