The Psalms as a Prayer Book
For centuries, believers have prayed the Psalms daily. A guide to recovering this ancient practice.
Long before the New Testament was written, God’s people were praying the Psalms. The early church continued the practice, and through the centuries the daily office has kept the Psalms at the heart of Christian prayer. Recovering this practice can transform a prayer life.
The Psalms give us words when we have none. In grief, in joy, in confusion, in repentance, they provide language that has been tested by generations. We do not have to invent our prayers from scratch; we can borrow theirs.
A simple way to begin is to pray one psalm in the morning and one in the evening. Read it slowly, pause where a verse catches you, and turn it into your own prayer. Over time, the Psalms will shape your desires and your vocabulary with God.
Praying the Psalms also joins us to the whole church. When we pray Psalm 51, we pray with every penitent believer across history. When we pray Psalm 150, we join a chorus that has never stopped. The Psalms are not a private diary; they are the common prayer of the people of God.
Related Psalms
Psalm 51
“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.”
David’s great prayer of repentance; a broken and contrite heart God will not despise.
Read morePsalm 130
“Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.”
Psalm 130 is one of the "Penitential Psalms" and a Song of Ascents, beginning in the depths and rising to hope.
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