PRAYERS FROM THE HEART

No other book in the Bible teaches more about prayer and praying than the Book of Psalms.

Firstly, we find in the Psalms prayers for all occasions. There is a prayer to meet every life situation and to express every human emotion. John Calvin called the Psalms “the anatomy of all parts of the soul; for no one will find in himself a single feeling of which the image is not reflected in this mirror”.

Secondly, we find in the Psalms prayers with a refreshing honesty. The Psalmist open their hearts and speak their minds to God. They ask angry questions. They weep for their sins. They cry aloud for justice, they sing for joy. They are not ashamed or afraid of their emotions. Neither should we.

The readings take us through thirty or so psalms. I have selected short, usually one-sentence, prayers to help us in our meditation. We need not make long prayers in order to be heard by God. The saints of old speak of shooting “prayer arrows” to God. These utterances are short, sharp and quick. The important thing is that they are shot from the heart. They will surely reach God’s heart. 

May the prayers of the Psalms teach us to pray from the heart.