Psalms: Lord, Teach Us to Pray – The Bible in Lent: Day 6

Today in The Bible in Lent, we’re tackling the Book of Deuteronomy and continue to read through the Psalms. Because of the importance of prayer and the focus on growing our prayer life during Lent, I want to explore the Psalms and how they help grow our prayer life.

Prayer is something we need to develop and grow. Like all spiritual disciplines, it is a gift we need to steward and develop.

The Psalms are a great way to develop prayer and practice being both honest with our emotions and putting them into an eternal perspective.

The words of the psalmists both help me understand my emotions and help me keep a proper perspective on their validity. They often remind me that while all my emotions are real, they may not all be valid. They put into perspective my flawed perspective, limited by my view of time and experiences, and remind me of God’s faithfulness, even in trials. The Psalms show me that I can both be honest and raw with God about my emotions but that I can also rely on His faithfulness even when I can’t see how He will bring it about.

Psalms remind me to praise God.

Over and over again, they highlight different aspects of God’s character, His creative ability, His justice, His mercy, His faithfulness, and many more. They give language to the characteristics of God that I know in my heart but have trouble verbalizing. Powerful metaphors help me understand God’s heart and His nature.

Each and every time I open the Psalms, my prayer life deepens as I learn to order prayer properly and put my life in the context of God’s divine plan and holy attributes. There are highs and lows in the Psalms but in both pain and joy, the Lord is the source of strength and endurance. When I read the psalms and pray them for myself, they remind me that I need to rely on God for all things.

Praying the Psalms strengthens my heart and reminds me that my emotions and experiences aren’t unique.

Other believers have walked through similar valleys and experienced similar joys. Not because we are all the same, but because the God who gives life to us and sustains us is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

As we read through the Psalms every day during The Bible in Lent, I encourage you to pick 1-2 to read out loud every day. Remember God’s faithfulness through the ages and know that the words of the psalmists still ring true today.

Reading the Psalms out loud has embedded many of them in my heart. They are passages I recall when I am praising the Lord and when my heart needs reminders that God is a trustworthy guide for my life. Knowing the Psalms gives me words to pray when I have none.

God knew that we would struggle to pray. That is why the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf and why God has given us this prayer book to help guide us. He doesn’t ever call us to something He does not lead us to do. The Psalms are one of the ways He teaches us to pray.

So open up the Book of Psalms. Bind these words to your heart. Memorize them and recall them. May they give you words when you don’t know how to pray and remind daily that our God is trustworthy and in Him, we can have enduring peace.