Praying Through Psalms

The book of Psalms is about heart, passion, reality, love, life. Psalms takes a relationship with God and puts it into words. The writers faced all the ups and downs of being a follower of God in an unforgiving, sometimes brutal world. Psalms stands unique by being the largest single book of the Bible (150 chapters), having the longest chapter (Psalm 119), the shortest chapter (117), having the most authors of any single book of the Bible (nearly seven though many are anonymous) and being the precise center of the Bible. And Psalms should be the center of the Bible because it goes to the center of what it means to live as a follower of God - the pain, the struggles, but also the joy and security. It's the perfect book to pray through. PRAYING THROUGH THE BIBLE SERIESWhat is God's word? Simply put, it is the word of God spoken to people long ago who transcribed that information into writing. That writing was meticulously passed down for thousands of years to speak to us today. How did God speak to people in Bible times? -Audibly - God spoke directly to people who heard him with their ears or in their heart.-Through situations - God spoke through the actions and events of this world.-Through people - God spoke through leaders, kings and prophets who proclaimed God's purpose.-Through prophecy - God spoke about future events, then those events happened.-Scripture - God spoke through his written word when people read those words later.-Prayer - God spoke through the prayers of people. PRAYING THROUGH THE BIBLE SERIES recognizes the power of God speaking to mankind through His Scriptures. God's word was not only meant to be read, but applied. We must apply ourselves to these passages and adjust our lives to God's will. Today, God uses many ways to speak to us. This book incorporates those avenues of communication to ensure that God will speak to you during your quiet time with Him. Each section asks the reader to do six things.1. Read the passage. Open up the Bible and read His Word.2. Memorize the passage. A certain verse is given special focus. Commit it to memory. Remember it all day.3. Understand the passage. Background information (Time, Characters, Place, What's Happening) help you to understand the context of the section you are reading.4. Read the prayer. Read the written prayer as if it is from your heart. Don't recite them as words from a page, but a plea from your soul.5. Keep praying. Prayer prompts are there to help you continue praying about other specific areas. Listen to the Holy Spirit and see if there is more you need to pray.6. Journal your thoughts. In the space provided, write down some thoughts that you feel God said to your during this time. Every five sections I've included a "Prayer Thoughts" page to give you more room to journal your thoughts and write down prayer requests as you go through the Bible. Get ready to spend some quality time with God. Get ready for God to speak to you through His Word.