Pray the Psalms
My love affair with Scripture began with
praying Psalms. The emotional
expressions are so clear: the ups, the downs, the
frustrations, the victories, the ecstatic worship! I kept
thinking, “I know this writer!” “I know
this person!”
I, at least, knew all the emotions. And, those emotions are
expressed with such clarity! I could not find better words
than the word of Psalms to communicate my own heart cries.
Praying
Psalms is Age-Old
The love
of
praying Psalms is not new. Do
you know that during the monastic period of Church history
(over 1000 years of it!), men and women in monastic
life
chanted the Psalms daily. This daily
schedule was such that the entire book of Psalms was
chanted (prayed) each week.
Psalms have been a favorite with God’s people for
thousands of years!
Praying
Psalms is Contemporary
Today many of
our church songs are Scripture-based with the chorus being
direct quotes or paraphrases from
Scripture…especially from Psalms. Learning these
verses in song-form is a
delightful way to start praying Psalms. It’s
easy and tends to stick with you better than spoken
prayers. So sing away!
Many contemporary worship songs are based on Psalms!
Try
It!
Try this easy
entry into
praying Psalms: get a copy
of
The Old Testament from
26 Translations.
When I was
first introduced to this wonderful book, I began praying
the Psalms without even realizing what I was doing. Try
this. Take a verse from Psalms that is speaking to your
heart. Read it over and over from 5 or 6 different
translation. It energizes your spirit! It comes close to
being an addiction. You will at least want to know more
about how to pray
scripture.
Praying
through Psalms can be good
discipline, no matter how experienced or mature you are in
the things of prayer. You could do one Psalm a day for 150
days. Or, you could categorize the Psalms by theme and work
you way through one theme at a time.
Some Possible Themes:
♣
Thanksgiving
♣
Praise
♣
Repentance
♣
Grief/sorrow
♣
Safety
♣
Submission
♣
Frustration
♣
Victory
Instant
Start
For a jump start into praying Scripture, order the 2CD
set,
No Storm Too
Great!, Scripture
prayer based on Psalm 91 and related Scriptures. Save
yourself a lot of research time and be soothed by the
ambient music and nature sounds in the background.
Even
if you are not new to Scripture prayer, this is a treasured
resource!
Pray Psalm 91
Today
These six articles contain massive amounts of information
on praying this particular Psalm. But, the information can
be applied to praying any Psalm. While you are there,
consider signing up for the free e-course,
Release the Power of Psalm
91.
Psalm
Prayer Project
When I was
young in scripture, taking on study by theme really worked
for me. It matched the way my brain operated. Now themes
are not as critical for me as they once were.
So, given that I can be more free-flowing, I’ve
chosen to work through the Psalms from 1-150 in my blog:
Praying Scripture:
Praying Through
Psalms. Psalms merit
this sort of focus.
The introduction to the Book of Psalms in the Spirit Filled
Life Bible puts it this way:
“By
song and Spirit, they comfort the lonely, strengthen the
weary, bind the brokenhearted and turn the eyes of the
downcast up toward their creator.”
Hope returns, faith is renewed, and life again becomes
bearable.
So drop by
Praying Through
Psalms. I’ll
be looking for you!