The Promise of Prayer (5)

So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven 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,
And the people plot vain things?
The kings of the earth took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the Lord and against His Christ.’” Acts 4.24-26

How do you find the words?
If ever a congregation needed urgent help in prayer, it was this one.

Once the power of the Holy Spirit was unleashed among the followers of Christ, the Kingdom of God began to come with great power, on earth as it is in heaven. Thousands believed. Many were healed. Suddenly people began loving their neighbors as themselves, and sharing freely with one another, to meet whatever needs they could. House by house, neighborhood by neighborhood, the teaching of Christ was spreading, taking root, and beginning to turn the world rightside-up.

But not everyone was pleased with these developments, and it didn’t take the enemies of the Lord longer before they moved to stifle the witness for Christ and squelch the growing Christian movement.

Peter and John had healed a lame man, following that with a sermon that saw yet more thousands come to faith in Jesus. Dragged before the religious authorities, they were strictly warned that they must no longer preach or teach in the name of Jesus. And it was made clear to them that failure to comply would bring serious repercussions.

A wave of anxiety must have swept over the Christian community when they learned that Peter and John had been detained. That anxiety surely swelled when, upon their release, the apostles related to the people the judgment and warnings of the religious leaders of Jerusalem.

What should they do? Was this to be the end of their new lives in Christ? How could they be silent about this One Who was making all things new in their lives?

Upon hearing the apostles’ report, the people seemed to fall as one united Body into an attitude of prayer. But what would they pray? What words could express what they were feeling, and what they were up against at that moment?

Look to the Psalms
We don’t know exactly how this happened, but let me suggest a possibility. Imagine you are at a large meeting of believers, gathered together to hear some somber or even threatening news. The room falls silent upon hearing the report, with only whisperings and fearful mutterings echoing here and there.

Then suddenly, from somewhere in the back, a single voice begins, “Amazing grace! How sweet the sound!” What do you do? What does everyone in that room do? They take up the song with confidence, and sing those familiar words together as their plea and witness to the Lord.

And this, I’m sure, is what must have happened amid the anxiousness and uncertainty of that throng of believers in Jerusalem. Someone began to pray aloud Psalm 146.6: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them…” Then, quickly moving from there to Psalm 2, the prayer continued, and all who were present in that assembly joined their voices together, using the words supplied by God Himself, to bring their earnest longings before the Lord. These people fell into praying the psalms together because they had learned to pray them for all their lives.

Praying the psalms
God has provided us with inspired scripts to guide us in our prayers. When words fail us in prayer – and they will fail us often – we have God’s own Word to guide us, just as it guided those believers in Jerusalem in their time of need. The Psalms offer us words to guide our praise and thanks, words to express our fears and failures, words to enlarge the scope of our prayers, enrich the power of them, and rest the hope of them in the mighty and saving works of God.

For centuries, Christians have found in the psalms, words, feelings, and promises to assist them in their prayers. We are not wise to think that neglecting words provided by God Himself could be a route to help us improve our prayers. God has written the scripts; let us take them up with relish.

By learning to pray the psalms, and praying through them faithfully, we will discover a breadth, depth, and level of confidence in our prayers that we cannot otherwise achieve. Start with a few familiar and beloved psalms. Pray them as they are written, then in your own words. Linger over them in silence, waiting for the Lord to reply. Add more psalms as you are able, until you are using all the words of God to assist you in your prayers as you seek mercy and grace to help you in your time of need.

For reflection
1.  Which psalm would you start with in order to begin using the psalms in your prayers? Why this one?

2.  Why does it make sense to use words God Himself has provided for us as we come before Him in prayer?

3.  What kind of adjustments do you expect you’ll have to make as you begin trying to pray the psalms as your own prayers?

Next steps – Preparation: Choose one psalm, and pray it over the next several days. Don’t rush. Pray the words of the psalm as it is written. Then, let the Lord’s words suggest a direction for your prayers, just as the believers in Acts 4 did. Come back to the psalm in your prayer, wait on the Spirit, and follow as He leads you in praying through the rest of the psalm.

T. M. Moore

Improve your prayer life. Order a copy of The Poetry of Prayer from our online store, and work through a series of exercises designed to help you make real progress in prayer. Download this week’s study in “The Promise of Prayer” as a free PDF by clicking here.

Prayer can also be greatly enhanced by singing. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, in our Crosfigell devotional letter, we provide a section of one of the psalms which you can sing to a familiar hymn tune. Subscribe to Crosfigell today by going to the website and clicking the pop-up to change your subscription status.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.