Expressing A Variety of Emotions and Experiences To God With The Words of The Psalms

 PRAYERS FROM THE PSALMS

Well it’s Sunday again and on Sunday we like to pray with others using words that are common to many.  Today I thought we’d stretch even further than we often do and go straight to the Psalms.  Now we can pray with people who’ve been praying these words for several thousand years. 

We begin with a prayer that expresses our desire to know God and to come close to Him.  We remind God with these words that we are trusting in His power and His love today and for as long as we live.  Let’s pray:

Psalm 63:1-8:  You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me. Psalm 63:1-8

It’s good to not only come seeking to be with God but to make sure that we are coming with clean hands and a pure heart.  We pray these very familiar words from Psalm 51 asking God for forgiveness and restoration for any ways we have fallen away from doing His will.

Psalm 51:1-12:  Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned  and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.  Psalm 51:1-12

No matter what troubled places we find ourselves in we know that God is listening to us and will answer us.  Particularly when we are feeling overwhelmed, we can join in this prayer and find God close with comfort and strength.

Psalm 55:1-7, 16-19: Listen to my prayer, O God. Do not ignore my cry for help!  Please listen and answer me, for I am overwhelmed by my troubles.

My enemies shout at me, making loud and wicked threats. They bring trouble on me and angrily hunt me down. My heart pounds in my chest. The terror of death assaults me. Fear and trembling overwhelm me, and I can’t stop shaking. Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest! I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness. But I will call on God, and the Lord will rescue me. Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the Lord hears my voice. He ransoms me and keeps me safe from the battle waged against me, though many still oppose me. God, who has ruled forever, will hear me and humble them. Psalm 55:1-7, 16-19

We end with a prayer of commitment to God to walk with Him, to follow His truth, and in all our ways to honour and praise Him. 

Psalm 86:11-13:  Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you. With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever, for your love for me is very great. You have rescued me from the depths of death. Psalm 86:11-13

There are dozens more wonderful prayers in the book of Psalms.  They range from praise that raises the rooftops to cries from places of deep despair.  Wherever you are at in your life today, there are words in the Psalms You can use with God to express Your heart.  Let’s have a great day talking with God.