Praying the Psalms

Rick Stedman

Description

Praying the Psalms Will Draw You Closer to God...and to the People in Your LifeYour emotions are powerful. They can enrich your life and strengthen your relationshipsespecially with God. The writers of the Psalms knew this and were honest with God about whatever they were experiencinglove, anger, worship, loneliness, fearand many other emotions. As they did this, they found joy in spite of struggles and turned their laments into praise. Above all, they drew closer to God. Praying the Psalms will help you to do the same by giving you words to reflect the deepest cries of your soul. You'll discover that God delights in hearing your most honest prayers and uses them as the starting point for transformation. Learning to emotionally connect with God in greater intimacy will also lead to relational breakthroughs with others. As you read and apply this book, you willlearn to pray the Psalms in an enjoyable and effective mannerdiscover how the wisdom of the Psalms relates to insights from pioneers in emotional intelligence, emotionally focused therapy, and emotionally healthy spiritualityform a more intimate attachment to God than you've ever experienced beforeIf you desire to grow closer to God and others, praying the Psalms is a great place to start. You might even grow to understand yourself better in the process.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Prayer in Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers, Inc.
• Date de parution: 27 septembre 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780736960748
• Langue: English

Extrait

Endorsements
Rick Stedman understands we are emotional beings created in the image of an emotional God, and that some of our deepest, most intimate moments with God come when we connect with him at an emotional level. The Psalms teach us how, and Rick takes us on an amazing journey. Your prayer life will never be the same.
Gene Appel, Senior Pastor
Eastside Christian Church, Anaheim, California
The potential impact of this book is huge. Learning to relate with God emotionally through prayer, the Psalms, and the psychology of attachment theory is a brilliant way for readers to experience spiritual and relational transformation. I wish all Christians would learn to live and pray this way-especially Christian counselors and pastors.
Kenneth Logan, PsyD
Professor of Counseling
Western Seminary, Portland, Oregon
The Psalms, as John Calvin told us, is a mirror of the soul and helps us understand and express our emotions in ways that draw us closer to God. I recommend this book with great enthusiasm. Rick Stedman is an able guide to help us tap into this God-given resource for life-changing prayer.
Tremper Longman III
Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies
Westmont College
I have read dozens of books on prayer and Praying the Psalms is the best book on prayer that I have read in a very long time. Rick has discovered an untapped gold mine by exploring the emotional insights in the Psalms. The book is both refreshing and probing. Praying the Psalms is refreshing because it looks through the largely unexplored lens of the emotions in the Psalms. I found this invaluable and extremely well-researched! The book is also probing because it challenges the reader to experience a deeper and more emotionally satisfying prayer relationship with God. Praying the Psalms is the next book on prayer everyone should read!
Steve Bond, Senior Pastor
Summit Christian Church, Reno, Nevada
In Praying the Psalms I found Rick Stedman s transparency to be refreshing, especially in the area of relationships. My wife and I found many launching points for deep spiritual conversation. I am currently doing a series of sermons in Psalms and have found this to be my most helpful resource.
Ken Long, Senior Pastor
Northshore Christian Church, Everett, Washington
The Psalms can be an intimidating. After all, there are 150 of them! Where do you start? What are they trying to say? How are we to process all of these various expressions of emotion in a clear way? Rick Stedman has written a resource to help us see not only what the Psalms say, but what they have to convey about an emotional God who desires to connect to you and me as emotional beings. The contents are refreshingly transparent, insightful, and extremely practical. If you ve ever struggled with prayer (and we all have), or ever wondered how to practically apply the Psalms, you will find both encouragement and tangible steps to immediately put into practice.
Aaron Brockett, Senior Pastor
Traders Point Christian Church, Indianapolis, Indiana
Does being a good Christian mean that we can t allow ourselves to feel certain emotions? Praying the Psalms challenges our notions about what we feel and how we express those feelings to God in prayer. This book will change the way you understand and relate to God, so if you ve been looking for an upgrade in your prayer life, this book is for you!
Erik Neilson, Senior Pastor
Adventure Christian Church, McMinnville, Oregon
If the Psalms are a gymnasium for the soul, as St. Ambrose called them, you ll find no better personal spiritual trainer than Pastor Rick Stedman. Those yearning for deeper connection with God and the wholeness that brings will find what they re looking for in this deeply practical book.
Brian Jones, author of Second Guessing God and Forgiveness
Senior Pastor, Christ s Church of the Valley, Royersford, Pennsylvania
I am so excited for Rick Stedman s call for us to emotionally connect with God! I have found that much of what is called Christianity is in reality a cold, emotionless, stoic philosophy that is built on knowledge rather than love. Rick s book will show you the way to connect with God by Praying the Psalms and in doing so you will have a vibrant and real love relationship with the One who loves you most.
Chuck Booher, Senior Pastor
Crossroads Christian Church, Corona, California
In Praying the Psalms , Rick Stedman has harnessed the important principle of Emotional Intelligence in our relationship with God and others from a biblical perspective-thus, TRUTH. For anyone going though life transitions or who just wants to deepen relationships, this book will be a useful tool in effective navigation.
Roger Storms, Lead Pastor
Chandler Christian Church, Chandler, Arizona
HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Verses marked NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Verses marked P HILLIPS are from J.B. Phillips: The New Testament in Modern English, Revised Edition. J.B. Phillips 1958, 1960, 1972. Used by permission of Macmillan Publishing Company.
Verses marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Cover by Knail, Salem, Oregon
Back cover author photo by Jodi Burgess
Published in association with Books Such Management, 52 Mission Circle, Suite 122, PMB 170, Santa Rosa, CA 95409-5370, www.booksandsuch.com .
PRAYING THE PSALMS
Copyright 2016 Rick Stedman
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
ISBN 978-0-7369-6073-1 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-6074-8 (eBook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Stedman, Rick, author.
Title: Praying the Psalms / Rick Stedman.
Description: Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2016.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016019463 (print) | LCCN 2016021437 (ebook) | ISBN 9780736960731 (pbk.) | ISBN 9780736960748 ()
Subjects: LCSH: Bible. Psalms-Criticism, interpretation, etc. | Bible. Psalms-Devotional use. | Bible. Psalms, I-X-Criticism, interpretation, etc. | Bible. Psalms, I-X-Devotional use.
Classification: LCC BS1430.54 .S73 2016 (print) | LCC BS1430.54 (ebook) | DDC 223/.206-dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016019463
All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author s and publisher s rights is strictly prohibited.
Dedication
To the precious people of Adventure Christian Church, Roseville, California: Whom I was honored to serve as senior pastor for twenty-one years, who changed the landscape of eternity through their sacrifice and service, and among whom are many we count as our dearest friends.

And to Lori Clark, my administrative assistant for nineteen years: Who has the greatest servant s heart of anyone I ve ever known, who is a humble yet mighty prayer warrior, and who, I sometimes wonder, may be an angel in disguise.
CONTENTS
Endorsements
Dedication
Chapter 1: Our Need for Emotional Closeness with God and Others
Introduction to the Psalms
Chapter 2: Does God Care About Emotions? (Psalm 1)
Learning to Identify and Value Our Feelings
Chapter 3: Is God an Emotional Being? (Psalm 2)
The Psalms and Emotional Intelligence
Chapter 4: Building a Secure Attachment with God (Psalms 3 and 4)
The Psalms and Emotionally Focused Therapy
Chapter 5: Connecting with God Through Anger, Grief, and Sadness (Psalms 5 and 6)
The Psalms and Emotionally Healthy Spirituality
Chapter 6: Does God Feel Loved by Me? (Psalms 7 and 8)
The Psalms and Attunement
Chapter 7: Moving from Why God? to Worship (Psalms 9 and 10)
The Psalms and the Transformed Christian Life
Appendix 1: Praying the Psalms-The First Days of Your Journey
Appendix 2: Lists of Emotional Words in the Psalms
1. Alphabetical List of Emotional Words in the Psalms
2. List of Emotional Words Occurring Most Frequently in the Psalms
3. List of Grief-Related Emotional Words in the Psalms
4. List of Praise, Thanks, and Joy-Related Emotional Words in the Psalms
Notes
Acknowledgments
About the Author
1
Our Need for Emotional Closeness with God and Others
Introduction to the Psalms

The psalmists are angry people. 1 -Eugene Petersen
I awoke angry.
As my emotions from the previous night came back full throttle, I saw her sleeping in the bed beside me and thought, There she is-that woman. I m so mad at her!
The sleeping woman was, of course, my wife. The night before we had slipped into a fight just before bed, so I went to sleep angry.
Yes, yes, I know the Bible says, Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. I am a pastor, after all. But I was mad-really mad-so I climbed into bed and rationalized my behavior. Well, the sun is already down so it s too late to apply that verse tonight anyway. I ll just go to sleep mad and deal with this before the sun sets tomorrow.
As the new day dawned, I lay there with my head on the pillow and allowed the pain of the past to cripple an otherwise bright, innocent new morning. Deep in my heart I