In Our Own Words

The poetry and prayers of David, also known to many as the book of Psalms, are some of the most well-read works of all time.  They relate across time and cultural barriers, tapping into those emotions and experiences which are common to all people.  But the art of Psalm writing itself has been lost.

Why?  Why not record our prayers and our thanksgivings in the same way David did?  Why not express so clearly our pain and our praise?  Encouraged by a friend who often rewrites Psalms and bible passages in her own words, I decided to try my hand at it.  I encourage you to as well... you may be surprised at how the Lord speaks when you meditate on His words.


A Psalm based on Colossians 3:5-11

Praise the Lord, who is mighty to save,
  who has declared war on death for taking captive those He loves.
He will rescue them from the grasps of sin
  and bring them into new life.
He will not see them for what they have done
  or from where they have come,
  but as those that His Son died to save.

He will see the new people they have become, people that resemble Him.

Therefore, we will set aside all of our old ways,
  for they have died in us just as Christ died in our place.
We will find, instead a new life--
  the Holy Sprit within us, convicting and teaching us
  so that we will become more like the perfect Son of God.
We care nothing for our old ways
  for they were the ways of death.

We are now on the path to life and have left our old ways behind us.

Praise God for sending us a rescue
  that we might come to know Him.
Praise Jesus Christ for defeating the power of death within us.
Praise the Holy Spirit for perfecting in us
  the ways of God and the ways of life,
  which are one in the same.