Praying The Psalms
In this morning’s sermon, I talked about praying the psalms. The book of Psalms has been used as a prayer book from its inception and served as the primary way that people learned to pray for the first 1900 years of Christian history. They have personally been a great help to me over the past several years. So, I thought it would be good to list some of the things I have learned and the process I go through when praying the psalms.
First, I read the psalm slowly, meditating on it and letting its words and themes penetrate deep into my heart. I try to feel the words of the Psalter. At this phase, I’m asking myself questions. Is the Psalmist expressing thoughts and emotions that I feel right now? Could I feel this if I let myself? To what circumstances in my life might this psalm apply? Could this apply to anyone I know? Could I pray this for them?
I think the Psalms have been so popular over the years because they are so applicable. The Psalmists don’t try to “pretty up” the human condition. They’re honest. They ask tough questions of themselves and God. Their raw emotion, especially when dealing with their enemies, can make us uncomfortable because the Psalmists have no problem admitting emotions we try to hide—thoughts and feelings that seem to have no place in the mind or heart of a Christian. We shouldn’t avoid these elements of the psalms but embrace them. I think their honesty is a big part of their beauty and can help us connect with God.
Secondly, I pay attention to the kind of psalm I’m praying. Dennis Bratcher lists three of the most prominent and relevant types:
Lament psalms are the most numerous. These psalms are a cry to God from distress, pain or sorrow, either from the individual (13, 22) or the community (74). Often they begin with the question “Why?” and end in an affirmation of faith in God from the midst of the pain. Thanksgiving psalms express thanks and praise to God in response to some action or circumstance in which God’s faithfulness and love have been experienced (18, 138, 107). Hymns offer praise to God simply for who He is, as Creator of the Universe and Lord of History (8, 66, 113).
I view a Psalm as a progression into God’s presence from where I am currently. If I am distressed or overwhelmed, a lament takes me on a journey from my current state into God’s presence where I can find peace and strength. If I feel the weight of my sin, a penitential psalm—a specific kind of lament—leads me from the shame and guilt of my sin to the forgiveness and restoration found in God’s grace and mercy toward me. When I am thankful, a thanksgiving psalm is perfect. Hymns serve as wonderful opportunities for me to put my trust in the psalm’s revelation of God’s character rather than in my current circumstances and praise him for his kindness and goodness.
So, I take note of the overall flow of the psalm. How will praying this psalm take me from my current experiences into the experience God wants me to have?
Thirdly, I reread the psalm as my personal prayer to God. Sometimes I am so moved by a particular part of a psalm that I leave the written words and begin to cry out to God from my own experience. Then, I return and continue praying my way through the psalm.
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Drop By
Beginning tomorrow, I am reviving a practice I did a year or so ago. Between noon and 3pm on Wednesdays, I am leaving my schedule open for drop-ins.
As your pastor, I want to be available for times to just chat. Sometimes, there is no pressing need, but it’s just good to spend time together.
So, feel free to drop by if you have the opportunity. You can bring a lunch if you’d like. If not, that’s fine, too. We’ll sit in the cafe and talk. The more the merrier!
And, as always, if you need to schedule a more private conversation, you can contact me or Renee about that.
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Atheist Believes Africa Needs God
On Facebook, Jeff Heidcamp linked to this. There are a lot of comments I’d like to make, but thought I’d see what you have to say first.
Check this out..
As an Atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God.
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Now
In his blog, a friend wrote: “Sometimes I feel like my passions change with the wind… as I think any possibility through, it doesn’t take long for me to get bored with it before I’ve even started.”
I experience similar frustrations and was even talking to another friend about this recently. We talked about how we envy those who seem more settled. I seldom feel settled but am typically looking to the next “thing” that interests me.
In fact, this morning, I was praying about all this. Below is the comment I left on my friend’s blog. The thoughts were sparked by his musings and my own time of prayer.
I wrote…
I also have a difficult time staying satisfied for very long. I love thinking and dreaming about the next “thing”, an impulse that is only strengthened by my like for just about everything (except science, I have no particular interest in science).
Sometimes my desire for something new develops into the kind of funk you’re describing. For me, the funk often results from a certain mindset I have fallen back into– the mindset that God is in the next thing rather than here where I am now. The funk starts to lift when I remind myself that God is working all around me all the time.
Maybe purpose in life isn’t found in the next or one “thing” to do but in simply walking according to the light I have right now, being where he seems to have me in the moment. Maybe my purpose is to be in this moment experiencing all it has to offer (joys and frustrations) as fully as possible.
Maybe, if I focus on this moment and push out all of the worries and anticipations of the other potential moments in my life, I might just see a bit clearer what he is doing all around me. If he is working everywhere all the time (in every person around me and every circumstance I find myself in), maybe I can join him in his work right here and now if I take the time to pause… and look around… and be.
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It is so easy for me to live almost entirely in the future, checking off an eternal to-do list. Just because I’m good at planning doesn’t mean I should do it all the time – but the more I do, the more I forget to just sit with God and be. Usually I only remember when something wrecks my little house of cards, and I realize I was never really in control.
Mentors
Mentors
I was sick twice in the last month and also had a brief stay in the hospital. It turned out to be nothing serious, thankfully. Still, being sick is no fun. I’m not very good at slowing down and resting, but this bout has forced me to do just that. In taking it a little easier than normal, I have found myself reminiscing. Particularly, I have been thinking of the people who made a real difference in my life, those who poured themselves into me when I was younger.
God has blessed me richly by placing people in my life who took an interest in me. They really cared about me. From the time I was very young, there has always been someone to mentor me and help me become a better person and a better disciple of Jesus.
It’s sentimental, I know. But, I thought I would share the names of those who really made a difference in my life. I decided not to include family, friends (those who are more like peers) or current mentors in this list. These are people who are mostly in the past. Time and space have distanced us, but I still feel their influence and am thankful for them. The list is long because, as I said, God has richly blessed me with people who care.
Ferris Bueller said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” I agree. In looking around, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the lasting impression these people made on me. I think it’s rewarding to slow down and take time to review how God has blessed us. I urge you to do it. Think about those who have impacted you. Who would you put on your list?
With that, here’s my list…
Roy Bennett, Faye Crocker, Felecia Steinbarger, Pat Keefe, Mike Moats, Dennis Morgan, Dee Ries, Bill Bowers, Lance Ford, George Wilson, Royce Thomas, Larry & Betsy Williams, Dave & Jane Easter, Gary & Susan Broyles, Stan Burgess, Rich Blackmon, Rex Reed, and Sam & Sherri Wilson
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Honoring the Creator on Earth Day
Genesis 2:15 states “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”
In the past few decades, it seems that Evangelicals in America have focused on the command to fill the earth and subdue it in Genesis 1:28-29, emphasizing mankind’s domination over creation, as if creation were merely there for humanity’s use exclusively, (rather than for God’s glory) almost to the exclusion of verse 2:15. I have to wonder if this emphasis does honor to Scripture or if it is more or less symptomatic to living in an increasingly narcissistic culture that thrives on easy, disposable consumption without thought to consequences as a way of life.
Today on Earth Day at Missouri State, a few of us have put together a little event rather at the last minute. Thanks to connections at Mama Jean’s Natural Market we were able to get a box of organic bananas and a box of organic apples to give to students as a gesture of God’s kindness to us, but also in humble recognition that we as Evangelicals have not always given the weight to caring for the earth that perhaps we should. As God is the Maker of all things, and His plan is to rule over His good creation through human beings, it only makes sense that we should recognize Him as Sovereign Lord of all creation on this day when so many of our friends and neighbors who don’t share our faith in Jesus are seeking to do what the LORD put Adam in the garden to do.
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Three Seconds
“The mystery of God is not in what is going to be, it is now…” -Oswald Chambers for 21 April
This morning Chambers reminded me of the “now.”
I am reminded of some cognitive theories that suggest what the human brain understands as “the present” is equal to 3 seconds of clock time. A breath takes 3 seconds, so does a line of poetry. After those 3 seconds, we are thinking of them in terms of “the past.” Also, “the future” may be anything that is 3 seconds or further from “the present.”
Three seconds. This is our capacity. Consider the computer I am writing with and you are reading with. How much is happening every second in order for it to function in real time. We are capable of grasping three entire seconds of reality as the present moment. That is wonderful.
God wants us to find Him “now.” He is here, in the 3 seconds of the present. In the next 3, He will be as present in them as He was in the past.
Selah
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Reminiscing
Until his death in 1997, I don’t think any public figure influenced me as much as Rich Mullins. I went to eight of his concerts in as many years. Those are still some of my most treasured experiences. God was present with us as Rich sang his songs and shared his thoughts. I cried, laughed, cried again, and laughed again through each of those concerts. The songs on each of his new releases seemed to speak right to where I was at the time. I miss Rich.
A couple of months ago, I started listening again to a tribute to Rich Mullins by 20 The Countdown Magazine. The tribute included clips from interviews with Rich. I thought I’d post some excerpts from it.
Here’s one…
Rich Mullins: The hardest part of being a Christian is surrendering and that is where the real struggle happens. Once we have overcome our own desire to be elevated, our own desire to be recognized, our own desire to be independent and all those things that we value very much because we are Americans and we are part of this American culture. Once we have overcome that struggle then God can use us as a part of His body to accomplish what the body of Christ was left here to accomplish.
And here’s another…
Rich Mullins: My twenties were very very disturbed years because it was the time of the real battle between my will to submit my will and my will to assert my will. I wanted to love God and at the same time I resented God for being who He is because if He was God then I couldn’t be. And I would flip-flop back and forth between saying thank you God that you are the Lord and that I am not because given I am a rotten steward I would be a terrible Lord. I would flip-flop between saying that and saying yeah but we are going to do this my way right now. So I do love you but I’m going to go my way and so blink for a long time. You know, by the time you’ve gone through that long enough after you have beaten your head up against that wall for a good decade, you come out of it and you have accomplished all of the damage that God wanted to save you from. All you can do at that point is go, “Wow! I am so sorry that when You told me to walk in faith, I refused to do it. And now I know why You gave the commands that You gave. Now I know why You say what You say. And I wish that I didn’t have to know that in order to obey it.”
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I’ve been to a Rich Mullins concert. It left a lasting impact on me and drew me closer to God. He truely led us into a spirit of worship rather than just enjoyment of a talented performer. I wonder why his concert effected me in such a positive way, while other Christian concerts were good, but did not have the same impact. I wonder if it was the message in the music? the humble spirit of the musician? the company of those I attended with? or perhaps my own openness to the Holy Spirit at the time. Whatever the reason, a hammered dulcimer in concert is never a bad thing.
Mad at Bob
As far as I know, Bob’s hair is not blonde or brown or red. He is not tall or short, thin or fat, wise or foolish. His voice is neither deep nor high-pitched. Bob is not athletic or bookish, nor is he particularly extroverted or introverted. I’m not sure if he’s married, single, or dating someone. I don’t even know his age.
I do know this… I don’t like Bob. He seems to need a good, swift kick in the hind-quarters. He does not listen and constantly interrupts. He often jumps to conclusions. He’s a terror to work with and even worse to work for. Tyrannical and obtuse, he pushes his agendas with no thought of others. He is inconsiderate and insensitive. He demoralizes and frustrates all who know him.
At least, that’s the impression I got from the lady in the black coat. You see, I’ve never met Bob. And I don’t know anything about the lady in the black coat except that Bob aggravates her. So I can’t be sure about her assessment of Bob. All I have to go on is her side of a phone conversation as she sat at the table next to mine at Starbucks.
I tried not to listen. Really, I did. I had my own stuff to think about and work on. But as the saying goes, I couldn’t help myself. The lady wasn’t exactly discreet or hushed with her comments. Surely I wasn’t the only one who overheard her half of the conversation.
Unable to concentrate, I finally decided to leave for the office. Maybe I could get more done there.
It wasn’t until I placed my computer bag in the trunk of my car that I noticed my attitude toward Bob. I was angry. How could he treat people like that? Why was he so imperceptive? That’s when I reminded myself that I didn’t actually know anything about Bob. For instance, I didn’t even know his last name. If I met Bob, I wouldn’t know it and might have an entirely different opinion of him.
I couldn’t believe that hearing one side of a conversation was enough to sway me against Bob. And that got me thinking…
Was the lady aware the rest of us in the café could hear her? Did she consider the impression she was leaving on us? Did anyone in Starbucks know her? Might they have been able to guess who Bob is? If so, how might her words influence them?
What about me? I’ve had phone conversations in public places. Has my voice carried more than I thought? Have I been indiscreet, maybe even improper in my words about others? Could I have influenced someone else without knowing it?
What about our conversations in general? Do we think about how our words could influence others? As a society, we have embraced the therapeutic value of venting emotions. Sometimes I wonder about this. Maybe some things should not be said… ever. Maybe speaking some things out loud only reinforces negative emotions or attitudes rather than helping us deal with them. And there’s always the potential that our confidants will be wrongly swayed by our remarks. After all, we may be mistaken.
I hope nobody in Starbucks was able to deduce Bob’s identity. If they did, I hope their opinion of Bob was not affected by one person’s words. More than that, I hope I will be more circumspect and compassionate in expressing my own emotions, especially emotions involving others.
2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. 3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. (James 3:2-6 NIV)
(By the way, Bob is not the real name used by the lady in the black coat. In fact, the lady’s coat was not even black. I altered the details a bit.)
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Like Sea Billows Roll
I’m an intellectual. For me, that’s not a positive or negative label, but just a label that fits. My normal, initial responses to life’s circumstances are cerebral rather than emotional. Sometimes, however, situations force past the mind and straight to the heart, circumventing my comfortable, pensive response to suffering.
Even then, I eventually settle back into habit. Sentiment gives way to analysis, and I find myself asking questions about the pain I’m experiencing. I start looking for ways that others worked through similar or maybe even more devastating experiences.
As I said in my last blog, someone close to me is really sick right now. The situation is complicated and tragic. The future is uncertain. A group of people gathered around me last week and prayed for me and all involved in this situation. I have experienced more peace since their prayers, which has freed me to “think” again.
And so begin the questions… Why am I responding like this? How and why have others responded differently? Is there something I can learn from their responses?
In my personal times of worship, I have been repeatedly singing the song, It Is Well With My Soul, which has unsurprisingly led me to think about the story of the man who wrote it. Here’s a description from Share Faith…
Horatio Spafford (1828-1888) was a wealthy Chicago lawyer with a thriving legal practice, a beautiful home, a wife, four daughters and a son. He was also a devout Christian and faithful student of the Scriptures. His circle of friends included Dwight L. Moody, Ira Sankey and various other well-known clergymen of the day.
At the very height of his success, Horatio and his wife Anna suffered the tragic loss of their young son. Shortly thereafter on October 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed almost every real estate investment Spafford had.
In 1873, Spafford scheduled a boat trip to Europe, to give his wife and daughters a much needed vacation from tragedy, and so that he might join Moody and Sankey for an evangelistic campaign in England. Spafford sent his wife and daughters on ahead while he remained in Chicago, to take care of some unexpected last minute business. Several days later he received notice that his family’s ship had encountered a collision in which all four of his daughters drowned; only his wife had survived.
With a heavy heart, Spafford boarded a boat that would take him to his grieving Anna, in England. It was on this trip that he penned those now famous words…
Here’s the first verse of the song:
When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
So, how can I find God in the midst of this pain? How can I find the confidence and comfort expressed in this song? What can I learn from Horatio Spafford, who went through a much more severe trial than the one I’m experiencing right now?
While asking these questions, Tim Keller’s “three ways” (see last post) have helped me. To be clear, I’m not interested in figuring out whether I’m a moralist or a pragmatist, but in whether bits of moralism or pragmatism have crept into my soul. If they have, how can I deal with them? More importantly, how can I reaffirm the gospel and let it bring healing to me in the midst of this pain? Where is God’s grace in all of this? Sometimes I catch glimpses of it and desperately need him to bring a clearer, more sustained vision of his goodness, kindness, and love.
As the field owner in Jesus’ parable about wheat and weeds, I believe an enemy has done this. What my loved one is going through is not from God. Still my hope and belief is that what the enemy meant for evil God can use for good.
#1 by Katie on August 25th, 2010
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Thanks, Tim! These are very practical tips. I’m looking forward to prayer taking more of a front seat in my life – it’s slow, but it edges closer every day.
#2 by Tim Stagner on August 30th, 2010
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When it comes to prayer, I think slow is good. It’s important that prayer become part of the rhythm of our lives, and that takes time.