Praying the Psalms

The Prayer Book of Scripture

The Psalms occupy a unique place in the Bible — they are God's Word written in the form of human prayers and songs. They were designed to be used, spoken, sung, and prayed. For three thousand years, Jews and Christians have used the Psalms as their primary prayer book, and for good reason.

When you do not know how to pray, the Psalms give you words. When your emotions are too raw or complex to articulate, the Psalms articulate them for you. When you feel unable to approach God, the Psalms show you how others have approached Him — with joy, with grief, with confession, with desperate need.

The Range of the Psalms

One of the most striking things about the Psalms is the sheer range of human experience they cover:

• **Praise and adoration** — Psalms 8, 100, 145-150
• **Lament and distress** — Psalms 13, 22, 88
• **Confession of sin** — Psalm 51
• **Thanksgiving** — Psalms 30, 107
• **Trust in God's protection** — Psalms 23, 46, 91
• **Longing for God** — Psalms 42-43, 63
• **Wisdom and meditation on God's Word** — Psalm 1, 119

Whatever you are experiencing, there is a Psalm that meets you there.

How to Pray the Psalms

The simplest approach is to read a Psalm slowly and let it become your prayer. When the Psalmist writes "Create in me a clean heart, O God" (Psalm 51:10), make that your prayer. When he writes "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want" (Psalm 23:1), let that declaration become your act of trust.

Some find it helpful to:

• Read the Psalm aloud, speaking it as a prayer directed to God
• Pause at verses that particularly resonate and dwell there
• Add your own specifics — "create in me a clean heart" becomes "create in me a clean heart regarding my anger, my pride, my impatience"
• Use a different Psalm for each day, working through the 150 over five months

Psalms for Specific Needs

• **When anxious** — Psalm 46, Psalm 23
• **When confessing sin** — Psalm 51, Psalm 32
• **When grieving** — Psalm 88, Psalm 34
• **When praising** — Psalm 100, Psalm 150
• **When needing God's Word** — Psalm 119

The Psalms will not make you a perfect pray-er — but they will ensure that even on your worst days, you have something true and God-honouring to bring before the throne.