Today’s reading is Psalm 79.
Sometimes we have to say the obvious. On the surface, it may seem tedious. However, I’ve discovered if we don’t say the obvious things out loud every so often, we actually forget how obvious they are. In fact, we can lose sight of them entirely. And today’s lesson may seem obvious as we are now in our second year going through the Psalms. After all, most of these poems are ancient prayers. This week’s certainly is.
However, this week’s psalm/prayer actually gives a second level of insight into learning from ancient prayers. In Psalm 79:10, the psalmist prays:
Why should the nations say,
‘Where is their God?’
Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants
be known among the nations before our eyes! (ESV)
Where do you think the psalmist got the idea to bring this up in prayer? I don’t think the psalmist just pulled this out of thin air. Rather, it’s a simplified version of what Moses prayed twice. In Exodus 32:11-13, when he interceded for Israel regarding the golden calf, and in Numbers 14:13-19, when he interceded for Israel regarding their failure to go into the Promised Land, he essentially prayed these prayers. His expression was a little more elaborate. But in essence, he asked God to avoid destroying Israel because of how Egypt and the Canaanite nations would revile Yahweh.
Our psalmist has learned from ancient prayers how to pray. There is no better way for us to learn how to pray than to get in Scripture and immerse ourselves in Bible prayers. Use their phrases, their images, their motivations, their praises, their petitions, their concerns, their approaches, their attitudes.
I know why we tell people prayer is easy. I know why we tell them things like, “Just say whatever comes to mind” or “whatever is in your heart.” We don’t want to scare them off from prayer. I don’t want to do that either. But, friends, prayer is work. And we should work at prayer. Let’s not shy away from this. After all, are the most worthwhile things in life easy or do they take effort and work? The best way to work at prayer is to learn from these ancient, biblical prayers.
Of course, that means you need to keep coming back as we keep going through the Psalms, learning from these ancient prayers. Thanks for sticking with us this far.
Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 79.
PODCAST!!!
PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family
How does Psalm 79 prompt or improve your trust in God?
Read the Bible 