by Erica Smith
I don't know about you, but sometimes my prayer life is a whole lotta asking and not a lotta praising.
In the midst of praying for others or asking God for personal discernment, I often forget to praise God just because God is worthy to be praised! This is why I need spiritual practices to remind me that God is not my go-to genie or the person I only turn to when I'm distraught, but my everyday-through-the-good-and-the-bad-the-mundane-and-the-exciting-best-friend-Creator-of-the-Universe-King-of-Kings-God.
Throughout the Psalms, we see different kinds of Psalms being prayed: lament, celebration, praise, thanksgiving, and coronation - to name a few (1) ! The Psalms are our teachers for the ways in which we can come before God and our examples of faithful prayer and worship.
This particular spiritual practice will center around Praying a Psalm of Praise and can be done in your own spiritual time or together with a group.
Throughout the Psalms, we see different kinds of Psalms being prayed: lament, celebration, praise, thanksgiving, and coronation - to name a few (1) ! The Psalms are our teachers for the ways in which we can come before God and our examples of faithful prayer and worship.
This particular spiritual practice will center around Praying a Psalm of Praise and can be done in your own spiritual time or together with a group.
Praying a Psalm of Praise
Step 1: Choose a Psalm of Praise to read, and read it aloud.
When I did this with my group, we read Psalm 146 together (mostly because it's short!) Some other Psalms you could try are Psalm 111, 112, 113, 117, 147, 148, and many others!
Step 2: Meditate on the Psalm
After you read the Psalm for the first time, sit and reflect on what stood out to you from the Psalm. This could simply be a word or a phrase, or another observation. Discuss your reflection with your group or in your journal if you're doing this alone.
Step 3: Read the Psalm Again
This time as you read the Psalm, look for the way the Psalm was written. Think back to English class - did you ever analyze poetry or discuss elements of literature? If that throws you for a loop, ask yourself these questions: Who is the Psalm talking to? to God? to others? to him/herself? What is the tone of the Psalm? What themes/topics are in the Psalm? How does the Psalm describe God? Discuss this with your group or write your answers in your journal.
Step 4: Write an Outline of the Psalm
Don't overthink this step. Simply look at the verses and see if you can gather similar verses together into groupings and name a category for them. Remember: this is not a literary or theological exercise, this is a spiritual exercise, so there's no right or wrong answer - the goal is that you engage with the Psalm as your example of faithful prayer and worship. For an example of an outline, here is the outline from our group on Psalm 146:
Step 5: Write your own Psalm of Praise
Now that you have an outline to follow, write your own Psalm of Praise using your own words and experiences. You can follow the categories you listed in the outline above (this helps me), or IF THE SPIRIT MOVES YOU (hint hint, this is the goal of spiritual practices!) go rogue and just praise away!
Step 6: Pray Your Psalm of Praise
Pray your Psalm of Praise that you've just written aloud (yes, even aloud in your group! Don't be shy, it will be powerful to hear everyone's Psalms!). And if you'd like, pray it every day of the week to remind you to praise God because God is worthy of your praise.
When I did this with my group, we read Psalm 146 together (mostly because it's short!) Some other Psalms you could try are Psalm 111, 112, 113, 117, 147, 148, and many others!
Step 2: Meditate on the Psalm
After you read the Psalm for the first time, sit and reflect on what stood out to you from the Psalm. This could simply be a word or a phrase, or another observation. Discuss your reflection with your group or in your journal if you're doing this alone.
Step 3: Read the Psalm Again
This time as you read the Psalm, look for the way the Psalm was written. Think back to English class - did you ever analyze poetry or discuss elements of literature? If that throws you for a loop, ask yourself these questions: Who is the Psalm talking to? to God? to others? to him/herself? What is the tone of the Psalm? What themes/topics are in the Psalm? How does the Psalm describe God? Discuss this with your group or write your answers in your journal.
Step 4: Write an Outline of the Psalm
Don't overthink this step. Simply look at the verses and see if you can gather similar verses together into groupings and name a category for them. Remember: this is not a literary or theological exercise, this is a spiritual exercise, so there's no right or wrong answer - the goal is that you engage with the Psalm as your example of faithful prayer and worship. For an example of an outline, here is the outline from our group on Psalm 146:
- Verses 1-2: Praise
- Verses 3-5: Wisdom/Exhortation
- Verses 6-9: Remembrance - What God has done
- Verse 10: Praise/Doxology
Step 5: Write your own Psalm of Praise
Now that you have an outline to follow, write your own Psalm of Praise using your own words and experiences. You can follow the categories you listed in the outline above (this helps me), or IF THE SPIRIT MOVES YOU (hint hint, this is the goal of spiritual practices!) go rogue and just praise away!
Step 6: Pray Your Psalm of Praise
Pray your Psalm of Praise that you've just written aloud (yes, even aloud in your group! Don't be shy, it will be powerful to hear everyone's Psalms!). And if you'd like, pray it every day of the week to remind you to praise God because God is worthy of your praise.
1. Work Consulted: Brueggemann, Walter. The Psalms and the Life of Faith edited by Patrick D. Miller. Fortress Press: Minneapolis, 1995.
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