School of Prayer 34

WEEK 34

psalms this week

"There is complete confidence that God is able and willing to act, presumably moved by the prayer. Characteristically these angry prayers uttered in deep disorientation are not acts of despair. They are acts of hope, for they are convinced that conditions need not and will not and cannot stay this way. There is not resignation, but an active insistence on change."
- Walter Brueggemann on psalms of personal lament

Psalms 100, 101, and 102

introduction to the Series

Most of what we learn how to do, we learn from other people. Sometimes it is the learning that comes from specific and deliberate instruction. At other times it is the learning that comes by way of example and imitation. During 2023, our endeavor is to learn how to pray from the Psalmist.*

The Book of Psalms is the longest book in the Bible, and it is mostly a book of prayers. We will spend the year going through the book, beginning to end, and letting the Psalmist teach us by example how to pray.

In this endeavor, we cannot benefit from his deliberate instruction, of course. What we can do, however, is take full advantage of his example. We will observe how he prays, and we will learn to imitate him.

Our approach will be week by week. The recommended practices and exercises are not daily, but rather suggestions for an individual to implement throughout the whole week.

Exercises for this week

Psalm 100

Read Psalm 100. As you read this brief Psalm of praise, begin by making note of the verbs. List each of the verbs that seem to be addressed to the reader.

Review the list just made. Talk to the Lord about how each individual verb might apply to you.

Verse 1 addresses itself to "all the earth." Who and what does that include? Make a general list. Who or what does it not include? With that sense of the scope of Psalm 100 in mind, then, picture what it would be like for "all the earth" to make a joyful noise to the Lord.

As we have noted before, the Psalms of praise often feature, either implicitly or explicitly, the reasons for praise. Read Psalm 100 with an eye on that theme.

What see to be the Psalmist's reasons for thanking and praising the Lord?
Which of those reasons continue to apply to you in your life and experience?

Verse 1 famously includes a reference to making a joyful noise. The expression is often used in churches as a euphemism for poor singing. It deserves better, of course. Accordingly, think of the times in your life when you have made a joyful noise. What kinds of things elicit joyful noises from you? What does it mean to those around you? To what extent is the Lord the cause and the beneficiary of your joyful noises?

Verse 2 is translated as both "serve the Lord with gladness" and "worship the Lord with gladness." The two English words have different connotations for us. Accordingly:

Write down what it looks like for you to worship the Lord with gladness.
What does such worship mean to Him? What does it mean to you?
Talk to the Lord about the times and ways in which you do or do not worship Him with gladness.
Now write down what it looks like for you to serve the Lord with gladness.
What does such service mean to Him? What does it mean to you?
Talk to the Lord about the times and ways in which you do or do not serve Him with gladness.
Reflect on the implications of the fact that the underlying Hebrew word can be translated as both "serve" and "worship."

What do you understand to be the thrust of the Psalmist's message to the reader in verse 3? After reflecting on the meaning of the verse, rewrite it in your own words.

Verses 2 and 4 suggest the image of a person coming into or entering the presence of the Lord.

How do you do that?
When do you do that?
How does the Psalm recommend that you come into His presence?
How do you typically come into His presence?
Talk to the Lord about the Psalm's recommendation and your own patterns and tendencies.

How is the author of Psalm 100 a role model for you? What do you learn from him about how to pray?

Read verse 5 in several versions. After getting a sense for the meaning and scope of the verse, imagine yourself explaining to someone who does not know either Scripture or the Lord what that verse means, says, and reveals about Him.

Psalm 101

Read Psalm 101. This Psalm is somewhat different from what we have encountered thus far inasmuch as it is primarily an expression of an individual's pledges to the Lord. As you read, watch first for what characterizes (either explicitly or implicitly) the wicked. Make a list of those characteristics.

Reviewing the list just made:

To what extent does the author of Psalm 101 specifically promise to be different than the wicked?
What role, if any, do 'the wicked' plan in your prayer life?
Talk to the Lord about what there is for you to learn from the Psalmist on this point.

The bulk of Psalm 101 is devoted to the Psalmist articulating what he does and does not do (or what he will and will not do). Make two lists:

A list of the things that the Psalmist says that he does do or that he will do.
A list of the things that the Psalmist says that he does not do or will not do.

Reflect on the first list.

What biblical characters exemplify any or all of these things?
What people have you known personally who embody any or all of these things?
What is pleasing to God about each of these things?

Reflect on the second list:

What biblical characters exemplify any or all of those things?
What people have you known personally who embody any or all of those things?
What is pleasing to God about each of these things?

Now evaluate the Psalmist's claims and pledges in terms of areas or parts of life. That is to say, the author seems to be deliberately comprehensive in his commitment to living a life that is pleasing to God. Accordingly, make a list of the different areas of life that the pledges of Psalm 101 covers.

Review in prayer the list just made. To what extent are you faithful in each of those areas of your own life? Where and how is the Psalmist a role model for you?

Read the following passages from elsewhere in Scripture:

Numbers 25:6-15
Deuteronomy 13:6-11
2 Kings 15:32-35
Matthew 18:7-9
1 Corinthians 5:1-13
2 John 1:7-11

Reflect on the above passages in light of Psalm 101. Talk to the Lord about the faith and commitment of the Psalmist in light of those other passages from the Old and New Testaments.

Psalm 101 is primarily an expression of the author's pledges to the Lord. Having reflected carefully on different elements within the Psalm, follow the Psalmist's lead and write your own prayer. Express your commitments about what you will and will not do. Seek to be as comprehensive about all the areas of your life and responsibility as the author of Psalm 101 is.

Psalm 102

Read Psalm 102. This Psalm expresses a deeply emotional plea. Let us begin our consideration of the Psalm by being attentive to what the author of the Psalm is feeling. Read the Psalm one verse at a time, and at the end of each verse, write down a single word that describes your sense of the mood or feeling of the Psalmist at that moment.

Review your list of the feelings and moods from which Psalm 102 comes. Talk to the Lord about those feelings:

When have you felt any of them?
How have you responded?
How have they affected your outlook?
How have they affected your decision-making?
How have they affected your relationship with God?

How a person prays reveals what that person believes about God. Read Psalm 102 with an eye toward the faith of the author. As you read, jot down what he seems to believe about the Lord.

What is exemplary about the Psalmist's faith? What is noteworthy about how he expresses his faith?

We noted at the outset that this Psalm is a highly emotional plea. The Psalmist is beseeching the Lord to do certain things. Make a list of what you gather the Psalmist is asking the Lord to do.

Reflecting on the list just made:

Have you ever asked the Lord for the same thing? What was your experience?
What characters in Scripture did ask (or might have asked) the Lord for the same thing? What was their experience?
To what extent can you say whether what the Psalmist asked for was God's will?

The author of Psalm 102 uses highly picturesque language in order to make his appeal. As you read the Psalm, underline each image that he employs. (For example, in verse 7, he writes, "I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop." The phrase "I lie awake" is a literal statement, while "I am like a lonely sparrow on a housetop" is an image. Both express his condition; our focus just now is to identify the images that the Psalmist uses to illustrate what he prays.)

Now go back to reflect on each image that you have identified.

What is conveyed by the image?
How is the picturesque language more meaningful than mere declarative statements would have been?
To what extent are you in the habit of using imagery or picturesque language to express yourself in prayer?

Finally, in an effort to learn how to pray from the author of Psalm 102:

Make a list of circumstances, needs, or situations that you have brought -- or would like to bring -- to God in prayer.
Next to each item on that list, jot down your feelings associated with that circumstance or need or situation.
Next to each item on your list, jot down what it is that you are asking from the Lord.
For each item on the list, come up with some image or picturesque language to communicate the situation, or how you feel about it, or what you are asking for the Lord to do about it.
Put the pieces together and write your own prayer.

* We will refer to the author as “the Psalmist,” though of course not all of the Psalms were written by the same person. A significant number are attributed to David. Others are associated with Asaph, the sons of Korah, and an assortment of other individuals. Also, several dozen Psalms have no name attached to them. For the sake of ease and uniformity, we will simply refer to “the Psalmist.”