Introduction
Mark Thibodeaux suggests there are four kinds of prayer.[1] He illustrates each kind through a story about himself and his Aunt Sally.
First, there is “Talking at God.” When Thibodeaux was four years old, his Aunt Sally came to visit. Tongue tied, Thibodeaux didn’t know what to say to her. His mother said, “Say ‘Hello Aunt Sally.’”; “Tell Aunt Sally how old you are.”; “Say, ‘I’m four years old.’” Thibodeaux’s mother gave him the words to say. Some prayer is like this. We invite someone else to give us the words we need to speak to God. We use someone else’s prayer for our own prayer. This is similar to our use of pre-written wedding vows or popular love songs—we use someone else’s words to say what we want to say but aren’t sure how to say. Thibodeaux calls these “ready-made prayers.”
Second, there is “Talking to God.” When Thibodeaux was elementary aged, his Aunt Sally came for another visit. Thibodeaux told her all about a picture he had just finished drawing. This time, he didn’t need prompting from Mom. He just spontaneously spoke whatever came to mind. Some prayer is like this. It is spontaneous. We tell God whatever comes to mind. This is the most common kind of prayer.
Third, there is “Listening to God.” When Thibodeaux was thirteen years old, Aunt Sally moved in with his family. She was too old to continue living by herself. On many occasions Thibodeaux would just listen as Aunt Sally told him stories about her life. Some prayer is like this. We sit in solitude and strive to listen as God speaks.
Finally, there is “Being with God.” When Thibodeaux was in college, Aunty Sally was old and frail. He spent long periods with her in silence, neither one speaking, but both enjoying just being with one another. Some prayer is like this. The focus is not on speaking or listening but on simply being with God and resting in his presence.
Thibodeaux believes many of us only experience only one of these four kinds of prayer: “Talking to God.” To grow in prayer he urges us to experience the other kinds of prayer. Prayer as “Being with God” and as “Listening to God” require learning some additional prayer-skills. But prayer as “Talking at God” is something many of us can do immediately without learning any additional prayer-skills. Through the use of ready-made prayers we can allow the words of others to help us grow in prayer.
One particular form of ready-made prayers is praying Scripture. Adele Calhoun writes that “In the early centuries of the church, believers were taught to pray the Scriptures. Since the Bible is divinely inspired, they believed that praying Scripture deeply connected them to the mind and heart of God. Furthermore, as Scripture was repeatedly prayed, it became memorized. This was a wonderful benefit for those who were illiterate. It also meant that memorized Scripture could lead them to pray at any hour of the day or night.”[2]
Praying Scripture, however, is not as common in the contemporary church as it was in the ancient church. Yet it remains a powerful way of praying. It can lead us to pray in ways we’ve never before prayed. This experience may be just what we need to bring freshness and newness back into our spiritual lives.
There are at least five parts of Scripture we might consider utilizing as in our prayers.
Praying the Psalms
The Psalms are the original ready-made prayers. They are prayers and songs written by others and used in prayer and worship by the people of God around the world. The Psalms fall into three kinds: Orientation, Disorientation and Reorientation. [3]
In psalms of orientation God is viewed as trustworthy and reliable. Life is happy and the one praying is grateful for the stability and predictability of life. These psalms provide opportunities to pray about some of the most basic things of life which are responsible for the pleasantness of life. Examples include Ps. 19, 104, and 119.
Like psalms of orientation, psalms of reorientation are also prayers of praise and thanksgiving. But rather than focus on the basic stability and dependability of the life which God has created, reorientation prayers rejoice for some recent way in which God has delivered the author from despair or danger. They offer praise at its highest and loudest. Examples include Ps. 16, 23, 100, and 150.
But psalms of disorientation stand in stark contrast to the other two. These are prayers gasped and groaned when life is at its worst. In them, God does not seem dependable or desirable. Those who are praying lament their situation in life and beg God for a change in their circumstances. These are the most disturbing prayers in the Old Testament. They include Ps. 13, 51, and 69.
I’ve found it helpful to reclassify these Old Testament prayers as prayers of the plain (orientation), prayers of the peak (reorientation), and prayers of the pit (disorientation).
- Prayers of the plain are those psalms in which life is ordinary and routine and we thank God for the basic things of life that make life so good.
- Prayers of the peak are those psalms in which life is unusually good and we thank God for a specific way in which he has been active in our lives.
- But prayers of the pit are those psalms in which life is hard and horrible and we give voice to our harshest feelings. They are the prayers which are colored primarily by challenge and suffering in life.
Each kind of Psalm stretches us to go beyond what we normally experience in prayer.
- They stretch us to pray about issues we may generally overlook, as in Orientation Psalms/Plain Psalms which prompt us to pray thankfully for the creation and for the Scriptures—things we tend to take for granted.
- They stretch us to grieve in ways we may have never done before in prayer, as in Disorientation Psalms/Pit Psalms which lead us to lament in bold ways.
- They stretch us to praise in ways we may have never done before in prayer, as in Reorientation Psalms/Peak Psalms which lead us to use language of praise and rejoicing that we may not be used to in our prayers.
One way to refresh your prayer life is to pray at least one Psalm each day. You can pray many of them verbatim. Others will require some word changes. I’ve rewritten all 150 Psalms in my own words in a series of prayer on my website (www.chrisaltrock.com). You might find those helpful to pray through as well. Below is a list of the Psalms, their general characterization (O = Orientation; D = Disorientation; R = Reorientation), and their specific focus. Use this to guide you as you pray at least one Psalm each day.
1 O Word
2 D Complaint–I (Royal)
3 D Imprecatory
4 D Complaint-I
5 D Imprecatory
6 D Confession
7 D Imprecatory
8 O Creation
9 D Complaint-I
10 D Imprecatory
11 R Thanksgiving-Confidence-I
12 D Imprecatory
13 D Complaint-I
14 O Wisdom
15 O Word
16 R Thanksgiving-Confidence-I
17 D Imprecatory
18 R Thanksgiving-I
19 O Word
20 R Praise-Royal
21 R Praise-Royal
22 D Complaint-I
23 R Thanksgiving-I
24 O Word
25 D Complaint-I
26 D Complaint-I
27 R Thanksgiving-Confidence-I
28 D Imprecatory
29 R Praise-Royal
30 R Thanksgiving-I
31 D Complaint-I
32 D Confess
33 O Creation
34 R Thanksgiving-I
35 D Imprecatory
36 D Complaint-I
37 O Wisdom
38 D Confess
39 D Complaint-I
40 D Complaint-I
41 D Complaint-I
42 D Complaint-I
43 D Complaint-I
44 D Complaint-We
45 R Praise-Royal
46 R Thanksgiving-Confidence-We
47 R Praise-Royal
48 R Zion
49 O Wisdom
50 D Complaint-I (God)
51 D Confess
52 D Complaint-I
53 D Complaint-I
54 D Imprecatory
55 D Imprecatory
56 D Complaint-I
57 D Complaint-I
58 D Imprecatory
59 D Imprecatory
60 D Complaint-We
61 D Complaint-I
62 R Thanksgiving-Confidence-I
63 R Thanksgiving-Confidence-I
64 D Complaint-I
65 R Thanksgiving-We
66 R Thanksgiving-We
67 R Thanksgiving-We
68 R Praise-Hymn
69 D Imprecatory
70 D Complaint-I
71 D Complaint-I
72 R Praise-Royal
73 D Complaint-I
74 D Imprecatory
75 R Thanksgiving-We
76 R Zion
77 D Complaint-I
78 O History
79 D Imprecatory
80 D Complaint-We
81 D Complaint-I (God)
82 D Imprecatory
83 D Imprecatory
84 R Zion
85 D Complaint-We
86 D Complaint-I
87 R Zion
88 D Complaint-I
89 D Complaint-I (Royal)
90 D Complaint-We
91 R Thanksgiving-Confidence-I
92 R Thanksgiving-I
93 R Praise-Royal
94 D Imprecatory
95 R Praise-Royal
96 R Praise-Royal
97 R Praise-Royal
98 R Praise-Royal
99 R Praise-Royal
100 R Praise-Hymn
101 R Praise-Royal
102 D Confess
103 R Praise-Hymn
104 O Creation
150 R Praise-Hymn
105 O History
106 O History
107 R Thanksgiving-We
108 D Complaint-We
109 D Imprecatory
110 R Praise-Royal
111 R Praise-Hymn
112 O Wisdom
113 R Praise-Hymn
114 R Praise-Royal
115 R Thanksgiving-Confidence-We
116 R Thanksgiving-I
117 R Praise-Hymn
118 R Thanksgiving-I
119 O Word
120 D Complaint-I
121 R Thanksgiving-Confidence-I
122 R Zion
123 D Complaint-We
124 R Thanksgiving-We
125 R Thanksgiving-Confidence-We
126 D Complaint-We
127 O Wisdom
128 O Wisdom
129 D Imprecatory
130 D Confess
131 R Thanksgiving-I
132 R Praise-Royal
133 O Wisdom
134 R Praise-Hymn
135 O History
136 O History
137 D Imprecatory
138 R Thanksgiving-I
139 D Complaint-I
140 D Imprecatory
141 D Complaint-I
142 D Complaint-I
143 D Confess
144 R Praise-Royal
145 O Creation
146 R Praise-Hymn
147 R Praise-Hymn
148 R Praise-Hymn
149 R Praise-Hymn
150 R Praise-Hymn
Praying the Prayers of Jesus
Of the twenty-nine references in the Gospels to the prayer-life and prayer-words of Jesus, approximately nineteen of these are general in nature. They simply tell us that Jesus prayed. They do not describe in detail what Jesus prayed. Yet there are at least ten occasions on which the Gospel authors record the actual words Jesus spoke in prayer. Without a doubt these must be the most important prayers in Scripture.
You can refresh your prayer life by praying one or more of these prayers each day:
- 21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.” (Luke 10:21 ESV) (Matt. 11:25-26)
- And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” (John 11:41-43 ESV).
- 23And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. 27″Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” (John 12:23-29 ESV).
- 1When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. 6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. 20“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:1-26 ESV).
- 36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. 45Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” (Matt. 26:36-46 ESV) (Luke 22:39-46; Mk. 14:32-42)
- 32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Lk. 23:32-34 ESV).
- 33And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” 36And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. (Mk. 15:33-37 ESV) (Matt. 27:45-50)
- 28After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said ( to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. (Jn. 19:28-29 ESV).
- 44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. (Lk. 23:44-46 ESV).
- 30When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (Jn. 19:30 ESV).
Praying the Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount contains some of the most powerful and challenging teaching ever to come from the lips of Jesus. It is the ultimate picture of what life could look like if God’s kingdom came on earth as in heaven. Below, I’ve taken the major thoughts of the Sermon on the Mount and turned them into prayers.
One way to refresh your prayer life is to pray part or all of these prayers each day:
- Enable me, God, to be poor in spirit, mournful, meek, and hungry for righteousness.
- Empower me, Jesus, to be merciful, pure, peaceful, and willing to suffer for what is right.
- Energize me, Spirit, that I might do the good deeds that act as salt and light.
- Father, in my relationship with others make me the one who does not harbor anger but seeks reconciliation, pays any price to think and act without lust, does not divorce but is faithful, does not deceive but lets my ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and does not respond to evil with violence but with love.
- Son, in my relationship with you assist me that I might give to the poor, pray, and fast for your sake and not mine; and that I might pray for your kingdom to come instead of for my will to be done.
- Counselor, in my relationship with money help me to not be miserly and serve money but to be generous and serve God; help me not worry but trust in the caring provision and kingdom purpose of God.
- May I pursue the strengthening of my own weaknesses rather than pointing out the weaknesses of others.
- May I trust in a God who knows how to give good gifts.
- May I do to others what I would have them do to me.
- Let my path not be the crowded one but the little-traveled one.
- Let me not listen to others because of the fruit on their resumes but because of the fruit in their character.
- Let me not aspire to the claim of sensational spirituality but to the claim of simple obedience.
- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, transform me so that I do not merely listen to these words but do live them out.
Praying the Lord’s Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer is the supreme example from Jesus regarding what and how to pray. New life can pour into our prayers as we pray this prayer daily or at least weekly:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.”
(Matt. 6:9-13 ESV)
Praying Paul’s Prayers
Many of Paul’s letters include rich and rewarding prayers Paul uttered for his readers. By praying these prayers daily or weekly, we learn a new language and direction for prayer:
- 9And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Phil. 1:9-11 ESV)
- 16I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. (Eph. 1:16-21 ESV)
- 14For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Eph. 3:14-18 ESV)
- 9And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. (Col. 1:9-12 ESV).
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[1] Mark Thibodeaux, Armchair Mystic (Saint Anthony Messenger Press, 2001).
[2] Adele Calhoun Spiritual Disciplines Handbook (IVP Books, 2005), 246.
[3] Walter Brueggemann The Message of the Psalms (Augsburg, 1984); Spirituality of the Psalms (Fortress, 2002).
Wow! This is one to print off and savor, study, work with.
Praying Scripture is not and easy-do if you’ve not grown up with it.
Your handling of the issue is concise and meaty enough to get even the greenest recruit going with scripture prayer.
Chris, thank you for the scholarship and reflection you have put into this post. I’m pointing others in your direction.
Jeanie,
I’m grateful you find this helpful. For me, this all started several years ago with praying the Psalms. This year I’ve focused on praying the Sermon on the Mount and on the prayers of Jesus. It has been an invaluable experience.
Peace,
Chris
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