PRAISE poems and contemporary psalms

Some time ago, I asked, "Is there something You want me to do, Lord?" and, immediately, the word "Praise" came to mind. Having been raised in a polite Christian family, the inclination to thank God and people came easily enough, but praise?

Ready to obey, but not very well-practiced in praising, I sensed God's help as relevant thoughts and phrases caught my attention each morning. Once I’d typed those beginning lines, other thoughts and lines swiftly followed – somewhat like a stream-of-consciousness flow, but more subconscious or even unconscious of what might come next!

Spontaneity remained key – often with a phrase that startled me or an insight God gave in thoughts I'd never had before the opening for a prayer, poem, or contemporary psalm gained my attention. So my "method" became an intent to obey rather than create as I wrote down each thought or phrase with the anticipation that the rest would freely follow. It did, and this blog resulted.

For about a year, my morning began with the same routine of listening, writing down what came to mind, and seeing what followed. Ironically, perhaps, the first lines occasionally began with a complaint or other negative thought! Then I recalled reading that a third of the Psalms in the Bible can be called “laments.” However, the psalmists did not remain in that negative state but, with prayer and recollection, remembered the goodness of God, Who can always be trusted.

With Psalms as my mentor, I seldom gave the prayer-poems a title, other than the first line, which began with a grumble, worry, or joy. This continued for months, then suddenly stopped! For days, I mopped around, wondering what had happened, and finally it dawned on me: I had enough prayer-praise-poems for a book.

Having met Catherine Lawton on social media and checking out the lovely, faith-building books she publishes through Cladach, I contacted her with a proposal for a book entitled PRAISE! Not only did she accept the manuscript, she divided the book into sections and suggested some tweaks to tighten the poems or clarify meaning.

With thanks to her and Cladach, I pray the praises here and collected in the book PRAISE! will encourage you to talk with God regularly, moan or mourn as needed, and let the Lord lift you into a life of ongoing praise.

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2018

PRAISE! paperback




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Preparing The Way with praise

Sing to God!
Sing praises to His name.

Let praise prepare a way for the Lord,
Who journeys through the most desolate places.

Let God be your Lord.
Let your praise prepare the way for His presence.

Psalm 68:4 paraphrased by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2017, with the help of many translations on Bible Gateway.

…

Lament and praise with Psalm 13

O LORD, how long
will this keep going on?
Are You going to forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?

How long must I keep talking to myself
with confusion and soul-sorrow every day?

How long will people of ill will beat me down?

O LORD God, please listen!
Please answer my prayers.
Give me light, or I might
sleep the sleep of death!

Rebellious people rejoice
and think they’ve won
with words that shake us!

But LORD, I trust Your love
and kindness.
I celebrate Your saving grace!

How good You are, O LORD!
With psalms, I sing Your praise.

Psalm 13 prayer-a-phrased by Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2017, with translations from Bible Gateway.

…

Praising God with Psalm 9

LORD, my whole heart thanks You.
I can’t begin to count Your wonderful deeds.
How glad I am in You! Oh, how I rejoice!
Even my enemies repent in Your presence.

You maintain me and all I stand for –
the righteous rulings You bring.

Nations will receive Your rebuke,
and people will perish in wickedness
that has no part in You.

You have uprooted cities
and brought to an end
every ruining thing.

But You, LORD, sit securely
on Your throne of justice,
and You treat all people fairly.

What a stronghold You are
in troubled times, O LORD!

All who know Your name
can totally trust in You,
for You, O LORD, do not forsake
those of us who seek You sincerely.

We sing Your praises, Lord,
and tell of Your wondrous acts
for You are mindful of us
and do not forget our cries.

Psalm 9:1-12 prayer-a-phrased by Mary Sayler, © 2017

…

Praising God with Psalm 8

Psalm 8

O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is Your Name
in all the earth!

Above the heavens,
Your glory!

Out of the mouths of babes,
Your power
to overcome ills!

O look at Your heavens –
the moon and stars,
pointing
to the Your fingertips.

Who are we
to come
to Your mind?

Who are we
to be held close
in Your care?

You made us a little lower
than heavenly beings
and crowned us
with Your glory and honor.

You gave the work of Your hands
into our hands –
the animals, birds, fish,
the land and water.

O LORD, our Lord –
Your Name fills the earth
with majesty.

prayer-a-phrased by Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2016

...

Praising God with Psalm 1

Psalm 1

How blessed are we
who walk not in the ways of the wicked,
nor stand in the way of sinners,
nor sit seated in cynicism and scorn!

For we delight in the law of the Lord,
and on God’s Word, we meditate
day and night.

We are like trees
planted by streams of water,
yielding our fruit in due time.
Our leaves will not wither,
and all we do in the Lord will prosper.

Not so, the wicked!
They’re like dust driven away by wind,
and their ways won't stand
when tried,
nor will they find rapport with the righteous.

For God identifies with
righteous ways,
but wicked ways will someday cease.

prayer-a-phrased by Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2016

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Bible Prayers: Psalm 67 for today

May God bless America with mercy, gladness, joy, and peace. Bible Prayers: Psalm 67 for today

This ruckus of crows, dogs, hawks

will not keep me from liking
the silken air, the deep green
shadows in the field, the joy
of loving You in my life.

Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2016

…

Each morning our house says HI

as sun comes by the wind chimes
to make an “H” and “I”
in shadows on the wall,
We take this as a greeting
from God: a sign – reminder
of His meeting with us all.

by Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2016

…

Lord, help me to bear

Your Good News when I feel
as though I have none.
Help me to bear Your love
when I’ve descended low.
Help me to bear this lift
of praise for Your compassion.

Mary Sayler, ©2016
#aahcoo

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The wind snaps its fingers.

Our oak tree drops on command.
Palm fronds lay prostrate. Rain
washes – band after band
of purifying power
from the Lord’s cleansing hand.
Faith and spider webs still stand.

Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2016
#aahcoo
…

I’m waiting, waiting

for God to respond –
like this Wood Stork wading
in our pond.
But celebrating
God’s goodness goes beyond
this present date of waiting.

by Mary Sayler, © 2016
#aahcoo

Wood Stork photo "Waiting" by Mary Harwell Sayler