Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! – Psalm 98
One weekend when my family was away, I found myself feeling lonely. I’d been looking forward to time to myself and with God, but in reality it felt painful and depressing. There was so much to do around the house that I spent most of the first day cleaning. It wasn’t exactly the relaxing time I’d had in mind.
The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing, (1 Thessalonians 5:16), but how exactly can we manage that? In our busy lives, most of us could do with spending more time with God, but are in an endless struggle to find the time.
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Then, spontaneously I started talking to God through song. I sang as I cooked my dinner and cleaned up the kitchen. I sang out the lonely feelings. And as I sang, I shared my requests with God and remembered people I needed to pray for. I really enjoyed making up melodies that fit my mood and expressed how I felt. Somehow by singing, I could concentrate on both praying and what I was doing.
Praying and singing together is nothing new. The word “psalm” comes from the Greek “psalmos” which means ‘a song sung to harp music.’ The psalms were originally set to music. They contain different aspects of praise, lament, giving thanks and making requests. They are a great model of how we can talk or sing to God. We can make up our own psalms whenever we want either by writing them down, or just singing spontaneously. If you aren’t feeling creative enough to make up your own tune, there are lots of beautiful versions of the psalms available on Spotify or YouTube. I love the band Poor Bishop Hooper who have an album called EveryPsalm in which they have recorded every psalm to music.
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One thing I love about the psalms is that they demonstrate that it’s okay to show our emotions. It’s okay to vent and ask, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22). This has helped me realize prayers don’t have to be formal or perfectly structured; sometimes we just need to follow the Holy Spirit’s lead and pray what we need to pray.
Before I became a believer, I hated being alone. I could never understand it, as I had always loved writing and writers are supposed to love solitude, right? Now as a Christian, I am learning to see the gift in solitude, that without family and friends around I am drawn to seek God more. The alone times remind me that even when life gets busy again, God is the foundation we should build our lives upon.
Setting aside structured time each day to be with God is vital. However, there are days when life gets busy, and reaching for a song can be a way to talk to God amidst our daily lives. Then there are the lonely days when a song can help us find the words and music to truly express how we feel.
Why not try it for yourself?
God loves us and wants to hear from us. We don’t need to have the perfect singing voice or poetic words. Singing doesn’t have to just take place in Sunday worship at church.
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Here are some ways you could get started singing prayers.
Say a prayer first. Invite the Holy Spirit to guide you in what to pray for and in how to sing.
Just sing a line or two, right now. In those spontaneous moments when you want to say thanks to God, praise him, and ask for something, make it into a prayer. See what else pops into your mind and keep on going.
Listen to or read the psalms. Stop reading when you hear a line that feels like it is speaking directly to you. Pray or sing that line back to God, and add in your own thoughts and words.
Listen to worship music and be creative; change the words, make it about what you want to say to God. Stop the music and free flow with your own tune.
I love to listen to the psalms in the background as I go about my daily tasks. Sometimes I’m thinking about other things, and then a line might grab my attention back. That can be a moment to pray or sing!