Praying the Psalms: Finding Strength & Hope in Your PrayersSample

One way to grow into spiritual maturity is by learning to pray the psalms. The Book of Psalms (or the Psalter) is God's gift to teach us to pray. It is, essentially, a prayer book—a resource to help us speak to God when we have no words and a key to unlock the emotions we don't know how to express to the Almighty. We can easily echo these prayers word for word to God because of the wide range of emotions and situations found within the Psalter, such as joy, thanksgiving, suffering, confusion, doubt, and repentance. Ultimately, the psalms are a place to meet Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Each psalm speaks His name— some with a whisper, others with a mighty shout! So, as we begin to talk to God through repeating the words He has given us, we begin to sound more and more like His Son. Indeed, as we learn the rhythm of prayer from the Psalter, we are transformed into the image of Christ. Today we will be reading Psalm 44, a poem about remembering redemption in current times of despair. The psalmist begins by describing a time when God provided protection to His people, casting out other nations and redeeming the land because of God's favor. In the middle section of this psalm, however, the psalmist paints a different picture of the current situation. The psalmist describes how his people are suffering oppression and persecution. He uses a metaphor to express the severity of the situation: he and his people are like sheep being sent to slaughter (vv. 9-11). The surrounding nations reproach them, and as a result, the psalmist and his people languish in the land of jackals and are enveloped in a shadow of death. Unlike much of Israel's history of suffering in the Old Testament, this episode is not due to their wickedness or failure to uphold the covenant. Rather, their suffering is a natural progression of their dedication to God. Jesus echoed this by saying the world would hate His disciples (John 17:14). And yet—He calls us to love others, even those who seem to send us to slaughter (John 17:20-23). As you pray through this psalm, ask God to protect you from hardship as you seek to follow Him in a broken world. And when you face hardship, ask God to help you withstand that suffering, to redeem you in the midst of your trials.