I’ve been struggling with my prayers of late. I don’t think I’m having a crisis of faith. I mean, I still believe that God is good, faithful, loves me unconditionally and has a good plan for my life. And I believe that God is sovereign over all and desires our world to be healed and reconciled. I think my issue is reconciling these truths with the madness we see all round us.

It’s hard to know how to pray when worldwide, hospitals are filled with dying people and our nation is fraying at the edges. And that’s just us. We have such a small view of things. What about suffering happening in Ghana or Romania or the Philippines right now? In the avalanche of anguish that was 2020 and will continue into 2021, what more can be said than, “Lord, have mercy!”? My prayers feel flimsy and inadequate.

Years ago, Pam did a Beth Moore Bible study entitled, “Praying God’s Word” and gave the book to me. Frankly, I have little specific memory of the individual concepts of the book, but the larger principle has stuck- when words fail us, we can always take God’s words and make them our own. By taking the very word of God and praying it back to our heavenly Father, we can know that our words are “powerful and effective” (James 5:16) and “according to his will” (1 John 5:14).

So, in times like this, when words fail me and I don’t know how or what to pray, I look to the Bible to provide guidance, comfort and substance to my prayers. More often than not, I land in the Psalms. The Psalms are the ancient song book of Israel and provide rich guidance for a struggling pray-er. David models for us how to pour out our heart in most any situation, good or bad. As a guy, I frequently have difficulty accessing or even identifying my emotions. Not David! Anger, disillusionment, sorrow, bitterness, resentment, along with joy, hope, confidence and gratitude; all of these and more are found in David’s prayers. Check out a few of these prayers:

You are a righteous God and judge our thoughts and desires. Stop the wickedness of evildoers and reward those who are good. Psalm 7:9

How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?
Psalm 13:1

Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel. Psalm 71:4

and

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 34:1

I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Psalm 145:1-2

“For the LORD is good; His loving kindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.” Psalm 100:5

Can you identify with any of those prayers? Now, that’s no weak-kneed and generic “Lord, bless the missionaries” or “Thank you for this day”!

So, if, like me, words fail you, circumstances seem overwhelming or your prayers seem unfocused and thin… pick up your Bible, grab a cup of coffee and flip open to the Psalms. Find one that parallels your own specific situation or mood and pour out your heart with a thoroughly Biblical prayer. God’s people have been doing it for thousands of year.

A few resources: