At a recent gathering here at the Press, Vinita Hampton Wright of the Days of Deepening Friendship blog and my dear friend, offered us something fresh.
She suggested that we each write a psalm for ourselves and that each should contain:
- An honest statement of the situation
- The truth we know and have already experienced
- A request from God for what we need.
Vinita gave us an example:
Oh Lord, I’m in over my head!
My anxiety makes it hard to think straight.
But I know you are at work in each life and that the Holy Spirit hovers over my every attempt at ministry.
Help me master some new skills – I’ve certainly done that before.
Prepare me to listen and to speak.
Make a way for the conversation I’m about to have
I trust you to bring about the best results – thank you!
I really liked the psalm I came up with; why don’t you give it a whirl?
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What an invitation! When I saw the name of the post in my reader, I thought – what?! It makes my palms a bit sweaty thinking about such things. And I say that as someone who loves the psalms and who fancies herself a writer.
Hmmmm…
However, Vinita is onto something and sweaty palms and all, I will give this a go. Let’s see what happens.
Fran,
I do hope it went well for you.
Paul
I have done this on different occasions and I took the time this morning once again. It is a deep spiritual experience to write a psalm to our Lord. Thank you for prompting me to do this.
Lynda,
Why am I not surprised that you have already done this?
Paul
I love this idea! But I think I am more into a psalm or praise or thanksgiving at the moment. I think I will try…
Annette,
How wonderful to write a psalm of praise or thanksgiving!
Paul
The challenge you gave us today was an answer to my prayers this morning. Thank you. I ask for your prayers as I ask God to help me surrender to a problem with which I’ve been suffering a great deal of late.
Linda, thank you for allowing us the opportunity to support you in prayer. Be assured of mine.
Well, you have my prayers too. I’m not a great one for surrendering either
Linda,
I join my prayers with the others.
Paul
Prayers from me too!
I have written my first psalm as part of my assignment during my fourth year in the Archdiocesan Catholic Biblical School. Writing one made me realize how much the psalmist really trusted and loved God and considered Him as a very close friend and Father that he could really bare himself open to Him, say anything without any hesitation or care as to how God would take it.
I got into the spirit of the psalmist when I started writing my psalm for suddenly, I felt my my whole being opening up and I began to say things without being afraid and without pretense. I learned to express, in a raw and honest way, everything that was inside of me in prayer: my hurt, my anger, my love for him. I even told him how to solve a situation and how to run the world and people. I came to the realization that he knows everything about me anyway, so I might as well just put words to my feelings.
I have learned to pray like the psalmist. I always end my prayer expressing my gratitude. Then I remain silent, listening, and best of all, allowing him to love me.
Dolly,
Thank you for sharing your experience of psalm writing with us. It is beautiful, honest and very moving. God bless you.
Paul
Love this idea! While going through the 19th annotation retreat I am journaling many thoughts about my limitations and the wonders of God’s love. Time to see if I can be a poet.
Charlie,
I am accompanying a colleague through the 19th right now and I shall pray for you when I pray for him.
Paul
Hmmm…I think mine would be a prayer of gratitude. I’m so grateful for the existing Psalms because in them I find every human emotion possible. That allows me the freedom to pour my heart out to God in a real and intimate way. Great way to begin the New Year.
Andie,
Yep. One of the things I love about our faith (that comes to us from Judaism) is that we can be forcefully honest and direct with our God. We need pull no punches.
Paul
I am afraid that mine would be of the Eminem variety if I tried. There would be many an expletive given how deep in the fertiliser I feel most of the time these days :-/
Psalm 88 is your model, I do believe!
God came to us in a stable, it can’t get much messier than that. Besides, fertilizer makes things grow and bloom and become fruitful. It may be stinky, but really, it is beautiful in it’s own way. It might sound silly, but there is a lot of comfort for me knowing that even in my ugliest, discarded parts, God can handle it and God is working to make something new. But it takes time, heat…sun…time….and patience. Prayers to you Simon.
Simon,
There’s a quote from Groucho Marx somewhere in the “Words of Wisdom” that says that no one can make us feel any way except ourselves and that if we decide to greet each day and be cheerful, then we can do it.
Paul
Yes, I know, my travails are all my own. Hence, the lack of my own personal psalm
That said, Psalm 88 says it all – why try to polish perfection. thanks Robin and thanks for the prayers Annette.
Simon, I don’t know whether I should say this, because I know well what it is to be in a Psalm 88 place. One of the ways in which I dealt with the immediate aftermath of my son’s death was to spend an entire academic term writing an exegetical paper on Psalm 88 — word by word, phrase by phrase, in Hebrew (paper in English, of course!). It’s actually an extremely interesting Psalm, and was the only passage of Scripture I could stomach for months.
That said, and here’s what I’m aiming at: there’s something to be said for trying to work up to Psalm 22. Even Jesus at his worst presumably had the entire psalm in mind, and not just the first line to which he gave voice.
Thanks again Robin. In my heart (and my head) I can’t really meditate on my problems and think that God has completely forsaken me. He hasn’t. My troubles pale against those of many so I should be thankful for having enough of everything rather than constantly whining.
It is Saturday, the sun is shining, I have my health, a roof over my head and food in the cupboard. Things that so many of around the world do not and things that, even a few generations ago, my ancestors couldn’t take for granted. God is good to me.
This was suggested by our professor in OT Survey, maybe I should give it a try, but Paul you hit one right out of the park!