Getting Ready To Talk With God Introduction Series

A. INTRODUCTION

1. The word Psalm in Hebrew means Tehillum, “to make jubilant music.” It comes from the root halal to yell a greeting, of course this means happy greetings. It is the word from which we get hello. So, pray, hello God.

2. Some Psalms were:

a. Prayers (all types of prayers).

b. Devotional thoughts (23).

c. Instructional (119).

d. Complaints about an enemy (3, 4, 7).

e. Some teach the law.

3. I have translated them into:

a. Modern language.

b. Transposed them into prayers.

c. With the purpose of touching God and being touched by Him.

B. THE MANY WAYS TO PRAY

1. Worship, to compliment God. “Come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker” (95:1). Worship is giving God the worthship He deserves.

2. Forgiveness, to come back into a prayer relationship to God. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (66:18). “According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgression” (51:1). “Who forgives all your iniquities” (103:3). “But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared” (Psalm 130:4).

3. Surrender, to give yourself completely to God. “Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:10). “Leads me beside the still waters” (Psalm 23:2). You “enter His gates with thanksgiving” (100:4), and you bring a thanks offering when you enter “His courts with praise” (100:4).

4. Protection, to ask the Lord to watch over and care for you. “This poor man cried out and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles” (34:6). The word trouble is plural.

5. Guidance, to get help with decisions and problems. God promises, “I will guide you” (32:8).

6. Victory, to overcome sin or habits, or weaknesses. To overcome sin (Psalm 51) an enemy (Psalm 7). “Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies” (60:12). “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (23:6).

7. Provision, to pray for things, money, and provision. “The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us ...” (115:12).

8. Blessing, to ask God to add value to all you do. “O Lord when I cry ... have mercy also upon me, and answer me” (27:7). “I would have lost heart, unless I would have believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord” (27:13).

C. SELAH: PAUSE AND MEDITATE

1. Selah comes from two roots “to praise” and “to lift up.” Therefore it means, to lift God up in praise.

2. Selah is a musical note, not tone, but truth. Think of the content you say.

3. Selah is a thought-link. (1) Look back at what you have just read as a basis for praise, (2) Look forward to the next thought.

4. Selah means to pause. Not in singing, but in thinking.

5. Selah means to “lift up,” get louder, i.e., crescendo.

6. Jerome said translate it forever. Many early Christians translated it Amen.

D. KINDS OF PSALMS

? Each Psalm is a worship event.

? Not English poetry that rhyme words and meter. Hebrew poetry matches phrases or content.

1. Synonymous poetry, the thought on the first verse is repeated in the second. “Hear this, all peoples; give ear, all inhabitants of the world” (Psalm 49:1).

2. Antithetic poetry, the thought of the first phrase is the opposite in the second line. “The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous shows mercy and gives” (Psalm 37:21).

3. Synthetic poetry, the idea in the first phrase is the basis for the second line and completes it. “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” (Psalm 19:7).

4. Climactic poetry, the idea of the first line builds to a conclusion in the second and third line. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful” (Psalm 1:1).

E. HOW TO PRAY THE PSALMS

1. Begin with your deep feelings (see index of emotions, page 13-15, from Praying the Psalms by Elmer Towns). Then pray your feelings using a Psalm.

2. As you read the Psalms each day, talk to God with the words that you read.

3. Focus on God and talk to Him. Don’t focus on the content to understand or interpret. Let the Psalmist express your feelings.

Would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:

Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.