Faith is my shield

Faith is my shield, my refuge in time of trouble and when under fire from the enemy of souls.

Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in Thee.

I said to the LORD, "Thou art my Lord;
I have no good besides Thee."
As for the saints who are in the earth,
They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.
The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied;
I shall not pour out their libations of blood,
Nor shall I take their names upon my lips.

The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
Thou dost support my lot.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.
Psalm 16:1-6 NAS

I can trust my God in all circumstances and delight in fellow believers who stand with me as well as trusting me to stand with them.

I like the bench in the picture. I have sat in it to pray on the back deck in Robe when the rain was coming down, tapping out rhythm on the roof, listening to the Varied Thrush sing her rain song. The sound of the river flowing somewhere just beyond the trees; a beautiful place to curl up in an old quilt with a pillow and tea, to pray. Here in Everett the wood slats get warm from the sun, the tea is iced and all around me pots overflow with flowers as if I had done something wonderful by jamming them into the bagged soil on my deck. Today it is just the office chair that I sit in as I pray. Too cold, too wet to be out on that bench.

I just read a blog on prayer and realize that I have drifted away from trust in God and his saints. It is high time to get started again. The little booklet, "The Hidden Life of Prayer" by David MacIntyre has me anxious to get started.

This passage was suggested as today's passage from the Psalms in John MacArthur's book, "The MacArthur Daily Bible" It seems to be as good of a place as any to reacquaint myself with daily praise.

Pray without ceasing. To God be the Glory