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Prayer in the Book of Psalms |
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Prayer is human communication with God. Psalms could be described as a collection of song-prayers. Probably the most striking feature of these prayers is their unedited honesty. The words often express our own feelings—feelings that we would prefer no one, much less God, ever knew. Making these psalms our prayers can teach us a great deal about how God wants us to communicate with him. Too often we give God a watered-down version of our feelings, hoping we won't offend him or make him curious about our motives. As we use the psalms to express our feelings, we learn that honesty, openness, and sincerity are valuable to God. Following are several types of prayers with examples from Psalms. Note that the psalm writers communicated with God in a variety of ways for a variety of reasons. Each of us is invited to communicate with God. Using the psalms will enrich your personal prayer life. |
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Prayers of: |
Psalms: |
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Praise to God |
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Thanksgiving by a community |
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Thanksgiving by an individual |
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Request by the community |
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Request by an individual |
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Sorrow by the community |
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Sorrow by an individual |
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Anger |
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Confession |
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Faith |
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