We are pleased to share an excerpt from Dr. James L. Papandrea’s book “Praying the Psalms: The Divine Gateway to Lectio Divina and Contemplative Prayer” by Sophia Institute Press.
What is Lectio Divina? This is a Latin phrase that means Divine Reading or Sacred Reading, but it can also be loosely translated as Spiritual Reading. The point of Lectio Divina is to pray the Scriptures – that is, to read Scripture prayerfully, making it your own prayer, and using the inspired words of Scripture to speak for you, so that you can pray in the Spirit without having to think about what to say or struggling to find the words to say to God.
The practice of lectio Divina is an ancient Christian method of prayer, going back to the early Church and the Church fathers. St. Benedict and other western Church fathers promoted it, though it may have originally come from the east, brought into the western monastic tradition by John Cassian. Traditionally, there are four phases of Lectio Divina, but they do not have hard distinctions between then, and we won’t want to worry about what phase we are in, or when we move from one to the next. We don’t want to make it all about following a strict format. In any case, the four phases are: Lectio (reading); Meditatio (meditation); Oratio (prayer); and Contemplatio (contemplation)…
The book you are holding in your hands is a collection of excerpts from the Psalms. The excerpts were chosen specifically to be used for personal prayer, and so they are only those sections of the Psalms that are directed to God in the grammatical second person (or in some cases when the third person is used for the sake of reverence or formality, I have rendered the text into the second person for the sake of praying in the spirit in which it was originally intended). In other words, I have pulled out all the sections from the Psalms that you can read, and speak directly to God in prayer. Then I spent the last several years in my own personal devotional time, going through these excerpts one by one, praying them over and over. Finally, I have made a new translation of these excerpts, taking into account the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin texts…
To pray the Psalms in this book, begin by simply reading one psalm at a time, or perhaps even only part of a psalm. After you’ve read a section, reflect on what parts are most relevant to you, or what specific lines jump off the page as having a special significance for you. If it doesn’t seem like there is anything in the psalm that speaks to your situation at the moment, try to remember a time when it did – maybe you can thank God for not being in the situation now. Maybe you can turn part of the prayer into the past tense and then turn the whole thing into a prayer of thanksgiving. Don’t be afraid to change the tenses of the verbs in your mind (after all, the Rabbis did!). Also, you should feel free at any time to change “me” to “us” and include your family or other loved ones in your prayer. There are times when the Hebrew has “me” and the Greek has “us,” so there is nothing wrong with making the prayer more about your family in your mind. Bring them with you to God in prayer. In fact, when you are praying for people, it’s good to name them in your mind, so if the text says “Lord protect the innocent,” feel free to name the people you are concerned about…
Finally, pick only two lines, and pray them as a breathing prayer. You will notice that all the translations are presented in couplets of parallel lines. This is consistent with the way the original Hebrew poetry works, though in some cases I have created or changed the couplets, since what you have here does not include every line of the psalms. The point is that you can use the couplets as they are presented here, or choose your own pairs of lines, so that the breathing prayer becomes your own. For some of the psalms, I have provided a shorter summary that pulls out the lines I think are especially suited to getting into contemplative prayer. But these are only suggestions, to give you examples to see what I have in mind – but I encourage you to find your own.
Praying breathing prayers means you would not be praying them out loud, of course, you would be only thinking them. Pray the first line as you breathe in, and the second line as you breathe out. Do this over and over as your prayer becomes less about the words and more about resting in the peace of God. Your body will relax and your prayer will be in sync with your breathing, and with that, you are entering into contemplation…
Guide Me in the Way I Should Go
Psalm 31/32
As long as I kept silent
I felt weak in my bones
I cried all day long
And I felt pressure day and night
I became completely miserable
And my strength was drained
But now I have confessed my sin to you
I decided to make my confession
And I have admitted my selfishness
Father, forgive my unfaithfulness
Likewise, may all of God’s people
Pray to you in their time of need
So that when the floods come
The waters will not reach them
You are my escape
From the trouble that surrounds me
You are my joy
You surround me with the music of freedom
Guide me in the way I should go
And watch over me
Lord, may all who put their hope in you
Be surrounded with mercy
Suggested breathing prayer:
Father, forgive my unfaithfulness
Guide me in the way I should go
Lead Us to Safety
Psalm 107/108
God my heart is dedicated to you
My soul is ready to sing psalms
I will get up at dawn
I will take up the harp and guitar
Father, I will give thanks to you
Among the people
And I will sing your praises
Among the nations
For your merciful love
Is greater than the heavens
And your faithful truth
Is higher than the skies
God, may you be honored above the heavens
And glorified over all the earth
So that those whom you love
May be set free
Hear my prayer
And save us by your power
God, lead us to safety
God, won’t you fight for us?
Give us help against our trouble
For it is futile to hope for people to save us
We will only have victory with you, God
Only you can strengthen us for virtue
Suggested breathing prayer:
God my heart is dedicated to you
Give us help against our trouble
Take My Side
Psalm 108/109
God, I praise you
Do not be silent
For sinners and liars speak out against me
They oppose me with deceitful tongues
They surround me with hateful words
They attack me for no reason
In return for friendship they falsely accuse
But I respond with prayer
Yet they have repaid good with evil
And friendship with hatred
But you Father, take my side
For the sake of your reputation
My Lord, set me free
Out of the goodness of your mercy
For I am poor and needy
And my heart is troubled
Help me, God, my Father
Save me, by your merciful love
Let them know that it was by your power
That you Father, have done it
They may curse, but you will bless
And I will rejoice
Father, I will testify to my gratitude
I will praise you to many people
Because you stand with those who need you
And save us from our persecutors
Suggested breathing prayer:
Father, take my side
Lord, set me free
Author Bio – Dr. James L. Papandrea
Dr. James L. Papandrea, PhD, is an award-winning author and Professor of Church History and Historical Theology, as well as the Theological Consultant for the EWTN Television series, The Heresies. His many books have been translated into multiple languages, and he has a significant presence online, including his YouTube series, The Original Church, and as the founder of The Original Church Community on Locals.com. More information can be found via Jim’s website: www.JimPapandrea.com, and his Amazon Author Page: www.DoctorJimsBooks.com. Join the Original Church Community at TheOriginalChurch.Locals.com.
