Praying with the Psalms
By Emily Woodard, WM Spiritual Life Chair
t has been my practice over the last few years to try to connect the annual Prayer Emphasis article for the ARP Women’s Ministries with the upcom- ing Bible study that many of the women will participate in over the com- ing year (for some, it is already underway!). With the 2026 study landing in the this year. The Psalms have long been a place where Christians have found help with prayer, whether for praise or thanksgiving, in suffering or seasons of de- spair, expressing joyful remembrance or lament. And indeed, one of the reasons the Psalms are so often turned to and so well-loved is that they contain such variety within them.
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But it is not just the fact of diversity among the Psalms that has attracted be- lievers over the millenia, it is rather that in the variation the whole wide range of - mentary on the book of Psalms, that he has “been accustomed to call [the] book ‘An Anatomy of all the Parts of the Soul,’ for there is not an emotion of which any one can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror.” With his description, Calvin highlights an aspect of the book of Psalms that both endears it to believers, and functions to help us in the discipline of prayer. For while
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much of our attention in the area of prayer is taken up with the consid- eration of the content of our prayers (e.g., adoration, confession, thanks- giving, and supplication), perhaps it is also good to be reminded that the emotional context from which our prayers arise is not uniform or consis- tent. In other words, the Psalms teach us not only that we can pray about anything, but also that we can pray in any and every state of our heart. Indeed, Athanasius writes, “I believe glorious than these Psalms; for they embrace the whole life of man, the af- fections of his mind, and the motions of his soul. To praise and glorify God, he can select a psalm suited to every were written for him.” We can therefore praise God that in addition to interceding for us, an- other way the Spirit helps us in our weakness related to prayer (Romans 8:26) is the provision of the book of Psalms (2 Peter 1:21). Whether we’re crawling the low roads of suffer- ing and feelings of abandonment, how wonderful to know that David, Asaph, or one of the other psalmists have not only been there before, but have left directions marking the way to approach God from every point in our journey.
Consider Psalm 8. When you sit in awe of the beauty of creation or feel overwhelmed by God’s greatness, you can use David’s words: “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Ps. 8:1) This psalm can guide our feelings of wonder into a prayer of adoration, putting into words not only praise for the Creator, but also a meditation upon God’s special care for humanity.
The Associate Reformed Presbyterian
Women’s Ministries
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