Scripture Focus: Psalm 90
A prayer of Moses the man of God. 
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place 
throughout all generations. 
2 Before the mountains were born 
or you brought forth the whole world, 
from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 
3 You turn people back to dust, 
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.” 
4 A thousand years in your sight 
are like a day that has just gone by, 
or like a watch in the night. 
5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death— 
they are like the new grass of the morning: 
6 In the morning it springs up new, 
but by evening it is dry and withered. 
7 We are consumed by your anger 
and terrified by your indignation. 
8 You have set our iniquities before you, 
our secret sins in the light of your presence. 
9 All our days pass away under your wrath; 
we finish our years with a moan. 
10 Our days may come to seventy years, 
or eighty, if our strength endures; 
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, 
for they quickly pass, and we fly away. 
11 If only we knew the power of your anger! 
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due. 
12 Teach us to number our days, 
that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 
13 Relent, Lord! How long will it be? 
Have compassion on your servants. 
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, 
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. 
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, 
for as many years as we have seen trouble. 
16 May your deeds be shown to your servants, 
your splendor to their children. 
17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; 
establish the work of our hands for us— 
yes, establish the work of our hands.

Originally published on June 3, 2024, based on readings from Psalm 90.

Readers’ Choice is here: There’s still time to tell us about your favorite, most meaningful posts of the year. If you shared it with someone, or it helped you, let us know via email, direct message, or filling out the linked form.

Readers’ Choice posts are selected by our readers:
Casey, LA — So beautiful. So encouraging.

Brian, DC — Thanks for the gift of this reflection…I sent it to my brother. He is going through a hard time. This reflection will help him endure.

Reflection: A Broken Rebel’s Prayer — Readers’ Choice
By John Tillman

Psalm 90, the prayer of Moses, is the prayer of a broken rebel, humbled and wise, relying on God.

Moses was a rebel from the beginning. Born illegally, the state condemned him to death from birth. Secreted into the wicked king’s palace as a child, he grew up like a sleeper agent. His family did this for his safety but also must have hoped that their little rebel, like a well-slung stone, might take down the oppressive giant.

Instead, he fails miserably. Commits murder. Gets caught. Flees for his life. Marries foreigners. Has uncircumcised children. He stutters. He hesitates. He hides. Yet, God speaks directly to him and does wonders before his eyes. But, despite the burning bush and the voice of God and all those miracles, Moses still says, “Please send someone else.”

Who better to emulate in prayer than a man this broken, purposeless, ashamed, and fearful? Through prayer, Moses became a different kind of man. He became a man used for God’s purposes, breaking the might of a national superpower. He became a man of humility instead of shame. He became a man who stood his ground in faith rather than fleeing in fear.

A Broken Rebel’s Prayer
Lord, whether in a precariously floating basket, a gleaming palace, or a desert lit by burning bushes, you are the source of our life.

All our strivings are pointless before you.
You are the better dwelling place we long for.
Everything we hope for is in you.
We dwell enslaved to our brokenness, our shame, and our fear.
We return to the dust with you as our only hope.

Lord, you see thousands of years like a day and our lives like a blink of an eye.
Help us live our brief lives wisely, with your righteous wrath and merciful love before our eyes.

Have compassion on us, Lord, weak as we are.
Help us praise you with our faltering voices,
Raise our unworthy hands to see you win what our rebellions never could.

Let us pursue your power for your purposes.
Let us release our shame and stand before you in humility.
Let us stand our ground defending the weak with faith that seas will part and armies will fall without striking a blow against us.

Establish your work through our hands and speak your words through our voices.

From John: The Divine Hours prayers will return in October. This month we will pray one scripture passage or verse each week.

Prayer:
Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.  — Nehemiah 1.11

​Today’s Readings
Jeremiah 43 (Listen 2:34)
2 Corinthians 3 (Listen 2:25)

Read more about Outward-Focused Rhythms
Instead of focusing mostly on activities that are forms of self-investment, practicing daily rhythms that are rooted in Christ can take us beyond ourselves.

Read more about Offal Leaders
God smeared their faces with offal, but some keep trying to wipe it off and pretend nothing is wrong.

Scripture Focus: Psalm 90
A prayer of Moses the man of God. 
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place 
throughout all generations. 
2 Before the mountains were born 
or you brought forth the whole world, 
from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 
3 You turn people back to dust, 
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.” 
4 A thousand years in your sight 
are like a day that has just gone by, 
or like a watch in the night. 
5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death— 
they are like the new grass of the morning: 
6 In the morning it springs up new, 
but by evening it is dry and withered. 
7 We are consumed by your anger 
and terrified by your indignation. 
8 You have set our iniquities before you, 
our secret sins in the light of your presence. 
9 All our days pass away under your wrath; 
we finish our years with a moan. 
10 Our days may come to seventy years, 
or eighty, if our strength endures; 
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, 
for they quickly pass, and we fly away. 
11 If only we knew the power of your anger! 
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due. 
12 Teach us to number our days, 
that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 
13 Relent, Lord! How long will it be? 
Have compassion on your servants. 
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, 
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. 
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, 
for as many years as we have seen trouble. 
16 May your deeds be shown to your servants, 
your splendor to their children. 
17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; 
establish the work of our hands for us— 
yes, establish the work of our hands.

Reflection: A Broken Rebel’s Prayer
By John Tillman

Psalm 90, the prayer of Moses, is the prayer of a broken rebel, humbled and wise, relying on God.

Moses was a rebel from the beginning. Born illegally, the state condemned him to death from birth. Secreted into the wicked king’s palace as a child, he grew up like a sleeper agent. His family did this for his safety but also must have hoped that their little rebel, like a well-slung stone, might take down the oppressive giant.

Instead, he fails miserably. Commits murder. Gets caught. Flees for his life. Marries foreigners. Has uncircumcised children. He stutters. He hesitates. He hides. Yet, God speaks directly to him and does wonders before his eyes. But, despite the burning bush and the voice of God and all those miracles, Moses still says, “Please send someone else.”

Who better to emulate in prayer than a man this broken, purposeless, ashamed, and fearful? Through prayer, Moses became a different kind of man. He became a man used for God’s purposes, breaking the might of a national superpower. He became a man of humility instead of shame. He became a man who stood his ground in faith rather than fleeing in fear.

A Broken Rebel’s Prayer
Lord, whether in a precariously floating basket, a gleaming palace, or a desert lit by burning bushes, you are the source of our life.

All our strivings are pointless before you.
You are the better dwelling place we long for.
Everything we hope for is in you.
We dwell enslaved to our brokenness, our shame, and our fear.
We return to the dust with you as our only hope.

Lord, you see thousands of years like a day and our lives like a blink of an eye.
Help us live our brief lives wisely, with your righteous wrath and merciful love before our eyes.

Have compassion on us, Lord, weak as we are.
Help us praise you with our faltering voices,
Raise our unworthy hands to see you win what our rebellions never could.

Let us pursue your power for your purposes.
Let us release our shame and stand before you in humility.
Let us stand our ground defending the weak with faith that seas will part and armies will fall without striking a blow against us.

Establish your work through our hands and speak your words through our voices.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Lord, God of hosts, hear my prayer; hearken, O God of Jacob. — Psalm 84.7

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.


​Today’s Readings
Malachi 2 (Listen 3:12)
Psalm 90 (Listen 2:03)

Read more about Outward-Focused Rhythms
Instead of focusing mostly on activities that are forms of self-investment, practicing daily rhythms that are rooted in Christ can take us beyond ourselves.

Read more about Offal Leaders
God smeared their faces with offal, but some keep trying to wipe it off and pretend nothing is wrong.

Scripture Focus: Psalm 90:14-17
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
    that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
    for as many years as we have seen trouble.
16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
    your splendor to their children.
17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
    establish the work of our hands for us—
    yes, establish the work of our hands.

Reflection: Bringing in the Sheaves – Hymns for Giving Thanks
By Jon Polk

What are sheaves and why do we need to bring them in?

For those unfamiliar with an agrarian way of life, a sheaf is a bundle of wheat stalks that has been tied together after being harvested.

Following the harvesting and bundling of the wheat, the sheaves are brought into a room for threshing, the process of removing the grain from the wheat and separating out the edible portions from the chaff, the useless stalks.

A good harvest and bountiful crop would be cause for rejoicing.

Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. 

Knowles Shaw, born in Ohio in 1834, but raised in Indiana, was a minister in the Christian Church and because of his beautiful voice he was known as the “singing evangelist.” He wrote and composed music and published five song books of his own hymns.

Knowles was a prolific preacher and evangelist, and it is estimated that he baptized over ten thousand people in his lifetime.

Shaw’s most famous composition, Bringing in the Sheaves, was also one of his last and was inspired by Psalm 126:6, “Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.”

Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,
Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;
Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

The hymn gives voice to our gratitude for God’s provision, sustenance, and watch care over our lives. In both times of joy and times of sadness, we have a God who blesses our labor and brings the harvest.

Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows,
Fearing neither clouds nor winter’s chilling breeze;
By and by the harvest, and the labor ended,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

The singing evangelist Knowles Shaw would have us remember, however, that sowing and reaping in the scriptures is often used as a metaphor for sharing the gospel message.

When we come together as family and friends to celebrate and give thanks, we can easily get lost in the bounty of the provision and forget about the God who provided. Instead, may our thanksgiving be a testament to those around us of the faith we have in God’s providential care. May the sheaves we gather represent the impact our own generosity has on those around us.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; let those who love your salvation say forever, “Great is the Lord!” — Psalm 70.4

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.


Today’s Readings
1 Chronicles 16  (Listen 5:21)
Psalms 90 (Listen 2:03)

Read more about A Prayer of Harvesters
“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few…”
There is much work to be done, Lord.
Send us to the field—into our cities.

Read more about Supporting Our Work
Support from donors like you is vital to continuing our work. Join our donors to support ad-free biblical devotionals shared around the world.

Scripture Focus: Psalm 90.14
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
   that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

Reflection: A Flourishing Devotional Life
By John Tillman

Morning routines are important and are shaped by culture. Being in quarantine or some form of lockdown/work from home culture for 14 months has shaken up many people’s morning routines. How important is showering for a Zoom meeting?

Whether we start with a shower, a workout, reading, or the snooze button, how we spend our first 59 waking minutes affects the rest of our day. Our culture pushes us to maximize this time in monetizable ways. We often design habits that make our lives more productive and therefore profitable, but we don’t often design habits that make life more meaningful and therefore more satisfying. 

One reason our morning routines may be unfulfilling is that they typically center on ourselves. Instead of focusing mostly on activities that are forms of self-investment, practicing daily rhythms that are rooted in Christ can take us beyond ourselves.

One way to open ourselves up is by praying for those few are praying for—the unlovable, the hated, the hurting, the unnoticed. We must lean into the love of Christ to supply ourselves with love for the unlovable and the hated. We draw up living water from the well of Christ, to pass on in Jesus’ name, to the hurting. We lift Christ’s light of truth, directing its caring spotlight on the unnoticed.

Jesus promised his followers a “rich and satisfying life.” This life only comes, however, to the sheep who learn the voice of Christ, the Good Shepherd. Jesus provides abundant joy and fulfillment which transcends the good days and bad days of life by helping us transcend our fixation with ourselves.

The psalmists are focused on being satisfied in God. Psalm 90, a psalm of Moses, pleads with God to “satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love.”

Spiritual rhythms don’t have to be practiced in the morning to be effective. In fact, we recommend integrating spiritual practices throughout your day. However, spiritual practices flourish when connected to actions that go beyond ourselves.

Scripture reading, prayer, and reflection on the character and nature of God each morning is time well invested. Actions growing from our faith should flow outward, into our community. A flourishing devotional life may have less to do with what you read when the sun comes up than what you have done about it before the sun goes down.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living. — Psalm 116.8

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle

Today’s Readings
Deuteronomy 7 (Listen – 4:13)
Psalm 90 (Listen – 2:03)

Read more about Well Equipped for Good or Bad
Spiritual disciplines allow the Holy Spirit to equip us for good and prepare us for bad.

Read more about Cultivation Requires Planning
We, in our pursuit of a deepening walk of faith, need to follow his example of supernatural cultivation.