Praying with Psalms
Praying Our Tears
Psalm 39:7-13,
7 “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You. 8 Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool! 9 I am mute; I do not open my mouth, for it is You who have done it. 10 Remove Your stroke from me; I am spent by the hostility of Your hand. 11 When You discipline a man with rebukes for sin, You consume like a moth what is dear to him; surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah 12 “Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; hold not Your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with You, a guest, like all my fathers. 13 Look away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more!”
Psalm 126
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. 2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” 3 The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad. 4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negeb! 5 Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! 6 He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
Series Information
During Lent, our midweek messages will focus on Praying the Psalms. To read over the Psalms is to discover that many of them are not about lofty, high doctrine but about how the human heart works. Our message themes will revolve around the guilt, doubt, anger, fear, hostility, rawness, and white heat of the emotions expressed in the Psalms. Each week, and culminating on Good Friday, where Jesus is praying Psalm 22 from the cross, we will take one of these deep feelings, and instead of expressing it or just discussing it, we will see how they pray it.