Salvation Summaries

A former college roommate of mine who has since become a strong Christian agreed to partner with me in praying through Psalm 1 (neither of us were Christians when we first roomed with each other at a secular college in central Kansas).  He has used the Psalms in his prayer life, but I have not. I have heard about praying through the Psalms, and the pastor of our church, Eric Cartier, recently showed the congregation how to pray through Psalm 23.  My prayer life needs help, so I thought I’d give it a try.

To prepare for our prayer, we each read through Psalm 1, reviewed a few commentaries on it, and I also listened to a couple of relevant sermons from Sermon Audio.

After this, we each shared with other our understanding of Psalm 1.  One thing I liked about my former roommate’s summary was that he identified other verses that relate to this Psalm.  For example, he brought up the “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5, as it relates to the fruit mentioned in Psalm 1:3.

Following this exchange, we wrote and shared our prayer with each other.

I found this experience to be quite helpful, as he thought of things that I did not, and I enjoyed reading how he structured his prayer.

Although I am new to praying through the Psalms and have much to learn, I thought I’d share with you my first attempt at praying through Psalm 1 in the hope that it might give you some guidance in how to do it (or at least one way of doing it) if you have not already done so.  If you have prayed though the Psalms and would like to share how you do it and/or what impact it has had on your prayer life, I would love to hear from you.

In the book I hope to eventually write on how to become a Christian and live like one too, there will a chapter on prayer, with part of it on how to pray through the Psalms.

Psalm 1:1

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!  ² But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. 

Father, in Psalm 1 You promise that the righteous person who avoids the sinner’s way of life and instead joyfully meditates on your word each day will be happy (blessed) and prosper spiritually, if not in other ways (Psalm 1:1-2).

Oh Lord, this is what I now seek, but I’m sorry for not having meditated upon your word for most of my life.  I daily read your word for I long to know you better, but I have not elevated its importance enough in my life – to be as important as the food I eat and the water I drink (Mt 4:4).  I do not sit in the seat of scoffers or walk in the counsel of the wicked, but I confess that too often I yield to temptations and sin, and that I still do not take sin seriously enough. 

Help me to study your Word even more, to daily meditate upon it, and to find joy in it.

 ³ He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. 

Lord, help me to wrestle even harder with my inner sinful self so that I do more of what You want and less of what my selfishness desires. 

Help me to bear more fruit…the fruit found in Galatians 5:22-23 (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control).   

I look forward to prospering spiritually as I “strengthen my roots” from daily meditating on your word (Psalm 1:3). 

⁴ The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.  ⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.  ⁶ For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.

Oh Lord, I simply must grow spiritually if I am to become a better witness for you (2 Peter 1:5-8). 

Help me to have even more compassion for those in my family, for co-workers, neighbors and strangers who do not realize that the way that seems right to them ends in death (Prov 14:12).  They are like chaff that the wind blows away, and their fate, which they have not fully considered, is eternal punishment (Psalm 1:4-6). 

Help me to memorize the many verses in Your word that talk about salvation and how a Christian should live, and then to live even more as how a Christian should – as salt and light so that others may see how different I am from the world, and in turn want to know You (Mt 5:13-16).    

Thank you for Your Word, Your grace, Your forgiveness and Your love.  And thank You for Your promises.  Amen.