Praying The Psalms

I've always loved the Psalms. No matter how I'm feeling, there is a Psalm to reflect my mood. Whether I'm frustrated or sad or overwhelmingly joyful - there is a Psalm that expresses exactly that - so beautifully raw and honest are all 150 of them. The Psalmists themselves don't hide behind their appearances either. The poetic prayers are like a mirror to humanity. Where we look in the mirror to see how we appear, we can look to the Psalms to find out who we really are, past any surface level. They are a biblical way to discover ourselves. And what I particularly love is that we can use them as powerful methods of prayer, especially when we don't know how and what to pray.

We've been studying the Psalms at the Women's Bible Study at church on a Monday morning and it's been both inspiring and humbling to look at the power of the Psalms as we discover more about ourselves in relation to God. Whether it's our tears, our doubts, our sin or our praise, the authors cry out to God who is above all and in all. He sits above creation, yet we know in Jesus he became one of us, so he understands the depths of our hearts and the complexities of our existence. Isn't this both miraculous and reassuring when we are floundering?

One particular Psalm that has struck me is Psalm 8. It is a prayer of Creation - where David poses the question - what is our place in this world? What value do we have? He begins by placing God in his rightful place  - 

"O Lord, our Lord, 
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens."

God's name is imprinted in the whole of the universe; every created thing points to his existence and his glory. God is the architect and we live in his building, the earth. But that leaves us with the question posed by David in verse 3 and 4:

"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?"

It's natural to ask the question 'what is my life all about'? And the answer to this will shape everything we do and say. Are we just a speck in the middle of the universe? Well in this Psalm, David states that God cares so greatly for us that he has made us 'a little lower than the angels and crowned us with glory and honour' (v5). Wow! Even though we may not feel it - God has made us in his image, as the creation story in Genesis describes, and we have a royal identity. So our life really matters.

God doesn't just say 'you're the most valuable thing in my creation', he also says we have 'dominion' over everything that has been made. We're resident manager so to speak and we live that out in our work, in our relationships and in our church. It matters how we treat people, it matters how we treat our planet, and how we care for our brothers and sisters at church. That's the creation order. But there is one other thing in Psalm 8 - and that is a finger pointing us to Jesus. Jesus is the true 'son of man' (v4). Jesus is the ultimate royal son and the one who has dominion over everything. He is the most valuable thing we can treasure in this world. So let's use this Psalm as a prayer to God, who will give us the right perspective to live our daily lives with purpose for him.