When used in connection with praying through the Psalms, the Lord’s Prayer can bring greater dimension to our prayer life.
Years ago, when I was traveling in Israel, my friends and I decided that we wanted to go to the Western Wall on a Friday evening to observe the proceedings of the Jewish Sabbath. Because our tour guide and driver had already gone home for the day, we decided to walk. All of a sudden, we were engulfed in a crowd of Orthodox Jews, flooding the streets. A prominent rabbi had just passed away and they were making a pilgrimage to the Western Wall to pay their respects. It was a sight to see. I’ll never forget it.
One of the details that I observed was the manner in which they were making their way to the Temple Mount. They would walk for a few yards, pause, pull out a little book, and read audibly as they rocked back and forth. What were they doing? They were praying the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134).
This practice reaches back thousands of years, long before the time of Christ. It is an ancient tradition that has been lost to most of modern Christianity. In fact, it has been rejected by many who oppose the idea of reciting written prayers. It is true that God is not impressed by mindless repetition. He cannot be conjured through incantations like pagan gods. But are we throwing the baby out with the bathwater? Is there any value to using the Psalms in our prayers?
Our heavenly Father wants us to approach Him as His dear children. Our prayers ought to be casual and familiar. However, we also need to consider the reverence of God. When we pray, we are entering into a hallowed space. As the prayer book of the Bible, perhaps we should examine this ancient tradition of praying through the Psalms and consider it in light of the practices of the first-century Church.
A MIRROR OF OUR HEARTS
After the resurrection, Luke records that Jesus taught His disciples how to read the Old Testament, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44). After Christ’s ascension, we can observe the Apostles and Jesus’ closest followers and family, devoting themselves to prayer in the upper room.
During this time of extended prayer, Peter speaks up, quoting two different Imprecatory Psalms describing how Judas betrayed Jesus. This indicates that the disciples would have been reading through the Psalms as they were praying.
Peter was clearly drawn to the language of the prayers which call down judgment on God’s enemies. He makes the connection with Jesus’ betrayal (Acts 1:15-20) and rightly applies the teaching of Jesus to see Christ in the Psalms.
This reflects one of the greatest benefits of reading through the Psalms as a prayer guide. The Psalms are full of every kind of prayer: lament, praise, fear, longing, and bitterness, just to name a few. In this way, the Psalms guide our hearts, souls, and minds in alignment with Scripture. The Psalms give words to our feelings and allow us to process them in a biblical way. Just as Peter was processing his anger and betrayal, the Psalms can give words to what is often difficult to articulate in our prayers.
PATTERNS OF PRAYER
All throughout the Book of Acts, we see the Apostles were devoted to prayer. At Pentecost, they were all together early in the morning, likely praying, before the Holy Spirit came down upon them (Acts 2:1-4). After Pentecost, we see that the first-century Church devoted themselves to “The prayers” (Acts 2:42). Notice that this is a definite article. They were not just committing to pray, they were committing to a pattern of prayer. The Apostles were likely teaching the church how Jesus Himself had taught them to pray.
In the next chapter, we see Peter and John on their way to the temple at the hour of prayer (Acts 3:1). Later, we see a Roman centurion, Cornelius, who was praying again at the hour of prayer when he had a vision of an angel (Acts 10:1-6). A few verses later, we see that Peter was praying at noon when God gave him a vision as well (Acts 10:9-ff). Although it is a minor detail, it is worth noting the pattern that the first-century Christians were committed to praying in regular intervals. This changes the shift in prayer away from calling out to God simply because we have needs, and turns prayer into a discipline of worship.
I understand why people would recoil at the idea of reducing prayer down to mindless repetition. Praying through the Psalms, however, should guide and instruct our prayers. Not simply take the place of our prayers. They should take us deeper into the things that matter to God. Consider how Jesus instructed His disciples to pray in the “Lord’s Prayer” (Matthew 6:9-13). It begins with adoration, moves to confession, on to thanksgiving, and concludes in supplication. When used in connection with praying through the Psalms, the Lord’s Prayer can bring greater dimension to our prayer life. The Psalms are filled with elements of praise. They will inevitably lead us to confession as well. Of course there are songs of thanksgiving. And, finally, there are Psalms that demonstrate how we ought to bring our requests before God.
PRAYING WITH JESUS
It is actually believed by some scholars that as Jesus was hanging on the cross, He was praying through the Psalms. While we only have a few verbal utterances from Jesus as He was dying, out of the seven statements recorded, two are from the Psalms: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Psalm 22), and “Into your hand I commit my spirit,” (Psalm 31). Even in His hour of greatest agony, the Psalms were a guide to our Savior’s prayers.
This would have offered even greater weight and meaning after the resurrection when Jesus taught His disciples how to see Himself as the fulfillment of the Psalms. This serves yet another essential element to our daily devotions: preaching the gospel to ourselves. It is something I am constantly harping on, but it is a point I desperately want to drive home. When we read the Psalms, we should see the sorrow and sadness ultimately fulfilled in Christ on the cross, and we should see the praise and glory fulfilled in the empty tomb and the promise of Christ’s return.
If praying the Psalms was important to Jesus, the Apostles, and the first-century Church, shouldn’t it be important to us as well? It is not the only way to pray, but it is a pattern of prayer which has been proven over time. Therefore, it can serve as a useful guide to training and sustaining our prayers.
The Psalms point us to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. By using the Book of Psalms as a prayer book every morning, we will fill our hearts with Scripture. By meditating on it throughout the day, we will be praying without ceasing. By seeing Christ in the Psalms, we will have our hearts prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks us about the hope we have in Christ.
Adam Miller is the President and host of Songtime Radio and serves as the pastor of South Chatham Community Church.
You can hear his teaching on our daily broadcast on the radio or online, watch his preaching live on Facebook, and read his articles on our website.
