Re-Writing a PsalmThe Psalms are songs of praise and prayer that have made a difference in the lives of countless individuals through the millennia. One of the best ways to internalize the emotion and the significance of a particular psalm is to re-write it in your own words. Take what you are hearing the author express and personalize it:

- pray a simple prayer before you start telling God you are trying to move toward Him by borrowing the theme and the language of one of the psalms in the Bible. Ask God to guide you and prompt you.

- modernize the vocabulary- insert your own name or the names of people in your life- convey the emotions of the psalm (praise, anger, excitement,

frustration, confusion, etc) in words you would use when talking to a friend

- be specific about the circumstances causing you to think and feel the way you are thinking and feeling right now

- think about images or word pictures and describe them in your writing - The psalms were originally sung so if you’re musical, put your re-write

to music- Don’t be afraid to rhyme a little if you want

Here is an example (from “Urban Cause” blog author Candice Carr):

I have a disconnection from many of the Psalms. I get that they are poetry and that they were written by courtly types with different preoccupations and ways of talking about things. But sometimes the difference between what it says and how I feel is so great I resent the words I read. Our church

is using Psalm 23 in preparation for a time of prayer and fasting, so I have to read it. But I decided to rewrite this one so I could engage with it better.

Psalm 23 (The real one) –The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalm 23 (The personal one) –Although it could be worse, there are a lot of things I'm lacking. But if he's my bread from heaven and a spring of water that overflows to eternal life and if the shadow of his wings is my shelter, I will always have what I need most in my heart – where my hunger and thirst and nakedness really come from – where the worst of it really happens. I guess.

The only rest from the agony of dealing with life, people and always working working working to be something are these moments when I get that what he's leading me through is to loosen my grasp on the world – to make me free – to make me whole. Sometimes it's like my mind is changing and my soul is not so buried in my body. And if I could just listen to him I would be drawn closer to his peace.

It's your promises and your heaven that get me through the long hours. When living feels like a waste of time, it's that you've sought me out and that you've chosen to abide in me

that lets me hold my head up in a world that wants to sell me on itself, replace my worth with commodities, wants to bind me with its incomplete reasons.

The only thing I trust is that you will always be good, and that when it's all over I'll be home. Where I won't need the sun or moon or stars which cast a shadow for all they illuminate because you yourself will be the light. And I'll get it – finally – like you get me.