Praying the Psalms

PRAYING THE PSALMS SUPPORTING A FELLOW BELIEVER IN PRAYER

This has been prepared for two people. It enables one person to have a specific time in prayer while the other person supports them. This person is the facilitator.

Preparation for facilitator

The facilitator’s role is to prepare material for this time of prayer, support the pray-er during the prayer time and attend to practical arrangements, such as choosing a venue and providing refreshments. The facilitator chooses a selection of Psalms or other readings for the pray-er. Suggestions of suitable passages are given below.

The facilitator should choose the venue in consultation with the pray-er. It could be a beach, a walking trail, a botanical garden, a mountain top or other places where the natural atmosphere can help create a sacred space.

The time available should be divided into blocks of one hour. For each hour it is suggested that there is 30 minutes for the pray-er to read and pray the Psalm, 10 minutes to share some thoughts about the prayer, and the remaining time to eat, drink, relax and enjoy the environment together.

The selection of Scripture should be done with the needs of the pray-er in mind. Three to six Psalms should be sufficient, depending on the number of hours being allocated for prayer. The facilitator could encourage the pray-er to select a phrase or verse from each reading that is significant. This can be useful to reflect upon in the coming weeks.

They may also together or separately take photographs, or make a collection of things they find along the way. These can then be used by the pray-er as a follow up to the experience, to prepare a photographic collage that may help to recall this time of prayer.

Instead of the Psalms, there are many prayers in the Bible that could be used for such a similar spiritual exercise.

Suggested Psalms

Seeking guidance: Psalm 5:1-8, Psalm 15:1-5, Psalm 86:1-17, Psalm 121:1-8

Personal tragedy or difficulty: Psalm 3:1-8, Psalm 13:1-6, Psalm 56:1-13, Psalm 86:1-17, Psalm 141:1-10

Thankfulness: Psalm 8:1-9, Psalm 24:1-10, Psalm 63:1-11, Psalm 138:1-8, Psalm 145:1-21