Hymns and prayers of God’s people
Most Christians over the centuries have learned to pray by praying the Psalms.
The Hebrews with several centuries of a head start on us in matters of prayer and worship, provided us with this prayer book that gives us a language adequate for responding to the God who speaks to us.
The Psalms as a book of 150 songs (or poems) which refer to events throughout the Old Testament period, have a tremendous breadth of subject matter such as jubilation, war, peace, worship, judgment, messianic prophecy, praise and lament. The Psalms were set to accompaniment of stringed instruments and served as a temple hymnbook and devotional guide for the Jewish people.
We often have trouble speaking to God. It is easy enough to say: “help” and “thanks”, but what about fronting up to God in honesty, and telling God exactly how we are and feel without any filters. We keep telling ourselves that our vocabulary is inadequate, not polished enough for God, and that there must be an “insider” language that God takes us seriously in our prayer. There is not.
Prayer is elemental, not advanced language. It is the means by which our language becomes honest, true, and personal, in response to God, by which we get everything in our lives out in the open before him.
What better way to recharge our prayer life than to get a paraphrase of the Psalms which uses very gutsy and earthy language, and word our prayers accordingly. The psalms in Hebrew which was the language these psalm-prayers were first expressed and written by David and his successors are not genteel. When we feel “down-discouraged-fearful” look for those psalms from David that express his fears and utter desolation from God.
An elderly lady battling infirmity and fearing death received much comfort as we read a psalm together. After singing, What a friend we have in Jesus, the consolation of God’s love, peace, and forgiveness calmed her restlessness as she dwelt in him.
The poetry of the psalms is lovely, but the prayers are not pious or pretentious. Their authenticity is a reminder that it doesn’t take a special formula or level of spiritual growth to pray. Prayer is for anyone who finds a need to talk to God about anything. The Hebrews were not afraid to cry out to God, no matter what frame of heart and mind in which they found themselves.
Prayer: I come to you, Lord, for protection; never let me be defeated. You are a righteous God, save me, I pray! I place myself in your care. You will save me, Lord, you are a faithful God. Amen. (based on Psalm 91)
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