Praying Women By Sheila WalshSample

Day 5

Pray God’s Word

Have you ever struggled to find words for what you’re feeling when you find yourself in a desperate place? Pray the Psalms. One of the most powerful gifts of the Psalms is that they help us bring all our emotions to God. The Psalms are brutally honest. They don’t disguise our pain, and they don’t hide our only hope. Whatever you are going through right now, you will find language for your soul in the Psalms. 

Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann writes, “The Psalter knows that life is dislocated. No cover-up is necessary. The Psalter is a collection over a long period of time of the eloquent, passionate songs and prayers of people who are at the desperate edge of their lives.”

Perhaps if we lived and prayed like the psalmist, more people would be drawn to Jesus. Because God’s Word is alive, not just words on paper, when we begin to pray the Word of God, the Spirit joins with us and our spirits catch fire.

As you get to know the Psalms better, you will know where to turn for specific prayers, but don’t be afraid to flip through them until you come to one that speaks to you at that time. In Praying the Bible, Donald Whitney suggests the following method. Start with the day of the month, say the twenty-first,

Then look at Psalm 21. If it speaks to you, stay there. If not, count thirty Psalms to Psalm 51, Psalm 81, or Psalm 111. There is no right way to do this, but I promise you there is power in praying the Word of God, even when you have come to the end of yourself.

A PRAYER WHEN YOU’RE PRAYING WITH THE POWER OF THE WORD OF GOD

Father,

Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for the Psalms. I’ll begin by praying this: “Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions” (Psalm 119:18). That’s my prayer. Open my eyes to all You have for me in Your Word. Thank You for giving me a prayer book. Holy Spirit, lead and guide me as I pray back the Word of God to the Father. Amen.