Empowered Prayer: A Simple, Yet Powerful, Method from Psalms

A Review of Praying the Bible by Donald Whitney

Sometimes an author has covered a topic so well, and so simply, that it would be foolish to reinvent the wheel. As an example, several years ago I came across the book Praying the Bible by Donald Whitney. This book was so revolutionary, so eye-opening, and honestly so easy that when you read it you wonder how you never considered it before. It’s a short book that presents an accessible technique that will transform the way you approach prayer time. 

This technique will counter the usual problem we have of, as he says “Praying the same old things about the same old things”, and will breathe life into your time with the Lord. And as I looked again at this book, and found the chapter where he describes in very simple terms how to use the Psalms in prayer, I found that he used Psalm 23 as his example.

The method

What Donald presents is, again, very simple. You don’t have to have a deep understanding of a psalm to pray through it. Instead, all you do is read the words of the psalm and allow the Spirit to combine your heart with those words, talking to God about whatever those words bring to mind. This isn’t Bible study, where we are digging into the depths of a passage. This is simply allowing the passage to be a starting point for your prayer.

A sample prayer inspired by Psalm 23:1

So how does this work? Let’s take a look at the example that he gives, starting with the very first phrase of Psalm 23. This psalm opens with the words, “The Lord is my shepherd,” so perhaps what you pray looks something like this:

“Lord, I thank you that you are my shepherd. You’re a good shepherd. You have shepherded me all my life. And, great Shepherd, please shepherd my family today: guard them from the ways of the world; guide them into the ways of God. Lead them not into temptation; deliver them from evil. O great Shepherd, I pray for my children; cause them to be your sheep. May they love you as their shepherd, as I do. And, Lord, please shepherd me in the decision that’s before me about my future. Do I make that move, that change, or not? I also pray for our under-shepherds at the church. Please shepherd them as they shepherd us.”

Donald Whitney – Praying the Bible, page 29-30

And when you run out of things to pray?

Your mind goes blank at this point, so you move on to the next phrase – “I shall not want,” and maybe your mind goes to something like this:

Lord, I thank you that I’ve never really been in want. I haven’t missed too many meals. All that I am and all that I have has come from you. But I know it pleases you that I bring my desires to you, so would you provide the finances that we need for those bills, for school, for that car?

Donald Whitney – Praying the Bible, page 30

Using Psalm 23 in your prayer for others

Not only will you find yourself praying for your own needs, but you will discover the Lord leading you into intercessory prayer as well. As you pray for your needs, you may also consider the needs of those around you. Maybe the local pregnancy center comes to mind, and so you pray for funding for their new programs or provision for the women who come to them.

Perhaps the church building project comes to mind and you pray for direction and provision for that. And then that leads you to pray for teachers for the Sunday Schools. This then reminds you of friends who are planting a church, and so you begin to pray for those needs as well, for the new pastor as he shepherds his flock, for the team that is leaving to start a new work of the Lord, for guidance for their home church as they navigate the coming changes.

You don’t have to stay on topic. If your prayer wanders, that’s fine. Remember, this isn’t a sermon. You’re just talking to God about whatever comes to mind.

Keeping your prayer going

And when you run out of things to talk about, you move on to the next line. “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” I love what Donald says about this:

And, frankly, when you read the words “lie down,” maybe what comes to mind is simply, “Lord, I would be grateful if you would make it possible for me to lie down and take a nap today.”

Donald Whitney, Praying the Bible, page 30

Amen! “Lord, Help my babies sleep.” Or maybe, “Lord, my friend is exhausted. She’s been bearing so many responsibilities for so long, it seems like she never can catch a break. Would you give her the rest she needs?”

Perhaps the line about leading you beside still waters brings to mind a major decision you are making, and so you pray for that decision. Again, maybe as you read “He restores my soul” you cry out to him about the joy you want to feel in your relationship with Him again. On the other hand, maybe a prodigal comes to mind. The important thing is to just keep going. And when you run out of things to say, move on to the next phrase, the next line.

Just … pray! Whatever the psalm brings to mind

Again – don’t get hung up on trying to interpret the psalm correctly in order to pray it. And don’t get hung up on staying on topic. As you pray, just pray. Simply allow the Spirit – the Helper who Jesus gave to us – to use the Word of God to help you have a deeper, more real, more honest and heartfelt time of prayer, moving beyond familiar spiritual phrases to a real conversation with your Shepherd.

I wish I could say I do this all the time, but I think the Lord is reminding me of this just as He is sharing this with you. It is powerful, and it is sweet. I did this with my group a few weeks ago, and the response was incredible. Some ladies who never prayed aloud in a group before discovered the confidence to pray in public for the first time. Others excitedly told their husbands about it, and thanked me for “teaching them how to pray.” (Although I can take no credit for this!) So give it a try, and let me know how it goes!

Some next steps