Expert: Hoyt Roberson - 11/7/2008

Question
QUESTION: How can we use psalms to pray? Or are they just for reading sake?

ANSWER: Dear friend,

The Psalms can indeed be used to pray, and to inform our prayer life.

By reading the Psalms we can gain insight into the range and depth that prayer has taken in history and that we can pour into prayer today.

As we become familiar with the Psalms, one or two, or perhaps several may become "favorites," because they tend to speak to our experiences or where we are in life. We can incorporate them directly into our prayer lives by reading or reciting them directly, or we can incorporate their themes in our own words.

An ancient practice of reading Scripture is called lectio divina, or Holy reading. In this process, one would read a short psalm or a few verses (no more than about five) of a longer one, multiple times, slowly, and out loud. As the reading is done, certain ideas or concepts will likely come to the fore. Taking those concepts, the reader would concentrate on what that idea means to the reader's life. Once the idea becomes apparent, a prayer around that idea is formed, asking God for His guidance in working with the concept in the life of the reader.

The Psalms are more than just reading. In fact they can become a rich resource in developing a prayer life and in shaping it over time.

Thanks for asking.

If you have any other questions about this, please ask.

Hoy

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: What is the acceptable mode of worship? I have a family of 5 adults-can we possibly start a worship in our sitting room or do we compulsorily have to be amongst other brethen on sundays? The nearest meeting place to our house is about 3 miles and it is not too convenient for us getting there on time.

Answer
The standard Church of Christ view is that you should meet with the local church and if you don't, then you are guilty of "failing to meet together." The normal verse used in this context is Heb 10.25. Unfortunately, the standard view doesn't take into consideration the context of the verse.

The church of the first century didn't all meet together in one place; they regularly met in homes. Normally however, those home churches were not limited to one family.

So, the answer to your question has two parts that you will need to balance in your own circumstances....

1. You can hold church in your home if you'd like. There is nothing inherently wrong with doing so.

2. The church though isn't intended to be simply family. It is intended to be community, a community of other believers who come together to support, encourage, and yes even correct one another. Humans mature better, and they become more wise if they have other humans outside their immediate family to discuss with, study with, and argue with.

I don't know where you live, but it seems that you might consider meeting at home half or most Sundays, and walk the hour for church on the other Sunday(s) of the month. That would at least provide you and your family additional interaction with Christians.