Repetition

But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry reached his ears. Psalm 18: 6 NLT

Have you ever realized how poetic the psalms are? Has it ever occurred to you that many verses have a certain repetition?

This verse is one of them. There are only two ideas in this verse. The first is praying to God when in trouble. The second is that God hears our prayer.

But these ideas are repeated using different words. It is almost as if the psalmist is afraid we won't get it the first time. The repetition is making sure we understand what is being said.

The psalms were probably meant to be sung or chanted. We are all certainly familiar with repetition in songs. We do tend to repeat verses when singing popular as well as Contemporary Christian music.

However, most of the time we repeat the same words rather than use different words to explain what we meant the first time.

Some preaching methods use the same method of repetition. The preacher opens with a story or a saying that highlights the theme. Then the preacher takes the rest of the sermon time to open up the idea expressed, to say it in ways that the congregation can understand, to repeat the main idea. I just used that method in my last sentence. Perhaps your preacher does this.

Repetition makes sure that we get what is being said. In these verses, we are to understand that we are to pray to God when we are in need of assistance and God will hear our prayers.

God, we need to remember to always call on you when we are in distress. We know that our prayers will reach your ears. Thank you for your love and listening! In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2011 Amelia G. Sims