David on Writing Psalms

In our Wednesday evening 1st Writes group we are studying one writer of the Bible each month. In November we took a closer look at David as a writer. Given David’s honest outpouring of his soul in his writings, it's no wonder that Psalms is one of the best loved books of the Bible.

For centuries, people have turned to Psalms to give voice to their deepest feelings, both in times of great trouble and of great happiness. Serving as a boundless source of inspiration, courage, and hope, Psalms can unlock our hearts and point us to God.

HOW TO WRITE A PSALM: Have you ever wanted to write your own psalm/prayer letter to God? David can teach us a lot about pouring out our hearts to God through a psalm.

• Seek God first and pray as you write.
• Open up to God as a friend.
• Be transparent.
• Be honest.
• Be descriptive.
• Be concise.
• Evoke feelings.
• Specify your goal. Is it to praise? To draw closer? To ask for help?
• Write to God as you envision Him—loving Father, sovereign King, mighty Savior, embracing Comforter, or gifted Teacher, etc.
• Write from life’s experiences.
• Write from your passion.
• Write from the heart. If God has answered a prayer or blessed a loved one greatly, we will naturally want to praise Him. However, it would be phony to try to write a beautiful love song to God when we are angry or hurt.
• Stay focused. Ignore the urge to get sidetracked by cadence, spelling or grammar.

With a little practice, we will soon see how writing psalms helps draw us into a closer walk with Jesus. It is no wonder David wrote so many!

Happy Writing!
Pam Williams