How do we process our faith, grief, concern, love, struggles, pain, trust, and prayer? I invite you to write a psalm yourpselph.
Writing your own psalm is a powerful way to journal, worship, pray, and connect with God. You can follow the pattern of one specific psalm if you’d like. But there is no wrong way to do it. Adore Your God. Remember His blessings. Cry out to God. Reflect on His kindness. Confess ways you have fallen short. Whine a little. Pour out your lament. Call upon His name. Ask Him for specific requests. Lift up friends, family, strangers, all those on your heart and mind. Praise Him for all the ways He has shown Himself to you in mercy and grace. Rest in the truth of who God is.
A Psample:
Psalm 151
A psalm of Goodtime Linda
O Lord, I am overwhelmed by the pain swirling around me.
My tears do not cease for all the loss and heartbreak.
Lord, my heart breaks for all those who have lost loved ones.
For all those who face fear on so many levels.
Speak, Lord, to the weak, the vulnerable, those who face a looming, unseen enemy.
Lord, my heart breaks for those who feel alone.
My heart breaks for those separated from loved ones,
The ones who cannot understand and feel abandoned.
Families who cannot celebrate weddings, graduations, and special times together.
Bereaved ones who must say goodbye without the loving touch of friends and family.
Selah.
Lord, be strength and comfort for all those on the front lines,
Those who care for the sick and dying,
Those who protect the weak and reassure the lonely,
Those who seek a cure,
Those who feed the hungry,
Those who do a million unseen, unsung, underappreciated jobs to keep us going.
Lord, my heart hurts, my mind is burdened, my eyes weep.
Teach me to cling to the Man of Sorrows, One who is acquainted with grief.
You are El Roi, the God Who Sees.
You see the suffering. You hear the cries. You care with a father’s heart.
You are near to the brokenhearted.
You are God Almighty on your throne.
You are not taken by surprise.
You are not wringing your hands in helplessness.
You are working in light of eternity.
Teach me to rest in You and You alone.
Selah.
(*Selah: stop, pause, and think. Let this settle in.)
Pour out your heart in a psalm. Or several. You may choose to write one each morning. If you would like, share your psalms with us. Send yours to me and I will compile them for our own Alone Together book of Psalms. Could be really therapeutic, cathartic, and encouraging for us. Or read yours at Bible study tomorrow…