by Pastor Paul Dugan
Try beginning your prayer with praise, using this three-part rhythm.
Part I: Become present to the presence of God:
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. (Ps 90:14)
Pause for silence before him. Slowly inhale, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Slowly exhale, and release any burdens you are carrying into this day. Repeat this breathing prayer until you have brought your whole self - your thoughts, imagination, desires, and body- (“as-is”) into the presence of God.
Part II: Slowly read Psalm 103:1-17 (NLT) out loud:
Let all that I am praise the Lord;
with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
2 Let all that I am praise the Lord;
may I never forget the good things he does for me.
3 He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
4 He redeems me from death
and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
5 He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!
6 The Lord gives righteousness
and justice to all who are treated unfairly.
7 He revealed his character to Moses
and his deeds to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
9 He will not constantly accuse us,
nor remain angry forever.
10 He does not punish us for all our sins;
he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
12 He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west.
13 The Lord is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
14 For he knows how weak we are;
he remembers we are only dust.
15 Our days on earth are like grass;
like wildflowers, we bloom and die.
16 The wind blows, and we are gone—
as though we had never been here.
17 But the love of the Lord remains forever
with those who fear him.
Part III: Use your own words to pray Psalm 103 back to God:
“Lord God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit- I praise you, for who you are…
“I praise you for what you have done. Specifically, I thank you for…
The psalms were originally written as lyrics. They have been sung by the people of God throughout the history of Israel and the church. Take time to listen to a version of Psalm 103 set to music…
From the album Worship and the Word, Vol 2 (2022) by Shane and Shane. shaneandshane.com
From the album Light of Life (1999) by Sons of Korah. sonsofkorah.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.