Psalm 63:1–8 (NRSV)

1 O God, you are my God, I seek you,my soul thirsts for you;my flesh faints for you,as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,beholding your power and glory.3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,my lips will praise you.4 So I will bless you as long as I live;I will lift up my hands and call on your name.5 My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,and my mouth praises you with joyful lips6 when I think of you on my bed,and meditate on you in the watches of the night;7 for you have been my help,and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.8 My soul clings to you;your right hand upholds me.

I love Mondays. For one thing they are the farthest day of the week from Sunday and so the urgency of preparation is but a distant drumbeat today. But mostly I love Mondays because it is a new week full of opportunities to live life fully and as the psalmist says praise God with my mouth and my hands.

We are going to praise something this week. We will worship something or someone this week. And before things get going and even out of control, I invite us to stop and be intentional about making sure our praise and worship this week are God-centered. Jesus said that if we will seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness first everything else will fall into place. No better time than Monday to be reminded of this truth!

God Almighty, before the week gets any older I want to train my gaze upon you. May the words of my mouth and meditations of my heart be truly pleasing in your sight.