Praying the Psalms
Mid-Week Meditation
Note: This is the second of two presentations from the Prayer Workshop held recently at Calhoun Church of Christ. Some of the other presentations are available on their podcast HERE. This presentation echoes some of the material in my book, LORD, HEAR MY PRAYER, which is available HERE on Amazon. There is also a journal that matches the book HERE. - JED
Audio:
How the Psalms Prompt Your Prayers
Introduction
If you are like me, prayers do not always come easily. We get concerned about the right words, how to say what we want to say, and overcoming the forgetfulness of the people we are trying to remember in prayer. Mostly, once we get through with our list of things we want God to do, we find it hard to talk to him from our hearts. And also we wonder if God is really listening to us when we do try to communicate our struggles.
At least six times in the Psalms David requests God to hear his prayers. Psalm 39:12 “Hear my prayer, Lord, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were.” If you ever wondered if God hears your prayers, you’re not alone. Donald Whitney writes, “The book of Psalms —which means ‘book of praises’ in Hebrew —was the songbook of Israel. The psalms were inspired by God for the purpose of being sung to God.” Before we talk about how the Psalms prompt your prayer, I have a confession to make.
1. There was a time when I didn’t like the Psalms.
I couldn’t figure out what the Psalms were about. They weren’t like the rest of the Bible. There’s no storyline like Genesis. There are no significant characters or heroes with which to identify such as Joshua.The miracles of Jesus are absent in these 150 chapters. I do not see corrective letters taking on controversial issues like the Apostle Paul left us. The Psalms left me without a path through or a handle to grip. I didn’t like them. Maybe I didn’t like them because I was trying to read them in a way they were never meant to be read. They are connected to the rest of the Bible, but unique.
They are not like Genesis, but they do tell us about the Creator and his works.
They do not have heroic tales of bravery, but they do reveal the heart of the king, who was a man after God’s own heart.
While they do give us glimpses of Jesus in prospect, the Savior was yet to arrive in his human form.
They do not take the form of a corrective epistles, but there is a lot to learn about living in these pages.
I needed to contemplate each one individually but not the collection as a whole.
That still did not cause me to love the Psalms. I can be dense.
What changed? I experienced some difficult days, painful times, and moments of life that left me with tears and questions. There were times when God didn’t make sense because I couldn’t make sense of the events of my life. Suddenly, the Psalms began to reach my heart. Also, I got older. I know growing older doesn’t necessitate growing wiser (I prove that every day). But, in my fifties and now sixties, the expressions I read in the Psalms align with my own thoughts. Maybe it’s the other way around, I am finally aligning my thoughts with the Psalms.
A few years ago, I bought a journaling Bible and began writing prayers based on each Psalm, attempting to use phrases I saw with which I could identify. I developed an interest in photography, taking advantage of the bayou life and scenery around me in North Louisiana. That led me to begin an email newsletter called The Holy Lens.
I committed to post, each day, a photograph, a passage, and a prayer. Eventually I wrote a prayer from every chapter in the Psalter. In time, that became a book called, Lord Hear My Prayer. I finally saw in the book of Psalms what I think God wants us all to see. They prompt our prayers.
2. GETTING TO KNOW THE PSALMS was a challenge.
The Psalms Do Not Blink. When we read through the Psalms, it is immediately evident that the most distressing, difficult, heart-wrenching struggles of life are presented without gloss. The Psalms do not present life as a carefree experience for believers in Almighty God. There are times when the Psalmists look up to God in utter loss and ask if He is even listening. For me, this makes the Psalms a valuable faith resource.
My journey with God hasn’t been easy. Looking back, I can identify mistakes, wrong steps, misguided efforts, pain I caused myself, and pain I caused others. Though I try to leave those in God’s hands, they still recur in my thoughts when least expect them. When we lost our son, John Robert, the immense pain was more than anyone in my family could bear. He was eighteen years old and two days from high school graduation when he died. I can’t imagine facing anything more difficult than that, even if I live to be one hundred.
That was a time when God and I had some honest conversations, well, brutal conversations. I know no one has had it easy in life. Sometimes, we look at other people’s lives, as we perceive them, and wonder why we can’t have the faith they do. We think they are living an easy life with few challenges. Why can’t we? Most of the time, that is a mirage of our own making.
When I read through the Psalms, I notice they do not pretend that trouble is a thing of the past for God’s people. The authors of the Psalms face death, adultery, murder, loneliness, fear, and the presence of enemies. They are written by a variety of people facing various difficult circumstances. These writers address the issues of the heart as they face them. They speak at times in poetic terms. At other times, they speak from desperation in plaintive tones. In these writings, we find ourselves. We are not strangers to the pain, struggle, and confusion we contemplate in the Psalter. We come face to face with all of it. And the Psalms do not blink.
2. The Psalms Reach the Heart
While there is much to learn from the Psalms, they are not instructive like the Proverbs. The language of the Psalms reaches out and touches the heart by expressing the yearnings and struggles experienced in life. This is the power of the Psalms. They recognize that even men and women of faith and strength can crumble into questions and doubts.
The Psalms that express the greatest pain often end with great praise.
Just because one is going through struggles and wonders what God is up to doesn’t mean they are giving up on God. This is important because all of us will face pain in our lives. The Psalms address the issues of the heart and they are inspired by the Holy Spirit. God is aware of the hurts, and this causes us to wonder. Knowing God is aware and listening is crucial to our faith.
Many of the Psalms are set to music, both contemporary and traditional. These songs are expressions of trust, hope, joy, and praise when churches gather together. To me, these songs are the most powerful because of their source.
In your most difficult days, turn to the Psalms. By reading through the Psalter, you will find and hopefully highlight particularly meaningful verses and phrases. You are building a library of resources to calm the anxious spirit, soothe the broken heart, and comfort the grieving soul.
The Psalms Are Challenging. Two Particular Observations:
Repetition. Attempting to pray through the Psalms sometimes leaves me feeling like I am praying about the same things over and over. If you feel like that, do not let it get in your way. The truth is the Psalms are repetitive, and you will revisit these themes. There are one hundred fifty Psalms. Common themes are found throughout the Psalms. Some of them will resonate deeply within your heart. Others, maybe not. I have not had an enemy trying to hunt me down, as David had in Saul. But when it comes to seeking nearness to God, forgiveness from God, or awareness of His presence, I find those themes very needful. The Psalms often sound alike. They address the common themes all humans face. We need to speak to our Heavenly Father about these things recurring in our minds and lives. If you find the Psalms a bit repetitive, that could be a signal to pay attention. This is important.
Reach. When reading the Psalms, notice they are at home in your Bible. They are like a mesh that extends into several other books of the Bible. There are accounts from the history of Israel found in the Psalms. Jesus was familiar with the Psalms, as all good Jewish people in the first century were. You may recognize a saying of Jesus embedded in a Psalm. This should remind you that when you read the Psalter, you are acquainting yourself with writings our Lord knew and used in his teachings. There are phrases and thoughts from the Psalms in Apostle Paul’s writings. As I see it, this makes the Psalms unique in your Bible. They seem to have connections that bring richness and awareness of God’s work among his people throughout the ages. What a treasure!
3. Allowing The Psalms to Prompt Your Prayers
Use the Part of the Psalm that Speaks to you.
If you were doing an exegetical Bible study, you might want to take in the whole Psalm and investigate background and how it is used in other Scriptures. For your prayer, a sentence, or even a phrase, may be all you need to help spark your prayer.
Psalm 1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
Prayer: God, thank you for the ability to read the beautiful words you have given me in Scripture. I ask that you help me to delight in your word, your law, these Psalms. As I meditate on them, please grow my roots deeply and securely in your love. Guide me, prosper me, know me. Through your guidance, may this effort be one that draws me closer to your presence. Bless everyone who prays along with me, and give them words for their own expressions of faith. Amen.
There is more in this Psalm, but I focused on the first few verses.
You can focused on a couple of thoughts in the Psalm in different verses, without feeling obligated to include every thought in the Psalm. Find a phrase or sentence or a couple of sentences that speak to you and run with that.
For the purpose of prayer, read the Psalms selectively.
Not every Psalm relates to your life as it is today. Some of the Psalms just do not have something for you today - that is ok. Keep reading. It won’t be long until you find something that catches your eye and your prayers.
Psalm 2 was kind of like that for me. I still wrote a prayer for my book on that Psalm, but it was harder. Not every one is going to appeal to your heart. Today.
Prepare the Elements that set your spirit toward prayer.
1. I encourage you to find a quiet spot - not always the easiest thing to do.
(Will your phone be the instrument of the Enemy in terms of distraction and
interruption?)
2. Collect your Bible
I know, it’s on your phone, but get a paper copy - remember those?
Have a highlighter, journal, and a pen nearby. This anticipates that you will have something that comes to you that will open up avenues of prayer.
Have a prayer to begin your time with. A song, perhaps. The Lord’s Prayer. Or something original.
These are signals to yourself and to God that you are ready to open up to
His leading.
A good place to begin is to say, “Lord, hear my prayer.”
Consider the question, “What now?” And let that fuel your prayers.
Conclusion
Donald Whitney writes, “The main reason why the psalms work so well in prayer is that the very purpose God put them in his Word to us is for us to put them in our words to him.”
Let’s end with a reading and prayer from Psalm 6.
“Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled … I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. My eye wastes away because of grief…”
Lord, I need your grace. I need you to hear me.
I need you to heal me. I need you to deliver me.
I need you to save me.Though I pray through tears of grief…
I know your steadfast love.I know you heard me weeping.
I know you heard my pleas. I know you accept my prayer.
Lord, I need your grace. Amen.
Resources
Dobbs, John E. Lord, Hear My Prayer. 2014
Whitney, Donald. Praying the Bible. Crossway, 2015.
