Praying the Psalms with Augustine and Friends

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Praying the Psalms with Augustine and Friends

Type of Prayer

Example Psalms

Notes on How to Pray

Some thirty psalms provide words to pray when we face enemies. Because Christians follow the example of Jesus, we often pray these psalms about enemies with reference to the temptations, the sins and the spiritual attacks against which we battle. Those who walk in the Spirit face spiritual combat, and followers of Jesus recognize that our enemies are not flesh and blood (Eph 6:10−20). Pilgrim prayers like Psalm 84 or the Psalms of Ascent remind us that this world is not our home. Like the witnesses who have gone before (Heb 11), these psalms remind us that our primary citizenship is in the kingdom of God. They help us know how to pray as pilgrims on the way of Jesus. Salvation history psalms help us reflect on God’s actions in history. They teach us to remember what God has done in the past in order to be faithful in the present and to persevere into the future. They provide a model for individuals and families of faith to imitate by writing family history psalms recalling God’s work in their lives.

Prayers about Enemies

5, 6, 7, 17, 35, 55, 69, 109, 137, 139

Prayers for Life’s Journey

84, 120−134

44, 78, 85, 86, 105, 106

Holy History Prayers