What is Prayer
Today’s Daily Bible Reading is from Psalm 5:1-12. Let’s talk about prayer. First we’ll consider the question, what is prayer? Prayer is a way of communicating with God. Prayer can be something we do individually or as a group such as in church. Different religions use different forms of prayer and some pray to different gods.
As Christians we pray to God, the Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. There are different forms of prayer, such as petitions, supplications, prayers of thanksgiving, and prayers of praise and worship. People may use songs as a means of prayer and worship of God. The Psalmists used songs to express their thanks and praise to God.
People pray for different reasons. Prayer may be a form of worship, asking for guidance or help, confessing your sins, or to express thoughts and feelings about an issue or feelings towards God. Intercessory prayer is when you pray for someone else. Most religions involve prayer in one form or another. Some religions are very ritualistic in how they pray, when, and who is allowed to pray, while others are at liberty with how they pray and with whom they can pray.
As Christians we use prayer more as a way of communicating with God and pray whatever is on our hearts and minds. We don’t limit our times of prayer to only when we’re at church, but believe we can pray anytime and anywhere. We don’t limit prayers only to the leaders of our church, but believe anyone can pray to God. First Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to “Pray without ceasing.” This means we are to always be in a spirit of prayer or to pray continually. Prayer not only consists of spending time talking to God, but includes taking the time to listen to God as well.
As a sample of prayer we are going to look at Psalm 5, which is a Psalm of David. David petitions the LORD to listen to him and to hear his concerns. David acknowledges God as his King. He tells God about his thoughts concerning his enemies and basically turns them over to God asking Him to deal with them. At the end of this Scripture you will notice David says those who love and trust God should rejoice and be joyful, because God protects them and will bless the righteous with favor by shielding them from the enemy.
Daily Bible Reading:
Psalm 5:1-12
1 [[To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth, A Psalm of David.]] Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.
2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.
3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
7 But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
8 Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.
9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.
10 Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.
11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
12 For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
Things to think about:
- What is your prayer life like?
- What are some of the things you include in your prayer?
- In what ways do you thank God for all of His blessings?
- How do you feel about sharing your needs and concerns with God?
- Do you take time to listen to hear if God has anything He wants to share with you?
Prayer of the Day:
Dear Heavenly Father,
We thank You that we can come to You in prayer and You will hear and answer our petitions. We thank You that You love us and we know we can trust You with our lives. We thank You that if we obey You, we know You will bless us and show favor toward us, and watch over and protect us. You are our LORD and we love You. Amen.
Bible Verse to Journal or Memorize:
my prayer unto thee, and will look up. – Psalm 5:3
– Excerpt from The Book of Psalms: Part 1 Chapters 1-30
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Featured Book:
The Book of Psalms: Part 1 Chapters 1-30
by Deborah H. Bateman
About the book:
The Book of Psalms: Part 1 Chapters 1-30 by Deborah H. Bateman is part of the Daily Bible Reading Series. The book of Psalms contains 150 chapters. Deborah divided The Book of Psalms into five books to make it easier to read and study. Each book will contain approximately thirty chapters from the book of Psalms.
Psalm 119 will not be included in The Book of Psalms since Deborah has already published a book about it called: Psalm 119: Thy Word is a Lamp unto My Feet. The book of Psalms is one of Deborah’s favorite books of the Bible. It is a great book to read if you’re ever feeling down or need to renew your relationship with Christ. King David went through a lot of tough times in his lifetime, but he loved God and trusted God to protect him from the enemies.
The book of Psalms was written by various people. About half of it was attributed to King David, whether they were written by David or for David is questioned by some biblical scholars. Some of the Psalms were written by Asaph and some say they were written for the sons of Korah and even Moses and Solomon were writers of the Psalms. The Psalms consists of poetry that was primarily meant to be used as songs of praise to the Lord.
The Book of Psalms Part 1 Chapters 1-30 contains thirty-one Daily Bible Reading Lessons. Each lesson contains a brief commentary by the author, the Daily Bible Reading Scriptures, a few questions for contemplation or discussion, and a prayer of the day. It is a great Bible study for individuals or groups.
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Have a blessed Day,
Deborah
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