The Psalms: David’s prayer journal

Third of a 6-part teaching series

by Marc Sandin

Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology says, “The Psalms serve to articulate the hope and despair, the faith and fear, the praise and abuse.”

Have you ever found a love note you wrote to an old flame? Or rediscovered an old yearbook with autographs and summer wishes? Chances are if you have, you took a trip down memory lane to the time in your life in which you wrote those items, and remembered your feelings, hurts and joys, highs and lows. The nostalgia created by those moments is something that God designed to be felt…and learned from.

David wrote most of the 150 Psalms, creating moments just like that. He poured out his heart onto those ancient manuscripts in order that one day they would demonstrate how to pray with such abandon, such open-hearted passion, and such deep, grappling emotion that even the hardest hearts would be moved to cry out to Jesus – and those lives would be irreversibly changed for His glory.

David saturated his writings with confidence, sorrow, supplication, joy and exaltation; such rich and expressive emotion does not come on a whim, or from planned sessions. He did it by journaling…and by journaling often.

So what did David write that is worth so much consideration? How does his pondering, contemplative voice become valid and pertinent in today’s modern society? The answer lies in studying David’s cries to God, his joys and sufferings, his pleas and praises. And they ring more true today than they ever have before.

Why does that love note you found hold so much emotional memory? How does that old yearbook pull such a powerful nostalgic trigger? The answer is through honest emotion, the raw, unchecked passion, and a type of security found in very intimate, loyal, personal relationships.

That is how David thought about God and prayed to Him. That is why he wrote down his prayers as he truly felt them. In today’s church culture, many have a tendency to pray “Christianese” prayers, use theological terms and worry about how their prayers sound to other people. Not many really speak, or write, like they think – but not David. He spared no shame, he didn’t attempt to save face or have false humility, and he had no fear about displaying his fears openly, whether they were legitimate or not. He poured out, as best he could, all his anguish, joy and tribulation for all to see with no reservations.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” (Psalm 23:4-5)

When your flesh and circumstances often threaten to overwhelm you, a private journal of your prayers can become a remarkable self-ministry that simply allows you to vent your frustration, face your fears, shed your tears, and leap for joy, without worrying about presentation style. Ultimately, you are performing for no one, and are only seeking an intimate, authentic encounter with the Holy God of the universe.

Your prayer journal will also serve as a magnification of your life’s everyday decisions, showing when you trusted God and kept His commandments…and when you didn’t. Your simple and concerted effort to take the time and record your heart’s troubles and testaments will bring a larger-than-life authenticity to your time of prayer; it will create a sort of “self psalm” that articulates the feelings you may not be able to otherwise identify, and allow the Holy Spirit to attract you to His hope that never fails.

God wants you, the whole you, and your whole heart, and journaling means being intentional about acknowledging His presence and purposeful blessing.

As you begin (or continue) your prayer journal, ask God to do a transforming work in your heart, and to show you, by your own authentic testimony, how He changes you into a powerful pray-er, pouring out your heart for yourself, your family and your country.

A writer for the Vantage Point devotional series, Marc Sandin is a writer and graphic designer in Tucson, AZ where he resides with his wife Anna and daughter Kaelyn.