Deep Dive Series
Psalms For Family Life
reading the psalms for family life
IN THE PSALMS, WE FIND BEAUTY, PURPOSE, AND MEANING FOR CHRISTIAN FAMILY LIFE
summertime in the psalms series
Every summer, we focus on psalms in the Bible that can help us go deeper in enjoying Christian family life. Use the links below to find the blogpost (or podcast episode) for each episode in the series so far.
Psalms 42+43
Unless The Lord Builds The House… How To Build A Biblical Home According To Psalm 127
Join us inside our Patreon community for a special bonus episode praying through Psalms 42 and 43 for our families.
Psalm 127
Unless The Lord Builds The House… How To Build A Biblical Home According To Psalm 127
Join us inside our Patreon community for a special bonus episode praying through Psalm 127 for our families.
Psalm 86
The Benefits Of Crying Out To God Together As A Christian Family: Prayer Tips From Psalm 86
Join us inside our Patreon community for a special bonus episode praying through Psalm 86 for our families.
Psalm 49
Do You Have The Right Christian Family Values?
Join us inside our Patreon community for a special bonus episode praying through Psalm 49 for our families.
Psalm 139
You’re Not In Control, Mama: God Is. A Look At What Psalm 139 Teaches Us For Christian Family Life
LISTEN to the Friday Faith Follow-up to Pray Psalm 139 for your family
Psalm 142
Godly Wisdom For The Exhaustion, Struggle, And Loneliness Of Christian Family Life, From Psalm 142
LISTEN to the Friday Faith Follow-up to Pray Psalm 142 for your family
Psalm 19
How Do You Find Spiritual Growth… And How Do You Teach Your Kids To Find It Too? Wisdom From Psalm 19.
LISTEN to the Friday Faith Follow-up to Pray Psalm 19 for your family
Psalm 91
What Is God’s Role VS Your Role In Your Family Life? A Look At Psalm 91.
LISTEN to the Friday Faith Follow-up to Pray Psalm 91 for your family
wondering how to pray the psalms for your family?
Once you are familiar with a psalm, you can more easily pray the psalm. So, start by reading the psalms regularly. You might read one psalm a day, or pick one psalm and read it regularly for a whole month.
As you start to pray the psalm, there are many options for how you do it.
First, you might read the psalm out loud as a prayer. You will probably want to tweak the language to make it sound more like a personal prayer. Next, you might pray through the themes of the psalm. Praise God for what you see of his character; confess what the psalm points out as sin; ask for help based on the things described in the psalm.
In praying the psalms for your family, you can apply the purpose and themes of the psalm to your own family life. In Psalm 1, for example, you might pray for God to give your family a desire to meditate on his word. You could ask God to plant your children beside his streams of water and ask him to look over them as He does the righteous.
how do I read the psalms?
The psalms are written as poetry and prayer. The ancient Israelites sang them during particular moments of personal, family, or community life.
As you read the psalms today, it is helpful to ask yourself a few questions as you read:
- Do I understand the original context, why this psalm was written?
- What do I learn about God from this psalm?
- What action or response from me makes sense from this psalm?
- How can I live more fully for God in light of what this psalm says?
why should I read the psalms?
The psalms are a wonderful way to find beauty, purpose, and wisdom in following God. They wrestle with real human emotions and show us a picture of God’s character.
You can find psalms in many categories:
- Psalms of lament
- Praise and thanksgiving to God
- Remembrance of what God has done for Israel
- Personal longings, struggles, and prayers
- Celebration of who God is and what He has done
- Poetic calls for justice in a broken world