Praying Through the Psalms

This article was originally published here, on August 1, 2009.


"Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies" (Ps. 141:3-4).

The Psalms are an excellent training ground to learn how to pray. They cover the whole range of human emotion and experience. They reflect earnest trust in a Sovereign who is ever-present and willing to hear the prayers of his people. They reflect an honest and often raw expression of the soul onto the Lord. The Psalms cover morning, evening, midday, midnight, and every time in between.

In the Psalms, we meet worshipers without masks. They don't hide behind religious language. They don't beat around the bush. They present their adoration or supplication unto the Lord, trusting him to answer. We get to eavesdrop on their private prayers which we know to be pleasing to the Lord because he inspired and preserved them in the Scriptures. Thus, through the Psalms we learn something of approaching God in prayer in the fear of the Lord.

As we read through the Psalms, we can offer up prayers based on the passage we are reading. If we were to pray Psalm 141:3-4 it might be something like this: "Yes, Lord, please guard my mouth so I might only speak what is pleasing to you. And please keep me from giving my life over to evil influences. Amen." Or we might just pray it word for word.

This kind of praying can be very beneficial. First, it informs our prayers, by giving specific things to pray for. Next, it focuses our prayers because the Scripture is guiding our thoughts. Finally, it conforms us to the will of God. As we pray Scripture, we are praying God's mind after him. It teaches us to think his thoughts (as far as we are able). I encourage to begin meditating on and praying through the Psalms.