Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Psalm Therapy

One of my favorite things to do when asked to pray for someone at an elders' meeting is to pray a psalm over someone. I did that again recently, using a recent favorite of mine -- Psalm 57:

I cry out to God Most High,
to God who will fulfill his purpose for me.
He will send help from heaven to save me,

Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens!
May your glory shine over all the earth. -- Ps. 57: 2-3a, 5, NLT

As we all heard God's word spoken over this person, it seemed so evident to all of us that we were visited by the presence of the Holy Spirit.

I just love how the Psalms speaks to our emotions. The Lord in His wisdom and grace gave us this wonderful book which helps us express our deep feelings to Him -- whether they be anger, sadness or exhilarating joy.

If you're like me, the psalms in my Bibles have notes next to them -- where I write down the date and how this psalm spoke to a particular challenge or turning point in my life:

Next to Psalm 116:7 "(Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.") is the note, "8-11-90 -- "Being led to Abilene."

At the heading of Psalm 130 (one of my all time favorites!) are my words, "St.Louis days" -- a time when Susan and I were training for a church planting...and really living on the edge of adventure and faith.

Right beside Psalm 96:4 ("For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.") is this notation: "6-11-00 -- Flying to Rio de Janeiro, after a fantastic campaign in Brazil" Little did I know that our family would return to Brazil three more times, and plan to go again next summer. God has been so faithful in all those campaigns.

I love to record my spiritual journey in my Bible. And so often those notations of God's work in my life are inscribed in the pages of the psalms.

How about you? What psalms have been some of your favorites? And how have they spoken to your heart lately?

Jim

2 Comments:

At 8:46 PM, Blogger Neva said...

When my first husband died, I couldn't find the words to pray but God had already written down the words of my heart. I found myself praying the psalms over and over again.

Peace
Neva

 
At 9:06 AM, Blogger Jim Clark said...

Yes, like Eugene Peterson writes, the psalms give us language for prayer.

Thanks for sharing your story, Neva. I didn't know that you had lost a husband.

 

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