Series: Love This Book
April 26, 2020 | Larry Renoe
We often think prayer is what people do when they are doing their
best. It’s not. We assume there is a particular language we must use for God to take our prayers seriously. There isn’t. We think our prayers
must sound sophisticated or theological so people will know how
spiritual we are. We shouldn’t. We think prayer is saying “Thanks!” or
shouting “Help!” And it is—but it’s also so much more.
Prayer is primal. Prayer is elemental. Prayer is honesty. Prayer is
expression: anger, praise, lament. It is passion and it is apathy. Prayer
is devotion and it is doubt. Prayer is silence and it is screaming. Prayer is raw. Eugene Peterson says prayer “is the means by which we get everything in our lives out in the open before God.” The good and the messy.
The Psalms is a prayer book that captures all of these experiences and
so much more. They provide us with the language of God when words
fail. They are the acknowledgement that to be human is doubt and
lament and to praise. If you are having difficulty praying, pray aloud
the Psalms.
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