An Excerpt from Untamed Prayers: Psalm 123 and Psalm 136
By Chad Bird
09/30/25
8mins

An Excerpt from Untamed Prayers: Psalm 123 and Psalm 136

The following entries are excerpts from Chad Bird’s new book, Untamed Prayers: 365 Daily Devotions on Christ in the Book of the Psalms (1517 Publishing, 2025), pgs. 311 and 335
St. Michael, Defender of God’s People
Amy Mantravadi
Amy Mantravadi
09/29/25

St. Michael, Defender of God’s People

Why did the church dedicate a day to St. Michael anyway? Who is he, and what does he do?
Yardwork and the Antichrist
1517 Guest Contributor
1517 Guest Contributor
09/26/25

Yardwork and the Antichrist

The Antichrist offers another continual presence. It is every whisper that tempts us toward autonomy, that tells us to carry it alone, that insists suffering is meaningless.

All Articles

Bradley Gray
Bradley Gray
06/28/21

Come to the Waters of Repentance

Mankind’s “thoughts and ways” on the matter of pardon and forgiveness do not even come close to exhausting, let alone fathoming, God’s “thoughts and ways.”
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/27/21

Have No “Great Expectations” of Your Pastors and Christian Leaders

Our leaders, our pastors, our priests, our teachers, all have feet of clay, just as leaders in Israel did. We do not put our faith in them, even in the ones—perhaps *especially* the ones—in whom we are inclined to have great expectations. They preach the Messiah but are not the Messiah.
Jeffrey Pulse
Jeffrey Pulse
06/26/21

Old Testament: Ezekiel 2:1-5 (Pentecost 6: Series B)

Ezekiel is not called/sent out to be “successful” in his prophetic ministry—he is sent out to be faithful!
Bob Hiller
Bob Hiller
06/26/21

Epistle: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 (Pentecost 6: Series B)

The God whose power is made perfect in our weakness is the God who, in weakness, saved you from sin, death, and the Devil.
David Schmitt
David Schmitt
06/26/21

Gospel: Mark 6:1-13 (Pentecost 6: Series B)

Jesus will bring good news, send His disciples to bring good news, and, in His death and resurrection, become good news for all.
Joshua Miller
Joshua Miller
06/26/21

A Necessary and Eternal Treasure

Take away the communal aspect, take away the communal gathering around Christ’s body and blood, and the Christian will begin to suffer a malnutrition of faith.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/25/21

The Psalms as the Prayerbook of Jesus and the Church

As the sin-bearer, Jesus was also the sin-confessor in the psalms.
Mark Mattes
Mark Mattes
06/23/21

A Guide to the Augsburg Confession

The reformers were compelled to confess the true faith and challenge corrupt practices—this is what the Augsburg Confession is about.
Martin Luther
Martin Luther
06/21/21

Keeping the Law in its Place

Our certainty is of Christ, that mighty hero who overcame the Law, sin, death, and all evils.
Jeffrey Pulse
Jeffrey Pulse
06/19/21

Old Testament: Lamentations 3:22-33 (Pentecost 5: Series B)

In the overall context of Lamentations this text stands out as a breath of fresh air, or perhaps more accurately, words of relief after so much dismal lamenting!
John Bombaro
John Bombaro
06/19/21

Epistle: 2 Corinthians 8:1-9, 13-15 (Pentecost 5: Series B)

If you truly love the brethren, you will not grudge to help them in their distress.
Peter Nafzger
Peter Nafzger
06/19/21

Gospel: Mark 5:21-43 (Pentecost 5: Series B)

The people you serve are still hanging on by a thread, which is another way of saying they are living by faith.
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