I’m currently working on a Master’s of Arts in Global Leadership, and occasionally, I’ll share some thoughts from what I’m learning.

We hear it all the time “All you have to do is just talk to God.”  But let’s me honest, it’s not that easy.  “Just sit down and have a conversation with someone you don’t see, and who probably won’t respond to you in an audible voice” isn’t helpful advice.

Even Jesus wouldn’t give advice like that.  When he was asked how to pray, he gave his disciples a model.  Another model that Christians and Jews have practiced for millennia is praying the psalms.

Maybe the the problem is that we have trouble putting ourself in the place of the writer and his experience.  We may read a psalm of praise, but not feel like we have something to praise God for.  We may be having a really great day when we come across a psalm of lament.  We may read an imprecatory psalm, but have no true enemies.

The problem is, like so many times in our culture, our individualism.  Praying the psalms won’t work if it’s just about us.  However, the psalms do give us the tools we need to truly pray for others.  Next time you have a friend who is struggling, dedicate sometime to pray through psalm 89, where Ethan, the writer, accuses God of negligence, and asks for help.  Next time you know someone who has something to celebrate, pray through Psalm 95, and rejoice for them.

In this way, we not only have words to say, but a reason to say them.

Related posts:

–Why God Doesn’t Talk To You
–Why God Hasn’t Forgiven You Yet
–What Would Patrick Pray
-My Kind of Woman (Pt.1) and (Pt. 2)