Take a Deep Breath ... Praying Corporate Laments

Praying the Psalms

 

...following SPU's Lectio Guides

November 11 - 17

 

 

First.

Read the assigned Psalms (or plan out a reading schedule for the week)  

• Psalm 79
• Psalm 80
• Psalm 81

Second.

Read or Listen to Dr. Frank Spina's Presentation

• Out of the Depths, Onto the Heights

Third. 

 

Take a Deep Breath...make the words of the Psalm your very own prayer.

Follow this guide for praying Psalms 79-81.

 

__________

Psalms 79-81.  How to Personally Pray Corporate Laments.

These psalms are prayers that God's people say together.  So I'm not going to suggest changing pronouns in order to personalize them.  It's important to develop the ability to make a personal connection with a corporate prayer - you're praying a family prayer as a member of the family.  It's like being able to pray the Lord's Prayer personally, even though the language is about us: "Our Father...give us this day our daily bread...forgive us our sins..." 

In these psalms, God's people feel convicted.  They feel like the bad things going on in their lives are a result of God's judgment of their sins, God's punishment for the wrong they have done.  Their prayer of response amounts to three parts:

 

1. How long will you punish us?
2. Forgive us & help us
3. Restore us & we will follow you

How Long? 
Feeling under judgment, God’s people ask “How long is this going to last?”

• Read Psalm 79:5 & 80:4
• How might your situation in life be a result of God's judgment or punishment for your sins (including natural consequences of wrongdoing)?

Forgive us and Help Us.  Hoping that full forgiveness will end the punishment, God's people ask this specific kind of help. 

• Read Psalm 79:8-10
• Expand your prayer of confession to include asking God to end the punishment for those sins.  As Christians we have powerful grace to claim in Jesus Christ.

 

Restore Us and We Will Follow.  Confident that God has the power to make things right, God's people ask for restoration and commit themselves to faithful living.

• Read Psalm 80:3, 7, 19
• Join the refrain – “Restore us, God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.”  This is a great phrase for a breath prayer.

 

 

Special Prayer Note...

Sometimes Prayer Reveals That We Are Stubborn.

When we bring our problems to God, we often think only of God removing them. But God may want to respond to our prayer by revealing to us that we are causing the problems by our stubbornness - wanting to live life our way and not God's way.

• Read Psalm 81:11-12 “But my people would not listen to me, so I let them have their way"
• How might your difficulties be the result of God allowing you to get your way or do things according to your will?
• Read Psalm 81:8,13 “If you would only listen to me and follow my ways”
• How might God be saying this to you in response to your prayer?

 

Concluding Blessing:

 

May God Almighty restore you and make his face shine on you, along with all God's people, that we all might be saved.

 

Pastor Kurt