Writing Psalms

Psalms are songs and prayers found in the Bible. Many were written by David, the musician-king of Israel who lived 3000 years ago. Given their ancient origin, I was surprised to see a workshop on creating psalms being offered at a nearby church... Intrigued, I decided to attend.


















The experience of writing poetic prayers, under the guidance of writing instructor Ray McGinnis, was a pure joy. Gone was the fear of being critiqued: Why worry about what others think? Our prayers, laments and praises are for God...














In one exercise, Ray gave us a list of phrases taken from Biblical psalms and asked us to incorporate as many (or as few) as we wanted in a prayer-poem. Those who wanted could later read it aloud in our "sacred circle." It was then I discovered the second blessing of writing prayers: listening to the prayer-poems of others.

On my way home, I thought of the expression: One hand clapping... Had we not opened up and shared, our sacred circle would have been as silent as "one hand clapping"... By overcoming our fears and reading our prayers aloud, our listeners could share with us, pray with us. Their smiles, nods (and occasional laughter) confirmed that they too had been blessed.

So in that spirit of sharing the blessing, here is a prayer I wrote at the workshop. (The italicized words are phrases taken from our instructor's list.)

O God,
You go before me wherever I go.
Because of You, I shall not be moved.

My bones grow weak whenever I reflect on my problems.
But You are there, so I stand on solid ground.
Scatter my worries like breadcrumbs.
Guard my life, I pray.

The doors of my faith are ancient doors that stand firm on hidden foundations.

In the morning, I come before you.
You meet me - not in flashes of lightning
But in secret peace - pleasure forever.

Comfort me: I am an owl among ruins,
a bird alone on a rooftop.

My bones grow weak;
Guard my life, I pray.