FROM WHAT BOOK WOULD JESUS HAVE PRAYED?

 

THE PRAYER BOOK OF JESUS

(The following reflection by Sr. Irene Nowell, OSB,  on what Jesus would have prayed from comes from the October issue of GIVE US THIS DAY,  a daily missalette published by Liturgical Press.  You can find out more about this publication by going to:  www.giveusthisday.org )

Did you realize we have in our possession the prayer book of Jesus?   Doesn't it make you eager to probe this valuable text?   The prayer book Jesus used throughout his life is the book of Psalms.  Even as he was dying, Jesus' final prayers were from the psalms.  What is this book, what are these prayers that have lasted three millennia?  What can these psalms teach us about how to pray?

The psalms teach us, first of all, that our own story is significant.   Some of the longest psalms -- 78, 105,  106 -- tell Israel's history.  But they don't only tell the story;  they pray the story, asking for forgiveness and praising God for lasting gifts.   We too can learn to pray our story.  We realize we are like Israel.  Our story has its times of pain.  How can we learn to cry out our anguish?  Almost a third of the psalms are laments, asking God to heal us, to save us from evil, and simply to listen to our suffering.

Our story is not only a story of pain, however.   When we reflect on our blessings, all the good things God has given us, we long to give thanks to God.  Where can we find the words to adequately express our gratitude?   The psalms again give us the words: Ps 138:1;  Ps 8:2,10;  Ps. 148;  Ps 150:6.

The psalms are a wonderful gift to us.  We can let them soak into our bones by memorizing a verse each day and carrying it around with us.  We can pray our story, cry out our pain, and give unending thanks to God.  What a treasure they are!  No wonder Jesus prayed them!