Today, we prayerfully read out this psalm as we begin the month of August. 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. 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. 7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. Ps 84:1-7

“Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. 2 Chronicles 32:7-8 Despite the size of the challenges ahead us, we pray that the Lord will strengthen us. We put our hope in God almighty who will help us and fight our battles.

Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. Ezra 8:21 We pray for God to show us the right way for us, our children and the our possessions.

[19]Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, To lead them on the road; Nor the pillar of fire by night, To show them light, And the way they should go. [20]You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, And gave them water for their thirst. [21]Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; They lacked nothing; Their clothes did not wear out And their feet did not swell. Neh 9:19-21 We pray that God will sustain us and not forsake us. He will lead us by day and at night.  He will give us His good Spirit to instruct us and He will provide for our needs.

You alone are the Lord; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You. Nehemiah 9:6 We acknowledge that God is the creator of everything and fully in charge. We worship God today for his greatness and for His mighty works.

Pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8 We pray that God will protect us today from any calamity.