I want to praise you, God, with all my heart
I want to tell of all Your wonders
Rejoicing in You, singing praises to Your name, O Most High
Will make me happy and content
Then there will be no place for my worst thoughts and fears
They will perish before You
For You lift up and light up my mind and heart
You are a true judge of my thoughts and feelings
You have the right and the power
To keep me whole, keep me true
Keep me safe from the enemies within
The weeds in my mind that invade my peace
Envy, suspicion, depression, alienation
You can blot them out forever
You can uproot them
So that I forget the darkness and live in the light
For myself, I want God to reign forever
To be my judge and my gardener
To govern my unruly heart
To be my refuge when I feel oppressed
My stronghold when I am troubled
If I can only remember to call on You, God
If I can only remember
That You have never forsaken those who seek You
Then I can sing praises with a light heart
Sing praises to my Sovereign enthroned in my heart
Then I can silence all my fears with Your name
Because You do not ever forget me as I sometimes forget You
You never ignore my cries for help
But You can see what has happened to me
Too often, I let darkness rule in my life
Have mercy and lift me up
Out of my darkness that strangles hope
Lift me up so I can praise You and rejoice in Your power
In my salvation
Lift me up out of the pit I dig for myself
Out of the weeds of doubt that entangle me
You, You are known by Your justice and truth
I am in danger of being ensnared by my own worst tendencies
Of falling again into the pit of depression
Of forgetting God. Please & Praise
So all I can do is depend on Your faithfulness
You do not forget me
You remain my hope
Arise, God, arise in my mind
Don’t let the dark and worldly parts of me win
Rule my mind and my heart
Weed the garden of my soul
Flood it with Your light
Banish my darkness – it is nothing compared to You. Please & Praise. Amen.

I seem to have warring nations inside me
Different people plotting, striving, in vain
Too often, the winners take their stand against peace
Against Lady Wisdom
Then I see religion only as chains of duties
Fetters of narrow-mindedness
And yet I come back, again and again
To the glory and the light of the One in heaven
The One who can scoff at my naysayers
The One who can rebuke my depression
In God’s glory, gloom cannot stay
Up and up God takes my vision
To God’s holy Ruler on high
With relief, with gratitude I can say
That I belong to God, I get to claim God’s protection
God promises me a wonderful inheritance
The ability to conquer those warring nations inside me
So I remind myself to be wise
To serve the Ruler of light and rejoice
To kiss the Daughter of peace and turn away from depression and anxiety
Blessed are all who take refuge in Lady Wisdom.  Amen.

Why, O God, do I keep You at a distance
Just when I need You most
In my arrogance, I turn to my weakest parts
I catch myself up in my own twisted thoughts
I pay attention to all the wrong feelings
I dwell on the lowest of my desires
And forget You
Forget to seek You
In all my thoughts, I make no room for You
I puff myself up, I sneer at those I do not like
I forget Your love and forgiveness
Briefly, briefly, I feel so full of myself
So pleased with my own successes
I boast to myself of my insight
I win arguments and put down those I am angry with
All in my own mind
Instead of remembering “God is here”
I keep coming back and back to my anger, my hurt pride
My thoughts ambush my peace, murder my quiet
Drag my contentment through the mud of my discontent
Until I collapse under my own unkind thoughts
Then I am likely to decide that God has forgotten me
When really I have forgotten God
So rise up in my mind, please, O God
Help my helplessness
Restore my peace
Keep me from being my worst
You do see my trouble and grief
You can take it in hand
I commit myself to You
You are the helper of the helpless
Break through my anger and discontent
God is Sovereign for ever and ever
Darkness disappears in God’s light
You hear, O God, my desire when I am afflicted
By my own weaknesses and failings
You encourage my goodness, my strength
You listen to my cry for help
You defend me against my self-destruction
I have to believe that You can free me
From the terror of my own anger. Amen.

O God, how many are my discouraging thoughts
How often they rise up against my peace
Many times I say to myself
“It’s hopeless. There is no God to deliver me.”
But here is what I want to believe
That You are a shield around me
That You bestow glory on me and lift up my life.
So to You I turn and cry aloud in my mind
Praying You will answer me from heights of holy hope
When I lie down and sleep
When I wake again, sustain me, please
Remind me
That I need not fear
The tens of thousands of discouraging thoughts
Ready to defeat me on every side, in every effort
Rise, Rise up above those pitfalls, oh my soul
Rise up to goodness and light
Deliver me, O my God
From the gaping mouths and sharp teeth
Of depression and despair,
From dark images and defensiveness
The God of light brings deliverance
May your blessing be on me as one of your people. Amen.

Please answer me when I call to You
O my righteous God
Relieve my distress
Have mercy and hear my prayer
Otherwise, on my own, I turn glory into shame
I delude myself and seek false gods. Please & Praise
I need to remember that God has set apart the godly for goodness
I need to remember that God will hear me when I call
I truly do not want anger and envy to rule my life
When I lie in bed each night and search my heart
I want to find peace and silence. Please & Praise
I want to know that I have made good choices
That I have trusted in God
With many others, I ask “Who can show us any good?”
We can find the answer in the light of Your shining face, O God
Looking back on my life, I realize that You have filled my heart with greater joy
Than any riches or benefits, honors or achievements
When I remember this, I can lie down and sleep in peace
Knowing that in You alone, O God, I dwell in safety and goodness. Amen.

Hear my words and my sighs, O God
Hear my cry for help, my sovereign God
For I don’t know where else to turn but to You
In the morning, every morning,
I will lay my needs before You
And then wait with hope
Knowing that You do not promote wrong-headedness
You destroy lies, envy and deceit
Only by Your great mercy will I be able to come into Your house
And bow down to You
Only if You lead me in Your merciful righteousness
Away from the wrongness that is the enemy I fear
Only if You make straight Your way for me
Away from the crooked wrong way
Where I can’t trust my own thoughts or feelings
Away from the treacherous sinkholes
Of depression and self-disgust
Deceit and envy
I need Your help, O God, to recognize them
Declare them unworthy
Banish them!
They have no place in merciful righteousness
Love and gratitude, generosity and kindness
Courage and laughter
Faithfulness and light:
Let these have Your protection and help
Be my refuge and gladness
I want to sing with joy
Protect me
Help me to love goodness and rejoice in righteousness
For surely, O God, You bless merciful righteousness
You surround goodness with Your shield. Amen.