Praying With The Psalms

Well it’s Sunday again and on Sunday we like to pray with others using words that are common to many. 

We’ll use prayers from Psalms in the Bible.  The first expresses our desire to know God and to come close to Him.  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.

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

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.