Praying the Psalms

Why pray the Psalms?

The Book of Psalms sits near the middle of most Bibles. It’s a collection of prayers and songs written over many centuries, many of them by King David. Jesus knew them well. On the cross He cried out the opening words of Psalm 22, and His last words in Luke’s Gospel echo Psalm 31 (Luke 23:46).

What makes the Psalms so helpful for prayer is their honesty. They don’t only praise. They also complain, weep, question, rage and hope. Whatever you’re feeling right now, there’s a psalm that has been there before you.

“Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.”

Psalm 62:8 (KJV)

Selah is a word that appears often in the Psalms. Nobody is completely sure what it means, but many think it marks a pause. It’s a good cue to stop and let the words sink in.

A psalm for every feeling

If you don’t know where to start, pick a psalm that matches what you’re carrying today:

• When you’re grateful: Psalm 100, 103 or 136
• When you’re anxious or afraid: Psalm 23, 27, 46 or 91
• When you’ve done something wrong: Psalm 32 or 51
• When God feels far away: Psalm 13, 42 or 88
• When you’re in awe of creation: Psalm 8, 19 or 104
• When you need rest: Psalm 4, 62 or 131

You’ll notice that some psalms move from despair to hope in just a few verses. Others, like Psalm 88, end in darkness. Both kinds are in the Bible on purpose. God would rather hear your honest sorrow than your polite silence.

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.”

Psalm 42:5 (KJV)

In this verse the writer talks to his own soul. That’s something the Psalms teach well: you can be honest about how you feel and, in the same breath, remind yourself of what’s true about God.

How to pray a psalm

1. 1
   Read it slowlyRead the whole psalm once, out loud if you can. Notice which lines catch your attention.
2. 2
   Pray it back to GodRead it again, this time as your own prayer. Turn “he” into “You”: “The LORD is my shepherd” becomes “Lord, You are my shepherd.”
3. 3
   Make it personalPause on a line and add your own words. If the psalm calls God a refuge, tell Him what you need refuge from today.
4. 4
   Carry one phrase with youChoose a single line to take into your day, and pray it again whenever you remember.

Here’s how that might look with the opening of the best-loved psalm of all:

What about the angry psalms?

Some psalms are startling. A few ask God to punish enemies in harsh terms. These are sometimes called the imprecatory psalms, from an old word meaning to call down a curse. Psalms 109 and 137 are examples. So what do you do with them?

Many Christians read them as honest prayers from people who had suffered real injustice. Instead of taking revenge themselves, the writers handed their anger to God. That’s still a healthy thing to do. You can tell God exactly how hurt you are, leave justice in His hands (Romans 12:19), and ask Him to help you forgive.

You don’t have to pray every psalm word for word. It’s fine to read the difficult ones, learn from them, and move on to the next.

Getting started

A simple plan is to read one psalm a day. Short ones like Psalms 1, 23, 100, 121 and 131 are good places to begin. If you’d like a bigger challenge, read five a day and you’ll pray through all 150 in a month, an old and well-loved rhythm.

The Psalms fit naturally into morning prayer, and the same slow, personal way of reading works with any passage of the Bible, as our guide to praying with Scripture explains.

Common questions

Scripture quotations from the King James Version (public domain).