Building a Life of Prayer

Psalm 27 is a beautiful psalm of trust in the Lord and prayer to the Lord. It contains three emphases that can guide us in our own prayer life.

Psalm 25 is a psalm that deals with the subject of guidance. It teaches us that we need to remember that God gives guidance to those who are humble.  When we have hardship in life, we can get guidance from God, but we need to remain humble. 

Psalm 23 is perhaps the best-known psalm. How can it help us to pray? One way is to personalize the words and then pray them. 

Psalm 22 is a messianic psalm written by King David. It begins with a complaint but quickly moves to expressions of trust in God. Verses 14-18 point to the crucifixion of the Messiah, Jesus. Jesus prayed verse 1 from the cross. 

Psalm 19 is a beautiful teaching psalm. Verses 1-6 teach us that creation reveals the greatness of God. Verses 7-11 teach us that God is revealed in Scripture. In the final verses, there is a prayer in response to those two teachings. 

Psalm 18 extols the greatness of God. It teaches us that we can pray with confidence and gratitude despite the adversity we face because God rules over everything.

Psalm 17 is "a prayer of David." King David was a great warrior, but he put his trust in God, not his own capabilities, to defeat his enemies. The Psalm concludes with a look to eternity which is a good reminder for us that because of our faith in Jesus Christ, we too can look to eternity when we face adversity in this life.

In verse 8 of Psalm 16, King David states, "I have set the Lord always before me." What David is saying is that regardless of what he is facing in life, he is going to look to the Lord for help.

Learning the Psalms can be a helpful way to learn how to pray. In Psalm 13, King David asks 4 times, "How long?" He moves from feeling forgotten by God to seeking God and having confidence in God's steadfast love. 

Psalm 9 includes both prayer and teaching. It teaches us that we should trust God in our times of distress. It also speaks of the Lord's ultimate victory over the nations. 

Psalm 8 is a beautiful psalm of praise to God for his greatness. Magnifying the Lord for his greatness is always a good way to start prayer. Verse 2 is quoted in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew. When we praise the Lord, God can silence the attacks of the enemy. 

Psalm 7 is a song that consists of prayer, teaching, and warning. God's wrath is a reality. However, for those who have received Jesus as Savior and Lord, God has not destined them for wrath. 

Psalm 6 is a prayer of lament—an expression of grief or sorrow. Towards the end of the prayer, David expresses confidence in the Lord. When we are in the midst of hardships in life it is OK to lament however, we should always trust in God's steadfast love.

King David prays a particularly helpful prayer for us to learn in Psalm 5:8—"Lead me O LORD in your righteousness, because of my enemies make your way straight before me." When facing adversity it is a good prayer to pray. 

Psalm 4 verse 3 has a wonderful truth—"Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself." This is a lovely picture of how God intends a close relationship with those he has redeemed and set apart for himself. 

The book of Psalms has been referred to as the prayer book of the Bible.  It gives us a vocabulary for prayer. King David's prayer in Psalm 3 is an example of praying with confidence in the midst of a crisis. 

The prophet Malachi writes about the coming of the "Day of the Lord." This refers to the time of Jesus Christ's return, the Second Coming. How should we be praying in light of Jesus' return?

Malachi's prophecy teaches us how not to approach God in prayer and worship. He rebukes the Israelites for coming to God with the worst that they had to offer and for having a lack of true instruction coming from the priests. They also oppressed the poor and needy and did not give proper tithes. 

In Zechariah, there is a call for people to return to the Lord and to look to God, not to idols, for provision. Our salvation comes from the Lord and our power to walk with the Lord comes from the Holy Spirit.

One of the lessons we learn from the prophet Zechariah is that it is possible for people to go through religious motions without really "returning" to the Lord. True humility, repentance, and sincere seeking of the Lord are necessary for us to pray prayers to which God responds.

The prophet Zephaniah predicted that judgment would come upon Judah. He also called for the humble in the land to seek the Lord. The book ends with praise. The message for us is that as people who live in a time and nation in which God's righteous judgment is deserved, we are called to be people of humility who seek the Lord.

The prophet Habakkuk prays with reverence for the Lord, for God to revive his good work for God's people, and for God's mercy. He concludes his prayer with beautiful words that look to the future glory for those who place their faith in Jesus.

The prophet Habakkuk's prayer for understanding was answered in a way that he could not have fully understood at that time because the answer points us to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus has provided deliverance from the judgment that we all deserve. 

The prayer of Micah teaches us how to approach God properly as people who do justice, love kindness and mercy, and walk humbly with God. We do not always live like this. However, God, by sending his Son Jesus to die for us, provides pardon for our sins.

The prophet Micah accused the leaders of Israel of being confident of their position in the Lord while they were actually doing ungodly things. We must not be like the rulers and prophets of Micah's day who prayed and got no answer because their prayers were presumptuous.