Psalm 23
The Lord is my Shepherd
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Praying with Psalm 23

Psalm 23 

• The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want 
• He makes me lie down in green pastures 
• He leads me beside still waters 
• He restores my soul 
• He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake 
• Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil 
• Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. 
• You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies 
• You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows 
• Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long 
  
  
• Some ways of praying with Psalm 23
  
  
• Download PDF pack of the reflections and prayers
  
  
• YouTube videos based around the Psalm 23 soul space events 

• Prayers of Intercession

• Prayers of Thanksgiving

• Praying in the Dark Valley

• Praying for Others

• Prayers for Lent / Holy Week

Prayers of Intercession

Psalm 23 (New Life Translation)
The Lord is my shepherd. I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows. He leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honour to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honour me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely, your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord for ever.  

The Lord is my shepherd. I have all that I need 
Forgive me Lord, when I stray from you, because of my greed for things I don't need

He lets me rest in green meadows. He leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength
Forgive me Lord, when I think other pastures look greener, or when I reject your offers of help, thinking I can manage without you  

He guides me along right paths, bringing honour to his name
Lord God, forgive me that although I long to be led by you, I still complain along the path  

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me
Forgive me Lord, that despite knowing your promise to be with me, I am often afraid. Help me to be more aware of your presence, your strength and your comfort  

You prepare a feast for me in the presence of me enemies. My cup overflows with blessings
Forgive me Lord, when I refuse to sit down at your table, rejecting the blessings you freely offer me. Make me more aware of your overflowing love, and of my desperate need of you  

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all my days, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever
Lord God I thank you that whatever I do, you never leave me or stop loving me. I thank you for the blessings you shower on me every day, and for welcoming me into your eternal embrace.
Amen 

Prayers of Thanksgiving

Psalm 23 (The Voice)
The Eternal God is my shepherd. He cares for me always. He provides me rest in rich, green fields beside streams of refreshing water. He soothes my fears. He makes me whole again, steering me off worn, hard paths to roads where truth and righteousness echo His name. Even in the unending shadows of death's darkness, I am not overcome by fear. Because You are with me in the dark moments, near with Your protection and guidance, I am comforted. You spread out a table before me, provisions in the midst of attack from my enemies; You care for all my needs, anointing my head with soothing, fragrant oil, filling my cup again and again with Your grace. Certainly Your faithful protection and loving provision will pursue me where I go, always, everywhere. I will always be with the Eternal God, in His house for ever.  

The Eternal God is my shepherd. He cares for me always
Lord God, thank you for your faithful guidance, and that when I stray, you gently draw me back into your embrace  

He provides me rest in rich green fields, beside streams of refreshing water
Thank you for the lavish gifts you bestow on me  

He soothes my fears. He makes me whole again, steering me off worn, hard paths to roads where truth and righteousness echo His name
Thank you for restoring and renewing me day by day  

Even in the unending shadows of death's darkness, I am not overcome by fear
Thank you for your abiding presence, and for supporting and sustaining me whatever I face  

Because you are with me in the dark moments, near with your protection and guidance, I am comforted
Thank you that you never leave me to face my dark times alone  

You spread out a table before me, provisions in the midst of attack from my enemies
Thank you that I can always trust you to fulfil my needs, even when everything seems hopeless to me  

You care for all my needs, anointing me with soothing, fragrant oil, filling me again and again with your grace
Thank you for your lavish love and grace, in providing more for me than I can ever imagine or deserve  

Your faithful protection and loving provision will pursue me wherever I go, always, everywhere
Thank you that you never stop loving me, and that I can never escape from you  

I will always be with the Eternal God, in His house for ever
Thank you for welcoming me into your eternal embrace.
Amen  

Praying in the Dark Valley

'Even though I walk through the darkest valley' 

Lord, you are our Shepherd.
You make us lie down in green pastures,
you lead us beside still waters,
you guide us in right paths.  

We could so happily spend all our time on the green pastures and by the still waters . . .content. 

But when the dark clouds begin to block out the sun,
or the path on which you call us seems to lead us into dark valleys
we can all too readily begin to fear and panic.  

When we tread these dark and difficult and dangerous ways,
remind us that you are there,
as present in the dark and narrow valley
as you were in the sunlit, broad pastures.  

'I will fear no evil' 

May we know that you are with us,
may we be assured of your presence and strength and comfort,
and so may we fear no evil.  

We ask this through Jesus Christ our Good Shepherd, and in his name.
Amen. 

Praying for Others

Psalm 23 (New Life Translation)
The Lord is my shepherd. I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows. He leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honour to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honour me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely, your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord for ever.  

The Lord is our shepherd. We have all that we need
We pray for those who feel overwhelmed and alone in the darkness of depression, illness, loss or anxiety  

He lets us rest in green meadows
We pray for refugees and asylum seekers who have given up everything, for survivors of natural disasters who have nothing left, and for all who are homeless 

He leads us beside peaceful streams
We pray for people who have only dirty water to drink, and those for whom hunger is not a choice

He renews our strength. He guides us along right paths, bringing honour to his name
We pray for those whose faith is new or fragile, for those burdened by doubts 

Even when we walk through the darkest valley, we will not be afraid, for you are close beside us
We pray for those who struggle with temptation or addiction, for those who feel invisible or voiceless  

You prepare a feast for us in the presence of our enemies
We pray for Christians who live in countries where it is dangerous or illegal be a Christian. For those who face persecution, imprisonment, and death, as a direct consequence of their faith 

Our cup overflows with blessings
We pray for people who have hurt us, for people we find it hard to forgive, for people we find it difficult to love 

Surely, your goodness and unfailing love will pursue us all the days of our lives, and we will live in your house for ever
We pray that the time will not be far off when your Kingdom will come, and the earth will be filled with the knowledge of your glory.
Amen 

Prayers During Lent / Holy Week

Psalm 23 (The Voice)
The Eternal God is my shepherd. He cares for me always. He provides me rest in rich, green fields beside streams of refreshing water. He soothes my fears. He makes me whole again, steering me off worn, hard paths to roads where truth and righteousness echo His name. Even in the unending shadows of death's darkness, I am not overcome by fear. Because You are with me in the dark moments, near with Your protection and guidance, I am comforted. You spread out a table before me, provisions in the midst of attack from my enemies; You care for all my needs, anointing my head with soothing, fragrant oil, filling my cup again and again with Your grace. Certainly Your faithful protection and loving provision will pursue me where I go, always, everywhere. I will always be with the Eternal God, in His house for ever.  

God the Eternal One is our shepherd, He cares for us always
Lord God, we thank for being the Good Shepherd, prepared to lay down your life for us your sheep  

He provides us rest in rich, green fields beside streams of refreshing water
Omnipotent God, you created the universe and everything in it. Yet for us, you were born in a stable, lived as a refugee, died as a criminal, and were buried in a borrowed tomb. Grant us the courage to always follow your example of humility and service  

He makes us whole again steering us off worn, hard paths to roads where truth and righteousness echo His name
Crucified God, your path led you to death on a cross. We thank you that through your death and resurrection you have saved us. Grant us the courage to follow wherever you lead us  

Even in the unending shadows of death's darkness, we are not overcome by fear. Because you are with us in those dark moments, we are comforted
Immanuel - God with us - you know how it feels to walk in dark times. We thank you that you never leave us to face our dark times alone, but are with us always, to protect and guide us  

You spread out a table before us, provisions in the midst of attack from our enemies
Nurturing God, even on the night before your death, you took time to encourage and strengthen your disciples. We thank you that you now invite us to share your table, where you nourish and strengthen us for the journey ahead  

You care for all our needs, anointing our heads with soothing, fragrant oil, filling our cup again and again with your grace
Generous God, you love us extravagantly, unflinchingly, whatever the cost. We thank you for the abundance of your gifts to us. Forgive us that our love is so meagre, and teach us to love as you do  

Your faithful protection and loving provision will pursue us where we go, always, everywhere. We will always be with the Eternal God, in His house forever
Risen God, you go before us to prepare a place for us. Thank you that you have made it possible for us to dwell with you, in this life, and throughout eternity.
Amen 

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