Praying with David

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;

     he heard my cry for mercy.

Because he turned his ear to me,

     I will call on him as long as I live.

(Psalm 116:1-2)

Praying with David

It’s that time of year again. It starts with ashes being smeared on one’s forehead in the sign of a cross, “Remember, O mortal, that you are dust; and to dust you shall return.” It usually includes giving something up, or as properly known, “fasting.” Fish sandwiches start to appear on the menu boards of fast-food restaurants. 

That’s right, we’re just a day away from the season of Lent.

Three years ago, I started this blog as a lenten discipline. I committed to writing a devotion every day, inspired by the beauty that I try to capture in my photography, along with my love for the truth proclaimed in Scripture. The next year, I wrote daily prayers. 

Last year, I skipped out. I was tired, and I needed a break. Or so I thought. In all honesty, I feel like last year’s lenten journey for me was a bit empty. I missed out on the joy of a daily exercise of reflection, meditation, and writing for the glory of God.

And so, I’m back.

For several months, I have had this nudging in the back of my mind – theologians will probably call it the Holy Spirit, and who am I to disagree? – that I need to renew the blending of my passions for God’s beautiful Word and capturing the beauty of God’s world through photography. And this nudging in the back of my mind – again, probably the Holy Spirit – has kept pointing me to the Psalms.

When people ask me what my favorite book in the Bible is, I quickly answer, “Psalms.” Granted, it’s not really fair for someone to expect that out of 66 books, I must choose one that is my favorite. But if I must choose only one, I choose Psalms. 

The Book of Psalms, probably more than all the other books of the Bible, captures the essence of the struggle of faith. Each psalm is deeply personal, and if they are not directly addressing God, then they are talking about God. And always in ways that reflect raw, emotional, authentic faith. In the psalms we find unbounded joy, but we also see fists being shaken at God in dismay; we find awe and wonder at the beauty of the world, but we also see despair that God seems to let evil have its way; we find faith and trust in the Lord, alongside doubts and questions about whether or not God really cares.

Maybe that’s why I am so attracted to the Book of Psalms, because I can identify with the expressions of faith that fill each psalm.

And so, for the next 40 days (not counting Sundays), I will use prayers found in the psalms as inspiration for my own prayers; and I will post my prayers to this blog. I’ll probably even post a picture or two that may or may not be related to the theme of the prayer. Just because.

I invite you to join me on this 40-day journey. I will share the blog on Facebook and through a link in my Instagram profile (@revshw). Or you can have the blog entries emailed to you by filling out your email address in the space in the upper right hand corner of this page (note: It will probably be sent to the “spam” or “junk” folder in your email account until you mark it as “not junk.” I’m not sure why the internet seems to have a low opinion of my thoughts…). I also encourage you to share the post with others, if the Spirit moves you to do so. I am not being self-promoting when I suggest this; rather, I think that God's goodness and mercy and glory merit our sharing to the ends of the earth.

Together, let’s pray with David. And the others who wrote the psalms.