“Is
anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing
psalms.” (James
5:13).
Have you ever gone to pray and
found that you just couldn’t find the words to express your heart to God? If
you have, then you’re not alone. Eugene Peterson (who wrote the Message
paraphrase of the Bible) says, “Most Christians for most of the Christian
centuries have learned to pray by praying the Psalms…The Psalms are the school
for people learning to pray.” Martin Luther said, “It is therefore easy to
understand why the Book of Psalms is the favourite book of all the saints. For every man on every occasion can find in
it psalms which fit his needs, which he feels to be appropriate as if they had
been set there just for his sake.”
Two days ago, I talked about
the benefits of reading through the book of Proverbs daily – to receive
practical wisdom for living the day-to-day affairs of life on Earth. Today, I
want to show you the blessing that the book of Psalms provides for us as
Christians – to help us to express our heart to God in worship and prayer. In
Psalms, you will find an expression of every emotion you’ve ever felt – joy,
anger, praise, repentance, thankfulness, sadness, fear, hope, trust, and even
doubt. When you don’t know what to say when you pray, turn to the book of
Psalms for help.
A SAMPLE OF THE PRAYERS AND
SONGS IN THE BOOK OF PSALMS:
5 –
a prayer for guidance
6 –
a prayer of faith in time of distress
23 –
the Lord the Shepherd of His people
34 –
the happiness of those who trust in God
42 –
hungry for God in a time of trouble
51 –
a prayer of repentance and confession of sin
88 –
a prayer for help in time of depression
91 –
safety of abiding in the presence of God
95 –
a call to worship and obedience
100
– a song of praise for the Lord’s faithfulness
121
– God the help of those who seek Him
150
– let everyone praise the Lord
Read through the Psalms.
Meditate on them – think about what they mean. Then pray them back to God. When
you read “The Lord is my shepherd” in Psalm 23, say to the Lord, “I’m so
thankful that you’re my Shepherd, Lord. I’m so glad that as one of your sheep,
I can recognize your voice, and follow you. Thank you for watching over me.”
When it says, “Give thanks to the LORD,
for he is good. His faithful love endures forever.” then take a moment
and thank God for His faithful love and wonderful goodness that never ends.
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