About a year ago, someone mentioned praying through the Psalms. I tried it once and fell in love with it! David had such a way of putting things, and there’s nothing like praying back inspired Scripture to God.
At first, the idea seemed weird: like reading a script or cheating/plagiarizing, even. But the more I prayed through Psalms, the more it was merely a springboard into praising God for His character and deeds.
I read Psalm 84 the other day and it was so rich, I just had to pray it back to God. I wanted to give you guys both a commentary and some practical tips for praying back Psalms.
Note: I referred to Charles Spurgeon’s commentary of Psalm 84 to make sure I wasn’t saying anything heretical. Believe it or not, what I say is NOT divinely inspired and I am not studying to be a pastor (or pastoress).
Praying back the Psalms
- Read one verse at a time.
- Meditate on the verse’s meaning.
- Apply it to you personally.
- Pray it back to God.
- If Step 4 makes you think of other things to ask God for/praise Him for/etc., keep going! This is a conversation.
- Once you run out of things to say, move on to the next verse and repeat steps 1-5.
Thoughts: Too often we live HERE. We’re obsessed with the things we want to do, experiences we want to try, events going on. Have you ever considered telling God how lovely His dwelling place is? I took “dwelling place” two ways. Firstly, while David may have meant tabernacle, our modern-day equivalent would be church. Do I delight in the church building? Do I seek to keep it clean, utilized? Do I love on its members, fully remembering that church isn’t a building but a group of people with a heart for God? I also considered that “dwelling place” could even mean how lovely it is when we pray to Him. Through prayer, we enter into His dwelling place. That is absolutely amazing.
Prayer: God, teach me to seek—to see—your dwelling place. Let that be my heartbeat: to behold your beauty in your sanctuary.
Thoughts: Too often my soul longs for things other than God. It desires these trite bits of earth so much that I may even faint in my efforts to gain them. And, once I get these coveted items, I faint AGAIN because I’m still so dissatisfied. I should really be longing for God: for His presence, for His communion through prayer and His word. This, and this only, will give me joy: such joy that I sing. Have you guys ever been SO joyful in Christ you can’t help singing?
Prayer: Let my soul faint only in an effort to see your heavenly places. Anoint me with the joy of your constant presence.
Thoughts: This is such a beautiful picture of peace and safety. All are welcome at the altar of God. All creation longs to (or should long to) make God’s altar their home. Often in the Bible, it is mentioned that God cherishes His birds and, therefore, why don’t we think He loves us? This is another parallel. As a result of dwelling in God’s house, our hearts will be so overcome with His character our response will be singing.
Prayer: Your altar is home to the sparrow and swallow—Let it be my home as well. Let me ever be singing your praise—let a song always be in my heart.
Thoughts: This is an absolutely beautiful three verses; I feel as if it’s the confident mantra of someone going to battle. Where do I find my strength? GOD. Not in a person, not in circumstances, not in my own strength. A lot of life is about learning to be humble. It’s okay to acknowledge your own weakness. When our strength is in God, our hearts are filled with its goal: a one-way ticket to Heaven. We can share that “highway to Zion” with others. We acknowledge we will go through valleys, but we also know that our God will fill it with springs (resting places, sweet relief, ever-living water of salvation). Just like monkey bars, daily we’ll choose to hold onto the bars of God’s presence and promise, going from strength to strength. Our final destination is Heaven, and we have hope in the knowledge that we will appear in front of God, our life complete.
Note: Zion, while a specific place in Israel, also is a term for either the spiritual body of Christ or Heaven.
Prayer: Make our strength from you only, God. May our hearts be so close to you that they’re a one-way ticket to Zion which we can share with others. Please send rain to our deserts and valleys: make springs where there was only dust and waste. Each day, we go from strength to strength, empowered by you. Like monkey bars, we will trust you fully as we take the next bar of faith.
Thoughts: We know God hears our prayers. It’s one of my favorite attributes of God. The fact that such a powerful Being would deign to listen to me and my problems? Wow. What a privilege! What power we are allowed to draw on! I love the imagery of God being a shield (I’ll talk about that a little later). I also love that we are called His anointed. Anointed for our place in the beloved; anointed for ultimate glorification; anointed for an eternity with our God.
Prayer: Hear our prayers, now, always. Let them be full of praise to you only. We call you our shield; you call us anointed.
Thoughts: Just make that first part into a blank: go ahead! For __________ is better than a thousand elsewhere. What, to you, is better than a thousand days elsewhere? Is it really a day in the courts of God? Also, consider taking a day (besides Sunday) to spend with God. Commit to praying every hour, or maybe fast. Plan a day already for Thanksgiving break where you can do a big Bible study. Family can be included in this! Would you rather be a simple doorkeeper in God’s house rather than be a part of the world? Think about it. Honestly and truly, you could be famous. Usually people who are famous have done something gaudy to deserve that (just read the books on the NYT bestselling list . . . or don’t). Would you rather hold the door open before Sunday School at church than be up onstage getting an Oscar? What is your “thing” that tempts you from being a humble servant at church, in life?
Prayer: Teach us to love your Heaven, to be future-minded with a now-impact. We’ve experienced the world’s poor version of love: please teach us that a day with you is better than any dream, person, or place.
Thoughts: He’s a sun to light our way and to give hope, a shield to protect us from temptation and harm. Not only this, but He gives us two gifts here: favor and honor. Favor in His sight because of the blood of Jesus, honor because we take part in the humiliation of Christ and dedicate ourselves as life servants. And those who are humbled will be exalted! One of my favorite Bible promises (which you’ll hear me harp on over and over again) is that God never denies us anything good as long as we are walking uprightly. We defined good and bad, that’s why we hurt. Or maybe we’re far from Him, or not even a child of God, and wonder why we’re so dissatisfied and there’s so much BAD. God promises blessing on those who trust in Him.
Prayer: You are a sun, giving light and hope and direction. You are our shield, delivering us from temptation and disappointment. Make us walk uprightly, trusting you only.
Have you ever prayed the Psalms before? Which is easier for you: doing devotions or praying? Were you hit by the treasures of Psalm 84? Me too!!
P.S. I heard a rumor our Altruism issue is about ready to be released . . . make sure you’re on our mailing list so you’ll get a notification the moment it goes live!!
