The Lord is my Shepherd

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

The Lord is my shepherd;

      I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

      He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul;

      He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

      I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

      Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

      You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

      Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

      And I will dwell in the house of the Lord

            Forever.

                        Psalm 23 (NKJV)

That is probably one of the most quoted scriptures in all of Christendom.  My husband, Fred, graduated with two degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. 

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He said that one of his professors stated that the Psalm was quite probably written from the viewpoint of a sheep…looking toward his shepherd.  Makes sense to me….and puts a different slant on the Psalm.

Recently, our Minister of Music, Rick Steele,

told of his time at the same Seminary, and a study he had done with T.W. Hunt, about prayer.  Quoting from Dr. Hunt’s workbook, Prayer Life – Walking in Fellowship with God (T.W. Hunt and Catherine Walker), Dr. Hunt stated: “One morning I woke up at 3:00 a.m.  With excitement, I entered the prayer room in my house, dropped to my knees, and exclaimed, ‘The Lord is really my Shepherd!’  But I suddenly realized the truth was that I knew very little about shepherds and sheep….So I wrote a highly personal version of Psalm 23….David was a shepherd, and his prayer fit his life peculiarly.  I was a professor.  Now I have my own prayer identity and pattern that is pleasing to God and exciting to me!

[His prayer:]

The Lord is my Professor;

      I shall not lack knowledge of God.

He makes me understand His ways;

      He leads me into refreshing new insights.

He restores my mind:

      He leads me in an understanding of holiness for the sake of His glory.

Yes, though I walk in an age of dangerous untruth,

      I will fear no evil; for You are with me;

Your Spirit and Your Book, they reassure me.

      You prepare a curriculum before me in the presence of my detractors;

You anoint my mind with glory;

      My notebook overflows!

Surely wisdom and knowledge shall fill me all the days of my life,

      and I shall sit at the feet of my Teacher forever!”

WOW!!  If that isn’t wonderful!

But that inspired Rick to write his own version.  Being a musician, he wrote:

The Lord is my Conductor

      I shall never miss a beat

He brings me to experience the Glory of His loudest crescendo,

      He lets me rest in the quietness of His softest pianissimo;

He restores the harmony in my soul.

      He helps me to understand His perfect tuning

In every instance, for His name’s sake.

      Yea, even though I miss important entrances

Or even become lost in the score; I will fear no evil.

      Thou preparest a royal concert before me

As if I’m the only one attending.

      Divine music anoints my mind with Your presence and Glory

My score is dynamic and alive!  It’s overflowing!

      Surely worship and praise shall follow me all the days of my life

And I will dwell in the Concert Hall of the Master Conductor

      Forever and ever...Amen.

Rick gave me permission to share his prayer here.  He encouraged me to think of and paraphrase my own version of the Psalm.  I would like to do the same for my readers.

MAY GOD BLESS HIS HOLY WORD

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Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.