Do you ever start to pray and feel like you’re just talking to the floor? Maybe your mind starts to wander, and you’re thinking about the next ten things you have to do after you pray, instead of the prayer itself. Maybe you’re praying and it just feels like a wish list of things you want in your life. Or maybe, you don’t pray much at all because you don’t even know where to start.
Our new series on Sunday mornings, “Summer of Psalms,” will explore a variety of passages from the Old Testament book. The book of Psalms is a collection of songs that the people of God have used to guide their worship for centuries. It contains poetic language, allusions to historical events, rich theological truths, and the raw emotions of the psalmists. But even more than just corporate worship, the book of Psalms teaches us how to pray.
Prayer has the potential to be a vibrant conversation with the creator of all things. But for most of us it feels unnatural, cumbersome, even boring. The Psalms guide us to deeper understanding of communion with God. They lead us to thirst for his presence, to experience his steadfast love, to be fully known by him. The candid words of confession and conviction reveal God’s mercy and glory. The Psalms help guide our tongue-tied prayers like a lamp before our feet wandering on a dark path home. We know where we want to go, but each step is leery without the light. The book of Psalms helps us find our way home to a heavenly Father that desires a relationship with us as sons and daughters.
23Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Psalm 139:23-24 ESV