by Pastor Paul Dugan
Try beginning your prayer with praise, using this four-part rhythm.
Part I: Pause for silence in the presence of God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Slowly inhale, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Slowly exhale, and be cleansed of all distractions.
Part II: Slowly read Psalm 139;1-14 (ESV) out loud:
1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
Part III: Use your own words to pray Psalm 139 back to God:
Lord God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I praise you, for who you are…
I praise you for all you have done. Specifically, I thank you for…
Listen to Psalm 139 set to music…
"Psalm 139:1-6" from "Psalm Songs, Volume 2." Download on iTunes or buy CDs at cornerroommusic.com. ©2018
Music by Poor Bishop Hooper. poorbishophooper.com/everypsalm
For links to individual guides for more than one hundred different psalms click here.
For more on the Psalms:
Here is an introduction to the Book of Psalms.
For a list of psalms by literary style (genre) click here.
For an introduction to the narrative arc of the psalms, see Spirituality of the Psalms, by Walter Brueggemann.