How to Pray to God in a New and Authentic Way

Posted on Oct 25, 2016 Topic : Inspirational/Devotional, Men's Christian Living
Posted by : Rick Stedman

During a very difficult period of my life, I found myself swamped by emotions. I was mad at others, angry with myself, and upset at God. But I had heard somewhere that Christians should not be angry, so I usually ignored my emotions.

Then I learned the fabulous benefits of emotionally praying the Psalms.

First, I noticed that the Psalms are filled with emotions. In the 2461 verses of the Psalms, I counted over 3100 emotional words or phrases. That’s more than one per verse.

Next, I found that praying the Psalms gave me permission to talk with God about my worries and fears. Plus, the Psalms reminded me to not forget the good stuff in life like joy, beauty, and love. They tremendously expanded my emotional vocabulary. Most importantly, they drew me closer to God and to others in my life.

This is because emotions are the language of love, the oxygen by which relationships breathe and thrive—and nowhere is this more exemplified than in the Psalms.

Real closeness between two people requires an open exchange of emotional content: We have to trust each other with our inner feelings and concerns. We share the good, the bad, and the ugly. We laugh and cry and get mad together. We feel safe and valued. The net result: a deep sense of interpersonal attachment, which is a pretty good way to define love.

Out of my own journey, I wrote Praying the Psalms: Growing Emotionally Closer to God and Those You Love. In hindsight, I wish I had learned this stuff years ago—maybe I would have been a better spouse, pastor, and Christian.

This is a great way to learn to pray, which many of us need. Most of us talk, laugh, and act normal around our friends and family—until we pray. Suddenly, we get weird with God. It’s like a whole different person takes over our mouths. It must drive God crazy. But the people in the Bible, including Jesus, didn’t think their job was to act different in prayer. They had real, authentic relationships with God.

One of the biggest surprises of my life was learning that in the middle of my Bible, from which I read every day, was a book that held the keys to drawing closer to my family, friends, and especially to God. If you would like to experience those same benefits, I invite you to join me in Praying the Psalms...