One of my favorite collection of prayers is the book Valley of Vision – A Collection of Puritan Prayers. These prayers of fallible men encourage my heart and remind me of what is true about life and about our God. Interestingly, the editor of this collection did not connect a name or a context to the prayers. We don’t know who prayed which prayer or what was happening in their lives at the time.
Sometimes when I am particularly moved by one of the prayers, I wish I knew more because every prayer has a context. Every cry to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has a time and place that gives birth to that prayer.
- A victorious shout of thanks to God.
- A mother’s cry of desperation when her baby won’t go to sleep.
- A heart weeping over injustice and pain.
- A lamenting soul realizing that life will continue beyond him.
Life has a way of shaping our prayers and the Psalms are no different.
The Psalms is a collection of 150 Hebrew songs and prayers found in the Old Testament. They are divided into five books and deal with a vast array of emotions and contexts. These were Jesus’ songs to sing and prayers to pray and each of them have a context.
The Psalms show us how to relate to God on every level. They show us how to be emotional with God while walking in proper awe of Him. They show us how others have prayed in the midst of real life. Because of this, they teach us to pray.
A Warrior and His Prayers will be a study of the psalms written by King David that give us historical roots in his life. In other words, we know the author and the context. We’ll see what he prayed when he was lonely and scared. We’ll hear his desperation when he is running for his life. His psalms will let us see what a repentant heart looks like when confronted by sin.
In all these prayerful moments, we find our God to be present and powerful, good and great, grand and glorious. And as we come to know him, we learn both to pray and how to pray.
That’s our goal in The Warrior and His Prayers—to know God better so that we would pray to him regardless of what life brings.
Join us.
