So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You areGod, who made haven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ‘Why did the nations rage…’” 

 - Acts 4.24, 25

...and when the abbot began to recite a verse the choir responded humbly...

  - Anonymous, Vita Brendani, Irish, perhaps 12th century[1]

Start praying the Lord’s Prayer in a group of believers, and all will join their voices together and pray with you. Intone the first few notes of “Amazing Grace” in a crowd of believers, and you’ll soon be part of a glad choir.

How wonderful it is to have such treasures stored in our hearts, for ready access and use. Such classics will not soon go the way of “Kum ba Yah” or countless other already-forgotten praise songs.

The first Christians prayed the psalms as readily as we, when prompted, pray the Lord’s Prayer. They sang them as easily as we do “Amazing Grace.” And they did not forget them or lay them aside as outdated and irrelevant.

Because they weren’t, and aren’t.

This account from Acts 4 is extraordinary because, by this time, thousands of people from all walks of life comprised the Body of Christ in Jerusalem. With but the slightest cue, they “raised their voice to God with one accord,” and prayed from their hearts, two psalms relevant to their immediate situation – excerpts from Psalms 146.6 and 2.1.

They could do this because it’s how they learned to pray. And it’s what they treasured in their hearts.

The same was true of the Celtic Christians. There are accounts of Celtic Christians praying psalms as early as ages 3 and 10. So it doesn’t surprise us when we see the monks in the monastery at Ailbe joining together when prompted by their abbot to recite a psalm in prayer.

Christians throughout the centuries have found in praying and singing the psalms, strength for the daily journey, hope for a brighter tomorrow, and words to help them grow in love for God and their neighbors.

We don’t know how to pray as we should; prayer is a learned skill (Rom. 8.26). What better way to pray, our forebears from just about every age reckoned, than to take up the words God Himself provided, and to emulate our first parents in the faith? God breathed these prayers and songs to us; we breathe them back to Him in prayer and song.

The psalms provide a rich and varied libretto for prayer. They can guide us to heights of praise and thanksgiving we can never reach on our own. They meet us in our deepest, darkest affections, and lead us through to renewed souls and lifted countenances. They show us how to pray for enemies, persecuted believers, and all our daily needs. They lead us to seek the Kingdom in prayer, and cause our hearts to swell with the prospect of that coming glorious realm.

The imagery of the psalms draws us into unseen realms and glory-filled places where our spiritual vision is enlarged and we sense the presence of God more acutely. The poetry of the psalms makes our prayers delightful to express. Singing the psalms fills us with melodies of grace and words of trust which we may draw on at any time of the day or night.

Our texts for today challenge us to take up this discipline, so that we may unite our voices with those of saints from every age. Begin with a psalm you love and know well. Read it slowly, meditating as you read. Let the Spirit prompt and guide you. Follow His leading, as you allow God’s words to form your own. Take your time. Breathe in the psalm, breathe it back in prayer. Soon you’ll be praying the psalms in your own words, and your prayer life will never be the same.

Then move on to the next psalm, and do the same. Make it your goal to pray all the psalms on a regular schedule, and you will find your prayer life greatly enriched, and your time in prayer abundantly more rewarding.

There is power in prayer, that we all know. But there is more power, I’m persuaded, in following the example of Scripture and our Christian forebears by letting the psalms guide us as we pray.

Psalm 95.1, 2, 6 (Tidings: O Zion, Haste, Thy Mission High Fulfilling)
Come, let us sing with joy to God, our Savior!
Let us with joy to Him, our Rock, bow down!
Come now before Him, grateful for His favor;
Let joyful psalms break forth from all around.
  Come, let us worship, kneel to our Lord;
  Worship our Maker: Father, Holy Spirit, Word!

Lord, may it be said of me, as it was said of Colum Cille, “He fixed the psalms.” Set them in my heart, Lord, so that I may pray them faithfully to You. (Dallán Forgaill, “Amra Choluimb Chille”)

The Psalms and More
Would you like to learn more about how Celtic Christians prayed the psalms, lived together in community, took the Gospel to the lost, renewed culture, revived churches, and brought a great awakening to Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and much of Europe? Write to our Prior, John Nunnikhoven, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and ask him to send you a free PDF of my book, The Celtic Revival: A Brief Introduction. Read this, and you’ll understand why this period is so important to us here at The Fellowship of Ailbe.

Visit our bookstore where you can find many resources to help you in learning to pray and sing the psalms. And watch this brief video about our Men at Prayer movement of men seeking the Lord for revival. Encourage every believing man you know to watch this video and to join this growing movement of men who are giving God no rest until He renews His Church for revival and awakening in our day.

And may I encourage you to seek the Lord about becoming a supporter of The Fellowship of Ailbe? It’s easy to give to The Fellowship of Ailbe, and all gifts are, of course, tax-deductible. You can click here to donate online through credit card or PayPal, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Dr., Essex Junction, VT 05452.

T. M. Moore, Principal
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All Psalms for singing from The Ailbe Psalter. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.