"Reflecting" Our Way Through the Psalms
By Jason McConahy | Published Thursday, September 24, 2009
As we begin our journey through the Psalms, we have encouraged you to begin reading and praying through a Psalm a day. Reading reflectively and praying through the words and themes of the Psalms is a great way to cultivate deeper intimacy with the Lord. There is an excellent resource that was written to help in this journey. It is a book by Ben Patterson (who spoke at our men's retreat this year) and it is titled "God's Prayer Book - The Power and Pleasure of Praying the Psalms."
In his opening chapter, he lists a few different ways to get the most out of a Psalm. I wanted to share them with you here as ideas and tools you may want to try.
1. Say Them Out Loud - Read them out loud, slowly and thoughtfully. Don't simply read them, but try to say them from the heart, entering into the emotion of the author.
2. Read Thru the Lens of the "Three R's" - Read the Psalm and then ask: (1) Why does this Psalm give me cause to Rejoice? (2) What sin does this Psalm reveal in my life that I need to Repent of? and (3) What does this Psalm teach me to Request of the Lord for myself and others?
3. Paraphrase Them - Meditate and study a psalm until you understand it well enough to put it into your own words.
4. Learn Them By Heart - Memorize the Psalm, but not simply its words. Rather, learn them by heart, making their words your words. Learn the Psalm so well that you can recite it, by inflection and tone, as though you had written it yourself.
5. Marinate in the Psalms - Don't use a Psalm like people use spices - to simply liven-up flavor. Rather, use the Psalm like a marinade. Soak in the Psalm until your whole life begins to take on its character.
In the rest of his book, Ben simply takes about 60 of the Psalms and provides devotional thoughts for helping you apply these methods. Picking up a copy of this book might be a great way to help you in your journey!