PRAYING THE PSALMS
Dear Friends,
The Psalms are prayers / songs / poems that God wrote for us. If we want to learn how to pray, one way is to learn to pray the Psalms. If God wrote them for us, then we are learning to pray according to His mind, His will and His heart when we pray a Psalm. Below are some tips to begin.
First, ask God to teach you and help you to pray the Psalms. Always begin with a prayer asking for God’s help. We need His wisdom and guidance.
Second, there are some Psalms which talk about very extreme human experiences. It is probably better to not try to pray these Psalms until you are more experienced in praying the Psalms and you have become familiar with what these Psalms are really teaching. Two examples of these extreme Psalms are Psalms 58 and 137.
Third, one way to pray a Psalm is to use it as the basis of your conversation with God. So you read a verse or two, then you mark the spot with your finger and you talk to God about what you have read. Be honest. Maybe you will thank God that what the verse says is true. Maybe you will say to Him that you do not understand. Maybe you will confess that this is not what you are doing. Maybe you will ask that what the Psalm teaches will be what you will do or experience.
Fourth, another way to pray the Psalm is to pray it as if it is you talking to God. This will mean that as you “read” the prayer you change some words. You substitute the word (or add) “You” for “God” because you are speaking directly to Him. You might want to put “me,” “my,” or “I” into the Psalm to make it you speaking directly to God. An easy example is the beginning of Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd...” To turn this into a prayer, you rephrase it as, “Lord, You are my Shepherd...”
Fifth, another way to pray a Psalm is to extrapolate, or “pile on” the words of the Psalm. An example: “Lord, You are my Shepherd. Thank You for being my Shepherd today and caring for my: day/marriage/job/finances/health, etc.”
Finally, do not think you have to pray the whole Psalm. Sometimes praying a Psalm leads into wide ranging and surprising prayer. Sometimes your prayer time is up and you haven’t finished the Psalm Just say, “In Jesus Name. Amen.”
George +
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23)