I really love this idea of learning how to pray through scripture. I also found that I can get the praying with the Bible book for free on audible as I have a subscription with them! I've printed out your article so I can try and read this properly. Thanks so much for sharing these wonderful ideas!
Psalm 27 is one of my favorite psalms and one I pray through often (especially when I’m wrestling with a difficult season). So appreciated the guided steps on how to pray through scripture. So powerful!
Your’s is the last Substack article for me for today. Tomorrow I must start well before dawn to accompany my 21 year old grandson for his 6th month check-up in the post-kidney transplant Clinic at San Antonio (Texas) Methodist Transplant Hospital. It’s going to be at least a four hour drive between home in Abilene, Texas, and San Antonio, Texas. I must cut myself off at some point, but I’ve enjoyed this being my last for Wednesday.
If you said this and I missed it, then I apologize for being blind. The Psalms are the first hymn book for the Jews and then, obviously for the early Christians. I remember hearing a famous preacher decades ago mention that the Lord wants to hear us sing to Him. He loves our “can’t carry a tune in a bucket” voices, if that is the case. And many Psalms already are hymns today for worship. I believe, too, St. Augustine said that singing was praying twice. (I perhaps should verify that - someone more learned than I said it!) Singing the Psalm might help one a) in getting comfortable with the Psalm, and b) it might limber up one’s faculties to pray with the Psalm, similar to practicing vocal exercises. I love to break out in random songs praising the Lord, thanking Him, loving Him.
For Churches without a Liturgy of daily scripture readings, just randomly pulling a Psalm out of the 150 to pray may end up being more frustrating than beneficial. It is true that the Psalms run the gamut of human emotion, but these are not in any kind of helpful order. As a Catholic, I would feel fairly comfortable praying the Psalms selected for the Daily Mass reading. I am going to assume that the book you mentioned gives some sort of order or guidance on which Psalms for either a certain situation, or gives a good scriptural sermon (we would call it a homily, breaking open the scripture) to assist someone in praying the Psalms.
I don’t personally know these books, but I feel comfortable recommending these:
Deitrich Bonhoffer (who will have a movie out soon!) - Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible
Mike Aquilina, A Joyful Noise: Praying the Psalms with the Early Church
C. S. Lewis - Reflections on the Psalms
John Henry Hanson - Praying in the Depth of the Psalms
Thomas Merton - Praying the Psalms
Yohanna Katanacho - Praying Through the Psalms (by a Palestinian Israeli Christian after completing his Ph.D.)
One can never have too many prayer books, in my humble opinion. Thank you for your instructive and insightful article! Peace 🕊️
Thanks for sharing all that, Suzanne. I'm praying for you and your grandson for your travels and for all to go well with the check-up.
I'm glad you brought up psalm singing. I didn't mention it here, but I've written on it before and will take the topic up again. Thank you for the list of books, too. You included some I hadn't heard of but look forward to exploring now. Blessings to you.
I really love this idea of learning how to pray through scripture. I also found that I can get the praying with the Bible book for free on audible as I have a subscription with them! I've printed out your article so I can try and read this properly. Thanks so much for sharing these wonderful ideas!
Psalm 27 is one of my favorite psalms and one I pray through often (especially when I’m wrestling with a difficult season). So appreciated the guided steps on how to pray through scripture. So powerful!
Your’s is the last Substack article for me for today. Tomorrow I must start well before dawn to accompany my 21 year old grandson for his 6th month check-up in the post-kidney transplant Clinic at San Antonio (Texas) Methodist Transplant Hospital. It’s going to be at least a four hour drive between home in Abilene, Texas, and San Antonio, Texas. I must cut myself off at some point, but I’ve enjoyed this being my last for Wednesday.
If you said this and I missed it, then I apologize for being blind. The Psalms are the first hymn book for the Jews and then, obviously for the early Christians. I remember hearing a famous preacher decades ago mention that the Lord wants to hear us sing to Him. He loves our “can’t carry a tune in a bucket” voices, if that is the case. And many Psalms already are hymns today for worship. I believe, too, St. Augustine said that singing was praying twice. (I perhaps should verify that - someone more learned than I said it!) Singing the Psalm might help one a) in getting comfortable with the Psalm, and b) it might limber up one’s faculties to pray with the Psalm, similar to practicing vocal exercises. I love to break out in random songs praising the Lord, thanking Him, loving Him.
For Churches without a Liturgy of daily scripture readings, just randomly pulling a Psalm out of the 150 to pray may end up being more frustrating than beneficial. It is true that the Psalms run the gamut of human emotion, but these are not in any kind of helpful order. As a Catholic, I would feel fairly comfortable praying the Psalms selected for the Daily Mass reading. I am going to assume that the book you mentioned gives some sort of order or guidance on which Psalms for either a certain situation, or gives a good scriptural sermon (we would call it a homily, breaking open the scripture) to assist someone in praying the Psalms.
I don’t personally know these books, but I feel comfortable recommending these:
Deitrich Bonhoffer (who will have a movie out soon!) - Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible
Mike Aquilina, A Joyful Noise: Praying the Psalms with the Early Church
C. S. Lewis - Reflections on the Psalms
John Henry Hanson - Praying in the Depth of the Psalms
Thomas Merton - Praying the Psalms
Yohanna Katanacho - Praying Through the Psalms (by a Palestinian Israeli Christian after completing his Ph.D.)
One can never have too many prayer books, in my humble opinion. Thank you for your instructive and insightful article! Peace 🕊️
Thanks for sharing all that, Suzanne. I'm praying for you and your grandson for your travels and for all to go well with the check-up.
I'm glad you brought up psalm singing. I didn't mention it here, but I've written on it before and will take the topic up again. Thank you for the list of books, too. You included some I hadn't heard of but look forward to exploring now. Blessings to you.
Thanks so much for all of your book suggestions! 🙏
I almost always pray the Scripture and teach others to do as well. Thank you for this detailed guide. Psalm 27 is my absolute fave.