Sense Lines
Most prayers being written for congregations today are laid out in what is called “sense lines,” which is the style used in this work. Experience teaches that text laid out in paragraphs is more difficult for a congregation to read out loud together. Text laid out in sense lines is simpler. All the readers take a breath at the same point, the end of the line. This keeps the readers together. Also, when a prayer is all one large paragraph, it is more difficult for a reader to understand what is being said. Too many ideas, all running together in one paragraph, tend to get scrambled together and carry no meaning for the worshiper who will only have one passing glimpse at these words. Sense lines separate the ideas, and present them in smaller bites of information. In addition, indentation of sense lines tells the reader that all the indented lines have something to do with each other, and together they all relate to the line directly above them. Indentation is almost like having a prayer in outline form, which makes it easier for a reader to grasp the meaning of the words being prayed. The only negative to sense lines is that they take up more space in prayer books, church bulletins or projections on screens.
Not Your Typical Poetry
The writing style used in this book is also not your typical poetry. It might be better to label this style “liturgical prayer,” rather than poetry. Those expecting to find the rhythm or rhyme of much contemporary poetry will be disappointed. Rather the poetic characteristics found in this writing is that of ancient Hebrew poetry. The psalms and other biblical texts reflect this older style of poetry. The use of parallel lines is the dominant marker of these writings. Take Psalm 100, verse 1, for example:
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come into his presence with singing.
These three lines are parallel to one another. They each carry about the same meaning, but say it in just a little different way. The three lines work together to interpret and build on one another.
This is even more obvious in Psalm 102, verse 1:
Hear my prayer, O Lord;
let my cry come to you.
The use of repetition like this is one of the tools of an oral society to enhance the memory of those hearing these words read to them. We are no longer an oral society, but the repetition still helps us retain the things we read or hear read.
Parallel lines can also be used for more than just repetition. For example, verse 6 of Psalm 23 reads:
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.
In this psalm, lines 2 and 4 are repetitious. But lines 1 and 3 build on each other, as they explain that goodness and mercy comes from dwelling in the house of the Lord. And the reverse is that those who dwell in the house of the Lord will experience goodness and mercy. The psalmist uses the parallel lines to build and increase the meaning of the psalm.
Parallel lines can also be used to contrast ideas. Take Psalm 5, verses 3 and 4:
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?
Lines 1 and 2 are repetitious, and lines 3 and 4 are another repetition. But note the huge contrast between lines 1 and 2 with lines 3 and 4. The universe of moon and stars that seem to last forever, are contrasted with human beings who are mortal and last only a few decades. And can there be any more contrast between the size of the universe and the size of a human being? Meaning jumps out and grabs us with this contrast.
Only the creative talents of the writer limits the use of these parallel lines. Simple repetition adds emphasis and helps to remember the words. Maintaining repetition but using different words, phrases, images, metaphors, similes, and so on, builds and enhances the meaning of the lines involved. Contrasting lines, even paradoxical lines, add further meaning to this style of poetic writing.
Use of Strong Language
The writing style also reflects the writer’s attempts to use strong and imaginative language. Using verbs, rather than pronouns, makes the prayers less flowery and more energetic. The words and images work to connect contemporary experience with our faith’s biblical foundations. The meaning sometimes can intentionally be taken more than one way, and can stretch beyond dictionary definitions. Honesty and self-exposure are risked in order to discover and embrace truth. Deeply held feelings are surfaced and exposed to the light of God’s grace and love. And there is less emphasis on list-making, and more threading a story throughout a prayer to provide focus and unity.
Visual Shapes
This writer also uses visual patterns and shapes, primarily to enforce discipline upon his writing. Usually the patterns simply reveal the connections and meanings of parallel lines. But once in a while the pattern and shape of the lines carries a simple message of its own, for example a prayer about creation where the lines of the prayer grow longer with each line, or a prayer about God’s delight in variety that varies from other prayers by being written in a zig-zag shape. But mostly the patterns and shapes are for the benefit of the writer, forcing him to examine many times every single word in every single line. The benefit for those reading these prayers is knowing that the words, phrases and lines are all examined multiple times for biblical and theological accuracy, as well as for clarity and honesty in their expression.
