Praying the Psalms – A Primer
From Darrell Johnson
JULY 13, 2026
As disciples of Jesus of Nazareth, as His apprentices, we are regularly encouraged to “Pray the Psalms,” or, “Let the Psalms tutor you in prayer.” Very good advice. For the people of God have for centuries found in the ancient Psalms just the right words to pray in the various circumstances of life. Most importantly, we know that Jesus Himself, living our life in this world, prayed the Psalms, having been taught by His mother to do so from the time He could speak. It has been observed, rightly so, that as we face our death, we will pray what has been deeply rooted in us. As Jesus dies on the cross, He prays Psalms!
But, as many have experienced, simply launching into praying the Psalms can feel quite overwhelming for a number of reasons:
Unfamiliar words and phrases and images;
The challenge of reading and speaking poetry, the form in which the Psalms are written;
References, whether explicit or implicit, to historical events we may not fully understand;
And the boldness with which some of the Psalmists pray, often clashing with our modern sensibilities.
Thus, many who start to pray through the Psalms do not keep going. Understandably so, but then missing out on the wonderful gift they are for nurturing greater knowledge of and intimacy with the Triune God of grace.
So here’s a suggestion: why not start by praying some of the Psalms that believers, disciples, and apprentices have consistently found helpful? Why not, for a season, pray some of the “favourite” Psalms of the people of God? And then, having found them quite accessible and engaging, go back and pray through the whole Book of Psalms.
Listed below are thirty “favourite” prayers. The suggestion is that you read them, and pray them, one by one over a period of thirty (or so) days. The hope is that you will then be more ready the enter into the journey of praying all the Psalms, one by one, day after day, year after year, for the rest of your life.
Here is what you could do:
Read the Psalm two times. The second time out-loud [or whisper it ☺].
What about the Living God especially stands out to you in this Psalm? How does this make you want to pray?
Of all the requests made in the Psalm, which especially awakens your soul? How does that make you want to pray?
If the Psalm does not make any explicit requests, what of all the affirmations stands out to you? How does that make you want to pray?
Praying the Psalms:
Psalm 1
Psalm 2
Psalm 3
Psalm 4
Psalm 5
Psalm 13
Psalm 16
Psalm 19
Psalm 23
Psalm 25
Psalm 27
Psalm 31
Psalm 32
Psalm 37 (maybe for two or three days)
Psalm 42-43
Psalm 51
Psalm 32 (again, celebrating answers to Psalm 51)
Psalm 62
Psalm 63
Psalm 71
Psalm 73
Psalm 90
Psalm 91
Psalm 92
Psalm 96-99 (“judge” essentially means “re-align what is broken”)
Psalm 103
Psalm 107
Psalm 116
Psalm 139
Psalm 145
Having now been “primed,” go back and pray through the whole book one Psalm at a time, slowly being drawn into the heart of the Living God, into the heart of Jesus, and slowly beginning to see all of life from His perspective.
Want to go deeper? Take a look at Darrell Johnson’s seminar: ‘Learning to read the Psalms.’