Sharing: Psalms as Prayers and Songs

Awake, my soul!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn. 
I will praise you, Lord, 
among the nations;
I will sing of you 
among the peoples.

Psalm 57:8-9 NIV

​POETRY AND MUSIC OF THE PSALMS

I paused as I read the poetry and let the music of God’s verse seep down deep into my soul. The words themselves danced on the page in front of me bringing with them a longing that felt as though I could join in the dance as well. Was it possible that I could let the cadence of the Psalm become my own prayer and song?

But how could I use the Psalms as prayers and songs? My joints and marrow had long since given up their strength. Multiple chronic illnesses had found their place of hidden, slow erosion deep within my cells.

At least I could join in with the song, couldn’t I? But in the dark of night my voice had also lost its timbre. A mere whisper is all I could muster when I opened my lips.

So I paused with the cadence of the poetry and I let the music of my Lord’s verse seep down deep into my soul.

It is a song meant for prayer, I heard His whisper gently echoing my own.

PSALMS AS PRAYERS AND SONGS: A NEW RHYTHM BIRTHED 

And in the pausing and the seeping I felt a new rhythm being birthed in my soul. The beating of my heart, so weak and weary when first I paused to read, had now become vibrant and eager.

I bowed my head and thought of the night again. It seemed so long and endless while the pain was my master. But the rhythm of the song drew my eyes upward too. It was the voice of God’s praise that I was seeking now. My lips were opened, and my words spilled forth. Heart to heart, beat by beat, I offered my prayer to Him.

I would be so blessed to have you join me at the Chronic Joy website to read the remainder of this devotional and the prayer that fell from my lips as I paused with music of the Psalm.

Click here to join me at Chronic Joy to read along and listen to the audio blog

~~~~~~~~~~

As so often happens with me when I am preparing to share a post that I had written a while before, God makes a way for the words to become fresh and personal again for me. After so many months of weariness, I felt a new strength drawing me outside to our sunny deck. And as the morning sun sparkled on the springtime leaves, the birdsong was so joyous that a Haiku rose in my heart to capture their praises: