I remember reading that whereas all Scripture speaks to us, the psalms speak for us.

Martin Luther said essentially the same thing, but a little more expansively: ‘The Psalter is the book of all saints; and everyone, in whatever situation he may be, finds in that situation psalms and words that fit his case, that suit him just as if they were put there for his sake, so that he could not put it better himself, or find or wish for anything better.’

The psalms have been the prayer book/hymn book of the church for centuries. They were used by Jesus and His disciples. Eugene Peterson describes them as ‘prayers that train us in prayer’.

As we begin this new series on the Psalms, I want to encourage you to do at least three things:

  • Read the Psalm for the day (preferably out loud) as a prayer to God;
  • Make it (or at least some of it) the basis of your ‘impromptu’ prayers;
  • Prayerfully look for one word, or phrase, or sentence, or idea that grabs you, and carry it with you through the day. As you have opportunity, turn it over in your mind, and ‘suck as much juice’ out of it as possible.

Eugene Peterson goes on to say in the introduction to his book: ‘Answering God’:

‘That’s it: open our Bibles to the book of Psalms and pray them – sequentially, regularly, faithfully across a lifetime. This is how most Christians for most of the Christian centuries have matured in prayer. Nothing fancy. Just do it.’

PRAYER: Lord God, open our hearts and minds to see everything you want to show us as we read them and pray them. Thank you that we are standing on holy ground.