Like David, deepen your relationship with God through writing poetry

First of a 2-part teaching series

by Connie Peters

Every Christian struggles with the practicalities of a prayer life. What do you do during prayer time? What posture do you take? What do you say? How do you fit prayer into a busy day? How do you keep your mind from wandering? How do you stay awake?

King David used poetry to pray. That’s what psalms are. Today the word “poetry” tends to turn the non-poetic off. They may envision long sessions in high school lit counting syllables or interpreting poems in ways that surely the poet by no means intended. Or they may have read some ancient or modern poetry that make no sense to them.

Poetry is a compact form of writing using at least one of many poetic elements and, like footwear, comes in an abundance of styles. Poetry can give you a dynamic new way to pray.

For his poetic style, David used free verse, mostly. He probably didn’t rhyme or calculate meter (patterns in syllable count) but he did use figures of speech and succinct wording. He also used acrostics where the first letter of each line made a word. Psalm 119 is such a psalm.

David, the original country singer, didn’t hold anything back. When he poured out his heart to God, he sang about the good, the bad and the ugly with lines like, “I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish in heart.” (Psalm 38:8 NIV)

You may feel uncomfortable or even sacrilegious being so honest with your Heavenly Father, but by inviting Him into your messy thinking, He is able to clean it up.

You can see a common progression in many of David’s psalms. He starts out with the problem, expounds on the details, meditates on who God is and offers Him praise and thanksgiving, as he did in Psalm 3.

Many times an amazing thing happened. David stopped speaking to God and God began speaking to David. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalm 46:10)

Does this still happen today? Believers in Christ have the Holy Spirit within them and can develop sensitivity to His voice. Writing your own psalms or poetry is a wonderful way to get to know the Savior and feel His love for you.

In 1983, I began writing professionally. I avoided poetry, considering it fluff, but during times of stress or inspiration, I’d write a poem. When I read my poems at critique groups or conferences, though I didn’t think of myself as a poet, I saw how poetry moved people. I didn’t even like most poems, but I realized, also like footwear, not everyone likes the same style.

In 2004, I made writing poems a daily habit. I saw many advantages of writing poetry in prayer: expressing feelings clearly, staying more alert, and recognizing His answers more readily by having something tangible to refer to. And as the Lord did when David prayed, He spoke in my own writing.

There are many ways to use poetry in prayer. Writing acrostics is one of my favorites; it keeps me focused and is more than just a, “Lord, bless so and so prayer.” For example:

J esus, pour out Your blessings on Jim and his family every day and in every way.

I ntervene in their cares and concerns. Meet their needs. Guide and protect them.

M ay Jim lead the Presidential Prayer Team with Your wisdom and compassion.

Sometimes I share the acrostic with the person I pray for, but most of the time I don’t. I also pray for America and its issues this way.

When I use poetry in prayer, I don’t worry about some things poets usually worry about: Does this sound right? Is this really a poem? Am I using the exact word I need? Sometimes, I do go back and tweak them, but mostly I just write off the top of my head and don’t worry about the mechanics. The more you write acrostics, the easier they get and you don’t think so much about the form.

You can deepen your relationship with God by writing poetry. Discover a few more simple ways in the next article.

Connie Peters is a writer for the Vantage Point daily devotional series. She is a professional poet and writer (28 years) and caregiver (11 years). Married with two children, Connie and her husband Loren host two adults with developmental disabilities and live in Cortez, CO.