Notes of Faith January 10, 2025
Letters to God
My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
Psalm 45:1
British writer Julia McGuinness said, “Writing prayers down rather than speaking them out loud or voicing them in your head can be a powerful, patient act of worship…. The very act of writing may make you more mindful and attentive to what it is you want to pray.”1
If writing your prayers seems strange, remember the prayers we read in the Bible were written down, which is why we can still use them as our own. Also, many of our hymns are actually prayers, such as the lyrics, “Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee.”
As we take time to write out some of our prayers, we discover areas of weakness that need to be strengthened and patterns of life that need to be corrected. We have a record of our prayers. When our minds feel unfocused, a pen and paper can help us concentrate in God’s presence.
Try writing out some of your prayers and think of them as letters to God. He knows how to read—and listen!
Written prayer brings a substance to our communications with God and is still totally portable. You can write prayers on whatever material is [at] hand…. wherever you happen to be.
Julia McGuinness
The bool of Psalms are songs and prayers. Consider Psalm 45:1-6
Ps 45:1-6
My heart is stirred by a noble theme
as I recite my verses for the king;
my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.
2 You are the most excellent of men
and your lips have been anointed with grace,
since God has blessed you forever.
3 Gird your sword upon your side, O mighty one;
clothe yourself with splendor and majesty.
4 In your majesty ride forth victoriously
in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness;
let your right hand display awesome deeds.
5 Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king's enemies;
let the nations fall beneath your feet.
6 Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
My mother wrote her prayers for many years. I had/have boxes of yellow pads filled with prayers that contain mostly petitions for people…their needs and wants, for their spiritual growth. It was especially heartwarming to see my name often in my mother’s written prayers. We speak of praying for someone and they do not know that we actually take our request to God unless we do it while with them. But the written prayers are more likely to be kept and also likely to end up in the hands of those whose petitions were brought before the throne of grace. I have not done this as a regular practice, but believe it to have a powerful emotional impact on those who read them. Give it a try. Even a short prayer of praise and thanksgiving. You may read it at another time and be blessed by God for what is in your heart today!
Pastor Dale