Praying the Psalms

Last week I mentioned letting the Scripture guide my prayers as something I have found helpful.  This week I want to mention a related practice that I have found very helpful – praying the Psalms.  There are certainly other prayers recorded in Scripture, but the Psalms is a book of prayer!  It is 150 prayers inspired by the Spirit and approved by God!  For a number of years, I have actually just prayed a Psalm as part of my prayer time.  I often listen to it being read and then pray it out loud myself.  Some of the Psalms (such as Psalm 119) are so long that I have to break them into multiple days.  But most of the time I simply pray an entire Psalm.  The next day I pray the next Psalm.

One of the benefits of praying through the Book of Psalms this way is the variety of prayers.  The book of Psalms contains every type of prayer imaginable – praise, lament, thanksgiving, petition, confidence, remembering God’s past faithfulness, and recounting God’s promises.  It is a manual covering the depth and breadth of prayer.  Because of this, I find it teaches me about prayer and also keeps my prayers fresh.  It is easy to get in a rut in prayer, but the variety of the Psalms keeps me fresh and opening up to God in my prayer life.

I also often turn to the Psalms when looking for words to express a particular longing or emotion.  When I feel despair, I find a lament that often expresses the depth of my grief and despair.  When I experience fresh longing for God, the Psalms of praise give words to my desire.  Whatever the current state of my soul, the Psalms have profound prayers to use in prayer.

So if you have never done so, I encourage you to pray through the Psalter.  You may be surprised at how it gives words to the longings of your soul and draws you deeper into communion with our Father.  May God meet You as you do so.

In Christ,

Bret