Psalm Writing I: The Heart's Posture
"The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit?" ~ Proverbs 18:14 NKJV
By His name, we ask for guidance. By His name, we ask for purpose.
But how shall we proceed when our heart is challenged?
Welcome to the Disciple’s Prayers: Psalm Writing Workshop!
Our Focus today is our heart’s posture…
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalms 51:10 NKJV
“My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” ~ Psalms 73:26 NKJV
As we begin our dive into Psalm Writing, it is important to find where the posture of your heart is before starting.
The Bible insists that we cannot trust our heart for a number of reasons. For me, I take this to mean that my heart desires fleshly and worldly things. As Christ says in Matthew 6:19-21;
[19] “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; [20] but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. [21] For where your treasure is, THERE YOUR HEART WILL BE ALSO.”
Our hearts initially crave things that we see and are tangibly in front of us. For us, shifting our posture toward heaven will provide the proper spiritual grounding we require to begin writing a psalm.
After all, our deepest prayers of reflection and repentance come from the heart, and the Lord knows it. When those prayers surface, we experience His all-sufficient peace. But only will that occur when our heart faces toward Him in repentance. Even as we reflect and cannot think of how we may have sinned, that heart posturing is the potential that lurks within each of us to call upon the Holy Spirit so He can advocate on our behalf.
Posturing Practice:
As you go out into the world, the best way I’ve found my heart in the right posture to begin writing psalms is through the reading of scripture.
Specifically, re-reading prayers throughout the Bible over and over again places me in a flow that compels me to enter into a deeper prayer.
I encourage you to find a prayer you want to focus on found in the Bible. My favorite one that I go to is the Nazarite Prayer in Numbers 6:24-26:
“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”
Find a prayer in the Bible and repeat it twelve times in the morning and twelve times at night for an entire week; see then where the Holy Spirit leads you in your walk with Him.
Time for Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for sending Your Spirit down to provide us a direct link to Your presence. Thank You for the incredible blessing to know You, worship You, and praise Your Holy name. Thank You for sending Your Son down to bury my sin and bear my shame. Lord, I pray in Jesus’ mighty and powerful name, that You use every single eye that reads through this workshop, helping them to become deeper prayer warriors for Your Kingdom. The light that comes out of the darkness is only filled when Your Spirit dwells in Your vessels, and may we all become those vessels that work in union with Your whole body. Bless the reader of this prayer with Your Holy Spirit, and Holy Spirit, I ask in Jesus’ name that You work wonders to bring glory to Your Kingdom through new psalmists who work to bring worship and praise back to You!
In Jesus name,
Amen
This is a very good point being made. Thank you for posting that. Having the proper posture of your heart is a very vital way to start. :)
Psalm 51:10 is a posture we must all practice more often! Great writing as usual!