Reading a psalm and praying the verse that speaks to you
The psalms are the Bible's prayer book: 150 poems that express joy, fear, anger, repentance, wonder. Many believers read them, but few use them as a tool for praying. This quest shows you how.
What it looks like in your day
Choose a short psalm. If you don't know which, start with Psalm 23, 121, 131 or 139. Then, three simple movements:
- Read the whole psalm, slowly. Once, without trying to understand everything.
- Read again, and stop at one verse. The one that jumps out at you, that surprises you, bothers you or comforts you. Don't choose it out of duty: take the one that speaks to you.
- Pray that verse. Say it to God in your own words, in the first person.
An example. You read Psalm 131 and verse 2 touches you: "I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother." You pray: "Lord, I'm not calm at all today. But I would like to be, like that child, just against you. Help me let go of what I can't control."
If you are in a hurry, you can read just a few verses. If you are a beginner, don't be afraid to choose an "obvious" verse: there are no wrong choices. If you are shy in prayer, the psalms were made for you: these are words that others have already said before you, and you can borrow them.
What the Bible says
The psalms are written to be prayed, not just read. Many begin with a cry, and end in trust. Here is a prayer that opens precisely to this kind of reading:
“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”
You can begin your time with this sentence: asking God to open your eyes even before reading. And the prayer that follows concludes the exercise well, because it asks that our words be acceptable:
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”
The psalms also served as prayers for Jesus himself. On the cross, he quotes one (Matthew 27:46), and Paul invites believers to encourage one another "in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" (Ephesians 5:19). Praying the psalms means entering a long chain of prayers.
Pitfalls to avoid
Looking for a "spectacular" verse. There is no failed exercise. Sometimes the verse that speaks to you is very simple: "The Lord is my shepherd." Take the one you can say sincerely today.
Avoiding the difficult psalms. Some psalms express anger, despair, or even harsh requests against enemies. You don't have to make them your own, but they can teach you to speak to God honestly, without a mask.
Reading only one verse without context. Praying a verse doesn't excuse you from reading the whole psalm: the verse takes its meaning from the whole. Always take the time to read the psalm first.
Moving too fast to prayer. If you take the verse and immediately follow with a list of requests, you have used the verse as a pretext. Stay a moment in what it says, then respond to it.
Take a short psalm, a single verse, and say it to God in your own words. That's all.