Your Copy of Praying the Alphabet: The Psalm 119 Approach to Prayer

88 Pages·2014·9.1 MB·English

P R A Y I N G
T H E
A L P H A B E T
T H E P S A L M 1 1 9
A P P R O A C H T O P R AY E R
J O H N K R A M P
Praying the Alphabet: The Psalm 119 Approach to Prayer
Copyright © 2014 by John Kramp
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written
permission except in the case of brief quotations in articles or reviews. For more information, send a request by email
to [email protected].
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TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
A-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
B-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
C-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
D-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
E-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
F-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
G-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
H-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
I-Prayers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
J-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
K-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
L-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
M-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
N-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
O-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
P-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Q-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
R-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
S-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
T-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
U-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
V-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
W-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
X-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Y-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Z-Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
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I N T R O D U C T I O N
Do you struggle with prayer?
I do. Always have. Still do.
But a few years ago, I began a spiritual journey that has changed me. That’s what I want to tell
you about.
WILLIAM WILBERFORCE’S JOURNAL
We associate Wilberforce with the abolition of the Slave Trade in the British Empire in the 19th
century. But in 1819, he made an intriguing entry in his journal.
“Walked from Hyde Park Corner repeating the 119th Psalm in great comfort.”
I knew a bit about Wilberforce’s conversion to Christ and how his faith fueled his political efforts
against the slave trade. I was surprised, however, to discover that he had memorized Psalm 119 –
the longest chapter in the Bible with 176 verses. Yet Williams Wilberforce knew that psalm so
well that he could quote it on a long walk. Amazing.
MY EXPERIENCE WITH PSALM 119
That journal entry propelled me into a multi-year, spiritual adventure with Psalm 119 that resulted
in my taking the 22 sections of this psalm, writing songs using all the words, and then having
those song recorded by world-class studio vocalists and instrumentalists in Nashville, Tennessee,
where I live. Then I wrote a devotional book to guide people through their own experience with
Psalm 119. I called it, The Psalm 119 Experience: The Devotional Journey You Will Not Forget.
By the way, if you’re interested, you can find out more about the book and the songs at the end
of this book.
One of the completely unexpected benefits of spending so much time with this unique chapter
of the Bible is that I discovered that Psalm 119 is a collection of 22 prayers. Not just everyday
prayers but structured prayers, prayers to be remembered.
The writer of Psalm 119 structured it in a special way.
• 22 sections for each of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet
• 8 lines in each of the 22 sections
• Each of the eight lines in each section beginning with a word that starts with the specific
letter of the alphabet
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This sounds confusing, I know. But think of it this way. If the writer of Psalm 119 had written in
English with the modern English alphabet, the structure would have been different.
First, the psalm would have 26 sections, one for each of the 26 letters in the English alphabet.
Each of the 26 sections would still have had eight lines.
In section 1, there would be eight lines in which the first word in each line would begin with an
“A” word.
In Section 2, there would be eights lights in which the first word in each line would begin with a
“B” word.
In this way, the process would continue until Section 26 in which there would be eight lines in
which the first word in each line would begin with a “Z” word.
MY UNEXPECTED EXPERIMENT
Once I understood the structure the original writer of Psalm 119 had used and recognized that
each of the 22 sections of the psalm were standalone prayers, I wondered what would happen if
I used this same approach to stretch my spiritual vocabulary and pray more appropriately.
I remembered Jesus’ admonition to His disciples when He was teaching them (and us) how
to pray.
7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for
they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them,
for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6:7-8) (ESV)
This verse has always challenged and bothered me. Too often, my prayers seem to me like heaps
of empty phrases, like cantaloupes stacked in mounds at the grocery store.
Could I use the Psalm 119 approach to prayer to stretch my personal prayer muscles?
It was worth a try.
THE REALLY SIMPLE PROCESS
I got a small, 3-ringed notebook in which I put 26 tabs, each with a letter of the alphabet. Then I
found a dictionary and began with letter “A” and picked out a supply of “A” words that I could
use to write eight lines of prayer with each line beginning with an “A” word. Then in my personal
devotional time, I would review the words then try to write one eight-line prayer using the “A”
words. I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I had no plan to share this idea with anyone else. The
only thing I knew was that I needed help in my praying.
Frankly, I don’t remember how many months I spent on this process but I suspect it lasted a year
or more. There was no reason to hurry. I didn’t write prayers every day but I used the process reg-
ularly until I had several prayers written in my notebook for each of the 26 letters of the alphabet.
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A SIMPLE GIFT TO SHARE WITH OTHERS
Will other people want to use the Psalm 119 approach to prayer as I have done? I really have no
idea. But since I’m giving this guide away, I know that everyone who read this will get his or her
money’s worth!
So here’s what I have for you.
In the pages that follow, I’ve included two prayers for each letter of the alphabet. Are my prayers
great prayers? No. In fact, I feel a bit awkward sharing them with you at all. It feels like I’m hand-
ing you my journal to read. In spite of all that, I’m sharing what I’ve written with you not to tell
you how you should pray but to give you some samples of how you could pray.
After the two sample prayers for each letter of alphabet, I’ve given you a small “starter pack”
of words that begin with that letter in the alphabet. Don’t feel that you need to limit yourself to
these words. I provide them only to save you time. In fact, I encourage you to get a dictionary
and create your own list of words for each letter of the alphabet. I found the process entertaining
and I chose some unusual words for my list as a challenge to see if I could use those words in a
real prayer.
THE NEXT STEPS FROM HERE
That’s really all there is to this. The secret is not what I have done but what you will do. Spend a
little bit of time reviewing what I have done to see if the process intrigues you. If so, you can use
the two blocks I’ve included for each letter to write your own prayers.
Don’t feel that you need to write out the prayers and then read them aloud. You could if you
wanted to do so. I didn’t. I believe that God “heard” my words as I wrote and I believe He en-
joyed the process along with me. In fact, I like to think that He was relieved to hear me talk to
Him with an expanded vocabulary.
Prayer remains intimate conversation between God and us. That conversation can be formal or
informal. The content will vary from person to person. The prayers you write will reflect your the-
ology as mine do. Yours will differ from mine. That’s fine, too.
I hope you enjoy the process as much as I did. In the end, the goal of prayer is not to write
prayers. The goal of prayer is to talk with God, intimately and personally. If praying the alphabet
with the Psalm 119 approach helps you as it did me, I will be delighted.
I’d love to hear about your experience.
John Kramp
Brentwood, Tennessee, USA
www.psalm119experience.com
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C H A P T E R
O N E
T H E
A

P R A Y E R S
CHAPTER 1
S A M P L E
A - P R A Y E R S
Another day and another season of prayer has come.
According to Your loving kindness, help me pray one
authentic sentence fully focused on You and
attuned completely to this privileged conversation.
Alter my proclivity to self-absorption with an
absolute focus on You. I confess my meager
awareness of You as I wallow in self-awareness. I
admit my sin of a self-marred life. Give me a Christ-marked life.
Accountability for the tasks given me weigh me down.
Accomplish Your good purposes through me.
Arrange the order of failure and success for Your glory.
Astonish me and my co-workers with Your timing, and
amaze us once again with Your tender mercy.
All of us are tired. We have worked hard. How I
ask for a harvest – not as reward but for encouragement.
Answer our prayers in Your wisdom and proportion.
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Y O U R A - P R AY E R S TA R T E R PA C K
ADORE AFFIRM ACCEPT ACCOUNT
AUTHORITY ACCORDING AMAZING ASTONISH
ASCRIBE ATTUNE ACKNOWLEDGE ASTOUND
ACCOMPLISH ALLELUIA ANXIOUS ATTENTION
Y O U R P E R S O N A L A - P R AY E R S
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
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C H A P T E R
T W O
T H E
B

P R A Y E R S