Lord Teach Us To Pray

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible with 176 verses. It is divided up into twenty-two sections, each section being eight verses long. Each section corresponds to a consecutive letter in the Hebrew alphabet. In the Hebrew Bible, the first word in each verse of a particular section begins with the letter of the alphabet for that section. For example, the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet is the letter aleph. The first word in each of the first eight verses of Psalm 119 begins with the letter aleph. The second letter is beth, with the first word of the next eight verses all beginning with the letter beth.

Another characteristic of this psalm is that it is a prayer, the longest prayer in the Bible. This prayer has one theme, the importance and necessity of God’s word in the life of a believer. This makes this prayer unique, especially in teaching someone to pray. One of the reasons you are encouraged to pray a different section of this psalm each day is so that God’s word will teach you and shape you in learning to pray.

Each day for the next twenty-two days, you will look at a different section of Psalm 119 in order to learn to pray from God’s word. As you do, you will be learning to worship the Father in spirit and truth, God’s truth, from His word.

The first three verses of Psalm 119 are an introduction. These verses are not speaking directly to God, but rather are speaking about God. “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! The introduction is an invitation for those who desire to learn to pray from God’s word and to allow God’s word to shape their prayers. The invitation is a direction in life, a way to live and pray. It is not a performance. It is after God and according to His word.

The next few verses, 4 – 6, combine a confession with a request and a vow. The confession, “You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.” is a confession of God’s will. Most of this prayer is confession of the truth. The next verse is a request, based upon this confession, “Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!” Can you see how that request is based upon that confession? The word “diligently” and the word “steadfast” are synonyms. They echo each other.

The first vow, or promise, is found in the next verse, “Then I shall not be put to shame having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.” You will learn to make vows in your prayers from this prayer. Some are hesitant to make promises to God. He is not hesitant to make promises to you! A relationship of trust is based upon promises, or vows, as in wedding vows. Don’t be afraid to make vows to God, just make sure they are based upon His word.

The next two verses bring this first section to a close. You find two more vows along with a request. “I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules. I will keep your precepts; do not utterly forsake me.” Notice that praise and learning go hand-in-hand. You will find this pattern throughout this psalm. Also notice how the third vow reflects the first confession of keeping God’s word. Allow the confession of truth from God’s word to shape your vows to God. In doing so, your vows will be according to God’s word. The final request is a confession of total dependence upon God for the vows you have made. When you vows are from God’s word, He will be with you to keep His word, if you will ask Him.

As you pray God’s word today, you will be learning to worship Him in spirit and truth, His truth. Allowing God’s word to shape your prayers is to allow Him to teach you to worship Him according to His word. This pleases the Father and is what it means to worship Him in spirit and truth.