O LORD, in the book of Psalms, the truth of Your character and the condition of the human heart intersect. The Psalmists’ honest words reveal the struggle of Your people as they live in relationship with You.
We wrestle–with doubt and faith, with despair and hope, with sin and repentance, with fear and confidence.
We complain and we praise.
We beg and plead, but we also thank You.
In the midst of unbearable waiting, we wonder. Do You hear our desperate pleas? Do You still care?
Yet, we remember and rejoice in Your past acts of redemption and deliverance.
The Psalms declare the real and raw emotions of Your followers, those who desire to love and obey You, but so easily wander away from Your tender care. As I read these songs and prayers of Your people, I recognize my own journey of faith—the seasons of joy and trust, the times of doubt and fear, the running away from You in sin and the return to You in repentance. Through the Psalms You have taught me to:
- Trust You.
Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:10
- Be confident.
The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? Psalm 118:6
- Find refuge.
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1
- Discover joy.
When anxiety was great within me, your consolation bought joy to my soul. Psalm 94:19
- Hope in Your promises.
I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word. Psalm 119:147
- Follow You.
When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way. Psalm 142:3
O God, I thank You for the gift of the Psalms. May I faithfully read, study, pray, and find delight in these songs of relationship with You, My God and my Savior.
In the great name of Your Son Jesus,
Amen.
For further prayer and meditation:
“We know almost nothing of the circumstances in which the 150 psalms were written. David is the most-named author, but most are anonymous. But that hardly matters, for the life-settings of the Psalms are not geographical or cultural but interior. Calvin called them ‘an anatomy of all the parts of the soul.’
Everything that anyone can feel or experience in relation to God is in these prayers. You will find them the best place in Scripture to explore all the parts of your life and then to say who you are and what is in you—guilt, anger, salvation, praise—to the God who loves, judges and saves you in Jesus Christ.” Eugene H. Peterson in “Psalms, Prayers of the Heart.”
Commit to reading the Psalms consistently:
- Read a Psalm a day.
- Read the same Psalm for a week, using a different translation each time. A website such as biblegateway.com makes this easy to do.
- Study a particular Psalm using a website such as blueletterbible.org.
“Psalm 23—Surely Goodness, Surely Mercy” by Shane and Shane, Christian Worship Music
