During the season of Lent, we should be praying more. Many people are intimidated by prayer because they have never been taught how to pray. Most people know that praying means talking to God, but strangely enough, it is very seldom that people are taught how to do it. Occasionally I’ll learn about a Pastor or Priest who will do a sermon series on prayer, but even then, there is usually very little instruction as to the nuts and bolts of prayer. Usually the approach is to answer the question, “What is prayer?” rather than the fundamentals of how to pray.
Thankfully, the longest book of the Bible is a collection of prayers (along with other things like hymns, and songs of worship) that can help us understand prayer. The psalmist is a model for us.
Historically and traditionally, the book of Psalms functions as both a book of instruction as well as prayer. But in what sense are the psalms at once instruction and prayer? First, the book of Psalms teaches us to how to pray. Psalmist is the one who knows how to pray. The prayer and poems of the psalmist have inspired so many believers through time and space in their own prayers. So many of the saints of the church found consolation in the prayers of the psalmist. Do you wonder how to pray? Look to the book of Psalms. Even if you have trouble finding your own words in prayer, use the words of the psalmist as your own.
One of the powerful attributes of the prayers of the psalmist is that they are deeply personal. In many of the prayers in the psalms, the psalmist lays out his or her crisis before the throne of God and holds nothing back. You’ll notice when reading the psalms that it is a deeply personal exchange between the psalmist and God. Yes, liturgical prayer is good and has its place, but it can never take the place of the deeply personal nature of the dialogue between creature and creator.
Secondly, the Psalms are simultaneously prayers and instruction in the sense that prayer is the place where God counsels us and guides us through navigating the messy circumstances of life. Prayer is not only a way to find consolation, but also means of accessing God’s divine counsel and wisdom to be applied in our own circumstances. Isn’t it a wonderful thing that God welcomes us into his throne room just as we are, in any place, and at any time to ask for advice for the impossible circumstances in life that we all face? God is happy to give us instruction, we need just ask.
Do you need help learning to pray? Look to the psalms. Do you need divine counsel? Look to God in prayer this Lenten season.
