2. The rule of prayer
As Peterson points out, the basic model of devotion is daily prayer based on the Psalms sequentially once a month. 17 But we must emphasize that the daily prayer of the Psalms is not an isolated action, it remains among two other foundations: worship with the church on Sundays and daily prayer, sometimes intentional, sometimes spontaneous, in response to God. These three foundations form the prayer environment that will foster devotion. In the diagram suggested by Peterson, these fundamental principles look like this:
- The worship of the Church establishes our spirituality in the scriptures and in community life; The Psalms lead us to relearn the language of prayer; and the prayer remembered takes place prayer for all the details of life; the goal is for prayer to be constantly remembered through community worship with the prayer of psalms.
- As Peterson writes.
- “Psalms.
- Centered between worship and remembrance.
- Are the determined place where we often review the basis.
- Vocabulary.
- And rhythms of prayer.
- “It is this dynamic that will develop our life of prayer.
- Therefore.
- The rule (regime) of devotion is:?Community worship/psalm prayer/remembrance prayer is the basis from which we depart and where do we return?.
As we learned in the New Testament, Jesus Christ, while praying the Psalms (Hebrews 2:12), is the main theme of the Psalms. “The Christian finds in the psalms not only the saints, but also Jesus Christ,” the head of the saints, “with his suffering and resurrection. Therefore, in the Psalms, as in Psalms 22 and 69, does the crucified speak? . 18 So, it is precisely here that our confidence that we will be answered with prayer is established:? you will ask what you want, and will they? (Jn 15,7). Because, as Bonhoeffer wrote: “As we repeat God’s words, we begin to pray to him, we do not pray with the wrong and confused language of our heart; But because of the clear and pure word that God has spoken to us through Jesus Christ, should we speak to God, and will he listen to us? . 19 Jesus Christ taught his disciples that the Psalms proclaim his birth, life, death, and resurrection (Luke 24:44). On the other hand, since the Son is “God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God,” the Psalms are addressed to him, as well as to the Father and the Holy Spirit (Jd 20-21). . Therefore, Jesus Christ is the target of the psalms prayer. And when we pray in the name and through the mediation of Jesus Christ, we unite ourselves to him, who still lives to intercede for us (Heb. 7:25).
Therefore, Jesus Christ is the key that interprets psalms, and the one who prays the psalms should seek Christ revealed in the psalter, rather than analytically dealing with promises, appeals, confessions, and complaints, in reading the psalms, the one who now participates. in the promises, prayers, confessions and complaints of Christ himself; therefore, the purpose of such a prayer will be to achieve greater communion with Jesus Christ. Luther knew nothing of a purely objective, selfless or scholarly knowledge of the Bible. if possible, it would only be the dead letter that kills. The Spirit invigorates! So, should we? Feel the words of the scriptures “in the heart”. Experience is necessary to understand the Word, it is not simply to be repeated or known, but to be experienced and felt . 20 In a sermon of expression?Have I called the Lord? (Ps 118:5), Luther said to the assembly:
Invocation is what you need to learn. You’ve heard it, don’t sit or turn sideways, raise your head and shake it, bite your nails with worry and look for a way out, with nothing on your head except how bad you feel, how bad you are. You’re, how poor you are, get up, you lazy rascal!Raise your hands and eyes to heaven! Use a psalm or our Father to claim your anguish from the Lord.
Are not the Scriptures merely the perfect revelation of God, but the guide of the Christian in his struggles and victories? Not just past and distant historical events, but living events, here and now. Therefore, there is another factor that should lead Christians to meditate and include the psalms in their prayers:
The division between modern Christianity and the spirituality of the Bible can be seen (?) In our selective use of the Psalms, which was the hymnal of the people of Israel and the New Testament Church. The Psalms not only reflect every human experience (eg, confusion, anger, fear, anxiety, depression, unbridled joy), but they also force us to stop pretending that all is well in the world. The regrettable Psalms (for example, Psalms 10, 13, 35 and 86) are vehement complaints before God about the contradictions between his promises and the reality that people live. These psalms are rarely used in Christian worship today. Yet these Psalms are courageous acts of faith: courageous, because they insist that we must face the world as it is and that we must renounce all childish ostentation; but also of faith, because they start from the conviction that there is no forbidden subject when it comes to conversing with God. To deny from this conversation with God anything from human experience, including the darkness of unanswered prayer and the negative aspects of life, is to deny God’s sovereignty over all life. So, paradoxically, they are the ones who drown their doubts with a series of happy songs that may well be incredulous: refusing to believe that God can take care of all the anger they have. Therefore, the Psalms of protest are a powerful rebuke to what is considered faith and praise in most Christian groups today. The irony is that modern life can expose us to more confusion and pain than anything else in the psalmist’s world; and yet we ignore exactly those sentences that collide with such a sense of disorientation. Is it any wonder that much of today’s teaching on faith does not differ from positive thinking? gurus of modern management, while wearing a pseudo-biblical appearance. Biblical faith, however, is the exact opposite. 22
Therefore, psalms remain a treasure trove of spiritual help for Christians. (?) Whatever our mood, whatever our situation, the old voices invite us to listen to them. Have you also gone through joy, sadness, pain, sin, anger, confession, forgiveness, and other experiences that so profoundly affect our lives Do you call us to learn from them as the Holy Ghost uses these words to draw us closer to the Lord?23
17 For this section and the chart used, cf. Eugene Peterson, The Spiritual Vocation of the Shepherd, p. 96-109. 18 Paul Althaus, The Theology of Martinho Luther (Canoes: Ulbra, 2008), p. 116. 19 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Praying with the Psalms, p. 12. 20 Timothy George, Theology of Reformers (Sao Paulo: Vida Nova, 1993), p. 86. 21WA 31, p. 1, in Timothy George, Reform Theology, p. 87. 22 Vinoth Ramachandra, The Bankruptcy of the Gods: Modern Idolatry and Christian Mission (Sao Paulo: ABU , 2000), p. 60-61. 23 Bill Arnold and Bryan E. Beyer, The Discovery of the Old Testament: A Christian Perspective (Sao Paulo: Crist Culture, 2001), p. 312.
By Franklin Ferreira. Copyright ©. All rights reserved for Edies Vida Nova.