Praying the Psalms

This post is a response to Kayla's inquiry about prayer. When she brought up her uncertainty about the correctness of her prayer, the first thing that came into my mind is the book of Psalms - the inspired prayer book of the Bible. Someone said that in the Psalms, we learn to pray in the school of prayer from the masters themselves. I believe these masters were taught none other by the Master Himself through the Spirit of God. In the life and ministry of Christ here on earth, we read how he used the vocabulary of the Psalms in his prayers.

I just want to share a revised version of my personal reflection on Eugene Peterson's book, "Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer." There are several lessons to learn from the book of Psalms as a school of prayer:

1. Poetry is the dominant quality of the book. 

The book contains poetical prayers. Poetry expresses the depth of human soul that a simple "story telling" type of narration cannot accomplish. Poetical prayers bring us to the world of imagination and the realm of the invisible. Poetical prayers tell us that we are destined to something greater beyond the things that we see. Poetical prayers teach us that there are human words that cannot be expressed through normal communication.

2. The language used in poetical prayers is relational.

There is a tendency that due to the routinary practice of prayer, our words will decline either to the level of manipulation or formalism. The book of Psalms reminds us to continually use relational vocabulary both in personal and public prayers.

3. Psalms as tools for being. 

The prayers in the Psalms are not tools to acquire things or to equip us for action but to change us as humans. To become a man of prayer, to be a man of God, to be changed into the likeness of God, to be holy is the end product in enrolling to this school of prayer.

4. Prayer in the book of Psalms is a response to God's initiative.

The idea that prayer is not actually a human initiative but a response to God's original act tells us that we will lack no words to express to Him either in words of complain or praise. Since God never stops acting, prayer too will never stop.

5. The context of the prayers in the book of Psalms is the ordinary life of man.

The life of man is characterized by trials and troubles that give occasion to stories expressed in prayers. The prayers in Psalms is a corrective to two types of prayers. The first is the "escapist" type of prayer, which ignores human suffering as part of the common life of man. The second is the "presumptive" type of prayer that is full of human words but fails to listen carefully to what God is doing in the common experience of man. 

6. We learn that God restores order as a response to the prayers of His people.

Out of chaotic condition of human life, God restores order as His response to the prayer of His people. 

7. We find in the prayers in the book of Psalms an appreciation of the beauty of creation.

To ignore creation is characteristic of "gnostic" prayer, which considers matter as evil. We find plenty of metaphors in the book of Psalms to communicate the unseen world. Peterson suggests praying with open eyes as an act of appreciating the splendor of nature while praying. 

8. The significance of the support of the community in prayer. 

The significance of the communal aspect of prayer in the book of Psalms is evident in three ways: the presence of the Selah, the necessity for having a director, and the tune that serves as a musical accompaniment. This liturgical character of poetical prayers delivers us from the deception of human emotion and pride. 

The significance of the support of the community in prayer shows that no prayer will flourish in isolation from the community. Both the Scriptures and experience attest to this. 

9. We find the important role of the enemies in prayers in the book of Psalms.

This indicates that the psalmists are people who are honest about their feelings. Their anger for their enemies is expressed in prayer. Psalm 137 is an example of this. The psalmists have a realistic approach to life and sin. They do not avoid evil by moralism but by actual engagement. 

Photo Reference: http://www.liesyoungwomenbelieve.com/index.php?id=564