Deus in adjutorium meum intende

I might not have pronounced it correctly Sunday, but hopefully I made some sense sharing this brief prayer with you. The Deus in adjutorium meum intende is a prayer based on the first line of Psalm 69, which translates to "O God, come to my assistance." The response, Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina, is a prayer based on the first line of Psalm 70, which translates to "O Lord, make haste to help me."

This early prayer was the introductory prayer for the Office of the Hours in a number of ancient prayer books. In a book called The Prymer: The Prayer Book of the Medieval Era Adapted for Contemporary Use, author Robert E. Webber simplifies the translated prayer to what we said Sunday morning:

God, be my help;

Hurry to help me!

It's remarkably simple, and when we focus on the words, and speak them with intention, we rightly orient ourselves in a place of humility. We express our need of God, and cry out to our best and truest Source of help.

It's also a reminder that the words of Scripture lead us in the most powerful prayers. Lately I've been reading Scripture (nearly) daily through the ReadScripture app. After reading through 3-5 chapters, the app directs me to "Move into a time of prayer and meditate on the following Psalm." I'm amazed how well the Psalms frequently fall into a fitting prayer for my day. Not every verse is perfect, of course; I don't typically pray for my enemies to be destroyed (Psalm 143:12). But consider how praying—or being led in prayer by—the following would help you know God's presence and worship him:

"It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night..." (Psalm 92:1-2)

"Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy." (Psalm 86:1)

"Lord, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you. May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry." (Psalm 88:1)

"I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; before the 'gods' I will sing your praise." (Psalm 138:1)

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the  mountains quake with their surging." (Psalm 46:1-3)

Consider making the Psalms part of your prayer life. There's something beautiful about receiving God's word, and reflecting it back to Him in prayer.