If this is your first viewing, please see my Introduction before reading this, and the introduction to the Psalms for this book of the Bible in particular.
13 July. Psalms 86-89
Psalms, patterns and petitions
Part of my work for the Church of England is checking the “Statement of Significance and Needs” which any church council has to provide if they want to make changes to their building. It accompanies another document called the ”petition” and it is expected to follow a set pattern, in which the actual request (“what do you want to change?”) is only a small part that has to be set in context. The pattern is:
Significance
- Introduction to the history of the building
- What’s special about it
- What would be improved or spoilt if the changes go ahead
Need
- What is the building used for?
- What do you want to change?
- What are the reasons for the chosen option?
- Why is change needed now?
- Justification for any alteration to the building
That is fairly clear (although some people still need help getting their thoughts into this format). A similar structure can be seen in traditional “collect” prayers of the Church of England, which always follow the same pattern:
- A form of address to God
- A reminder of what God does or has done for us
- A specific request for God’s support
- The purpose resulting from that support
- An expression of praise.
The pattern is not always obvious until you see it broken down. Often the “request” – also called a “petition”, as above, is also only a small part of the whole. Take as an example the Collect for this week:
- Form of address- O God, the protector of all who trust in you,
- What God does- without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:
- Petition- increase and multiply upon us your mercy;
- Purpose- that with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not our hold on things eternal; grant this, heavenly Father, for our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake,
- Expression of praise- who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Many of the psalms follow a comparable structured pattern, although the order is not as fixed as in Anglican prayers. Again, often the elements of praise and recounting of God’s goodness are longer than the actual request for help. Take for instance Psalm 86, which can be considered as follows:
- A call to God to hear [me/us] (verses 1-4)
- Praise for God’s nature and/or his previous deeds (v. 5-10)
- A pledge to serve God in return for his help (v.11-13)
- A more detailed statement of the problems (“petition”) (v.14)
- Reasons why God should offer help (v.15-16)
- A final element of praise or thanksgiving (v.17)
So we can see a wider pattern to all these patterns. Whether asking God for help in our personal or corporate prayers, or in sung forms such as the Psalms, or seeking permission for work to the church building, the actual petition, the bit we might really think of as prayer or request, should only be a part of the overall statement, much more of which should be about the purpose of the request and the wider context in which our Christian lives, worship and mission are set. Prayer should never be just “help me!”, except perhaps in the most urgent moments when God will of course hear that heartfelt cry. Normally it should be linked with praise, thanksgiving and a wider concern for the work of God’s people.