by Pastor Paul Dugan
Try this three-part rhythm for praying God’s Story into your own…
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 any distractions. Repeat this breathing prayer until you have brought your whole self (“as-is”) into the presence of God.
Reflect on the joys and challenges of the day. What are you thankful for? Where did you see God at work? What do you lament? What do you need to confess?
Part II: Today we explore a Psalm of Sacred History: Psalm 105
History matters. “The way we understand human life depends on what conception we have of the human story. What is the real story of which my life story is a part?” (Leslie Newbigin)
Your life is a story. Like a good story, it has a beginning, middle, and end. It includes elements of tension, conflict, surprise, and resolution along the way. I cannot know you apart from knowing your story. And your story has been shaped by a larger story. That narrative began with your family of origin, It has been further formed by your generation’s story (ex. Boomers, Gen X, etc), your cultural and ethnic story, and so on. Whether we like it or not, whether we are conscious of it or not, for good or for bad, we are all being shaped by larger stories.
But sooner or later these stories betray us. Their promises of the “good life” come crashing down, leading to cynicism and despair. But the crash of stories can also be a gift, a birth of a new story. Great spiritual awakenings have taken place in the ruins of cultural stories, as generations have rediscovered a better narrative- the Story of God.
The Story of God is the only story that is true enough, honest enough, and large enough to make sense of all our messy stories. The Bible is best read as a single unfolding Story leading to Jesus. And the psalms of sacred history help re-connect us with that Story.
The psalms of sacred history rehearse the Story of the mighty acts of God in the midst of human folly and weakness. They are psalms of “His-story” and “our story.” They tend to be longer than other psalms, recounting in chronological order many of the saving acts of God in the forming of his people and delivering them from their bondage.
These psalms, like the whole Bible, invite us to enter into God’s Story and to discover our part in it. But, just a warning: it’s a messy story. “Nothing is glossed over. God works patiently and deeply, but often in hidden ways, in the mess of our humanity and history…” (Eugene Peterson).
The psalms of sacred history not only invite us into the messiness of God’s Story. They invite us to pass on that Story to the next generation.
Part III: Slowly read from Psalm 105…
Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Look to the Lord and his strength;
seek his face always.
5 Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
6 you his servants, the descendants of Abraham,
his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.
7 He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He remembers his covenant forever,
the promise he made, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.
10 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
11 “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the portion you will inherit.”
12 When they were but few in number,
few indeed, and strangers in it,
13 they wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another…
23 … Then Israel entered Egypt;
Jacob resided as a foreigner in the land of Ham.
24 The Lord made his people very fruitful;
he made them too numerous for their foes,
25 whose hearts he turned to hate his people,
to conspire against his servants.
26 He sent Moses his servant,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They performed his signs among them,
his wonders in the land of Ham…
36 …Then he struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of all their manhood.
37 He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold,
and from among their tribes no one faltered.
38 Egypt was glad when they left,
because dread of Israel had fallen on them.
39 He spread out a cloud as a covering,
and a fire to give light at night.
40 They asked, and he brought them quail;
he fed them well with the bread of heaven.
41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed like a river in the desert.
42 For he remembered his holy promise
given to his servant Abraham.
43 He brought out his people with rejoicing,
his chosen ones with shouts of joy;
44 he gave them the lands of the nations,
and they fell heir to what others had toiled for—
45 that they might keep his precepts
and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord.
Part VI: Pray your own sacred history psalm.
So, how do we tell our story? I have found it helpful to frame stories through the four great movements of the biblical narrative: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration.
Here are some suggestions on how to pray your own “sacred history psalm” from your life this week:
Creation: What have been some influences that gave you a sense of value and worth this week? What simple gifts of creation are you most grateful for? Give him thanks now.
Fall: What were some of the ways you experienced the pain and brokenness of sin this week? (your own and other's sin). Lament the pain. Confess your failures.
Redemption: How did you sense the Holy Spirit tugging you to put your trust in Christ? Who/what did God use in this process? Give praise and thanks to God for his tugs in your life.
Restoration: (looking to God’s future Story) What do you want him to change in you / in your world? (be specific) What aspect of the new heavens and new earth are you most looking forward to? Tell him your longings.
From the album, The Psalms Project, Vol I (2021) by Mike Janzen. mikejanzentrio.com
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.