Praying with Others that Pray, Even if All You have is Their Notes
A Psalm of David.
[1] The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” [2] The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! [3] Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. [4] The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” [5] The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. [6] He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. [7] He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head.Psalm 110 ESV
If you don’t know how to skate very well, it takes a lot of guts to spend time with people that do skate well. The trick is, spending time with the skaters that are awesome is the only way to get better at skating yourself. There are a lot of things like that, and praying is one of them.
The great thing about praying, though, is that while we tend to look at the elegant words or the passion someone has when they pray, God looks at our hearts. We might not realize it, but the people that pray great prayers are also more filled with compassion and patience for those of us that aren’t eloquent. In that case, it’s not like skating. Nobody is going to call you a posier unless you are fake.
Which brings us to the Psalms. The Psalms are unlike any other book of the Bible because we get a raw look into the prayer life of real people. Real people that have their stories elsewhere in the Bible. Reading through psalms, even better praying through some Psalms, brings you into community with David, Solomon, the people of ancient Israel, and more.
Read through Psalm 110 again. Find the Psalms and mark them in your Bible or grab a Gideon Bible and take a look at how God’s people have prayed. It will grow you, it will show off Christ in you, and it will grow the praying people around you.