PAULSGROVE BAPTIST  CHURCH

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“Teach us to pray” - Learning to pray with Jesus in the psalms

 

I wonder if you pray?

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Have you prayed more, or less, over the past few months?

Have your circumstances caused you to realise that you need God more than ever?

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Are you more certain of who He is, or are you crying out to Him for answers you need – or both?!

 

I wonder, has anyone ever taught you to pray?

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Jesus’ disciples asked him that very question, “Lord, teach us to pray,” (Luke 11:1) and Jesus taught them what we now know as the Lord’s Prayer.

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But the Lord’s Prayer is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of learning to pray. The psalms are probably the most significant place to help us to depend on the Father with the whole of our being. John Calvin called the Psalms “an anatomy of all the parts of the soul.” But, as Christopher Ash says, the psalms don’t just reflect our emotions, they reorder them according to God’s virtues and values, helping us to seek Him and His ways for our lives.

 

Would it surprise you to say that it is Jesus who teaches us to pray from the psalms?

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The psalms are the Jewish hymn book, and Jesus would have regularly sung these songs and prayed these prayers in the synagogue each Sabbath.

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In fact, as we dig into the experiences, cries and praises of the original psalmists – often King David, or linked to him – we can see a prophetic nature to them that points to the greater experiences and deeper prayers and praises of a greater King to come. “The Psalms are ultimately the prayers of Jesus Christ, Son of God. He alone is worthy to pray the ideal vision of a king suffering for righteousness and emerging victorious over the hosts of evil” (Bruce Waltke).

 

However, Jesus is not simply our example for how to pray – he is the only way anyone can come to the Father in prayer: “For through him (Jesus) we both (Jew and gentile) have access to the Father by one Spirit” (Eph 2:18).

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It is through the cross alone that we can have confidence in approaching God’s throne of grace (Heb 4:16).

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And so, our series in prayer, is once again an encouragement to come to the cross – to find in Jesus everything we need for hope, peace, and security. As Augustine said, “When you sing the Psalms, you are actually singing the songs of Jesus, with Jesus as your song leader.”

 

So, let’s journey together, as we pour out our hearts to God, guided by Jesus and growing a deeper trust in the Father by His Spirit.

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