When you pick a Psalm, like one of our favorites Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd.” Each line of that Psalm, though it's thousands of years old and it was written by somebody else, it was written by them through the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit that inspired that Psalm is the same spirit that lives in you. So when you take a Psalm, you are taking words that maybe aren't yet your own, but as you pray them, the Holy Spirit prays through you in that Psalm, because it's the Spirit's own words. And they may be thousands of years old and these words have been prayed over and over again, but in the moment you pray them, they are invested into that moment and into your life. And in that moment, you invest into that Psalm all that you are. You bring your whole heart to it.
“The Lord is my shepherd.” Who’s the shepherd that you need right now? You need God to guide you in this very moment regardless of whatever is going on in your life. “I shall not want.” Trust that if God is your shepherd, you're not going to need or want anything else.
The Psalms are brilliant because, even if you're not feeling it at the moment and your heart feels cold and hard, if it's a Psalm that you've prayed every day for years, it brings you back. It’s like the warm and loving hands of your God reach down into your heart and begin to soften you up.
Do you know what it's like? It’s like a vinyl record. A vinyl record, it's a beautiful thing. It captures the sound of something that's happened long ago. But that sound in the moment guided a needle to cut a groove into a vinyl disc, and when you draw your needle across that same groove, the sound comes alive again. But in a new room, a new place, with different ears and different experiences, the lyrics, sounds, and chords that were imprinted into that vinyl disc have a unique and special moment right there with whoever’s listening to it.
That’s what is happening with the Psalms. The same needle that cut that groove into that Psalm thousands of years ago, the needle of your voice begins to take that groove up again, and it's the same words because it's the same spirit, but now it's accompanied by your spirit singing the same tune. And it's the tune your spirit longs to sing. And if you spend enough time with these Psalms, you begin to notice it. You begin to know it.
At first, the Psalms seem strange and distant, but now it's very near and dear and it says exactly what I need to hear. Pray these Psalms with me. Pray them every day. Make them your own. It will change your life, I promise.
About the Author
Winston Arblaster
Winston is an Oregonian whose favorite things include the “3 C’s”: coffee, craft beer, and writings of the Church Fathers. As Music Director, the highlight of his week is when he sees others open their hearts to God in worship.
He and his wife, Stephanie, live with their cat, Jerome, and love to travel.
Fun fact: Winston is a dual citizen to the UK and was named after Winston Churchill.
