Seventeen verses from the psalms about prayer, from the five psalms headed as prayers to lines for meditation and praying for others.
Many psalms are prayers in the plain sense: they speak to God directly, as you. Five headings go further and call the psalm a prayer: Psalms 17, 86, 90, 102 and 142. The psalms also talk about prayer itself, when to pray, what it is like to be heard, and how to pray for someone else. Psalm 72 closes with a note that the prayers of David are ended.
The verses are grouped by use: psalms that call themselves prayers, prayers for morning and night, answered prayer, praying for others, and short lines for meditation. Tick the ones you want and print them.
Three of the five psalms whose headings call them a prayer, plus a closing note about David's prayers.
Hear, LORD, my righteous plea.Give ear to my prayer that doesn’t go out of deceitful lips.
Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.
Headed A Prayer by David. It asks to be heard and says the prayer does not come from deceitful lips.
Hear, LORD, my prayer.Listen to the voice of my petitions.
Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.
Headed A Prayer by David. Hear, listen, my prayer, my petitions: the verse is almost all a request to be heard.
Hear my prayer, LORD!Let my cry come to you.
Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee.
The heading describes the one praying: afflicted, overwhelmed, pouring out his complaint. The first line asks only that the cry reach God.
This ends the prayers by David, the son of Jesse.
The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
Not a prayer but a note at the end of Psalm 72: this ends the prayers by David, the son of Jesse. It uses the word prayers for the psalms of David before it.
Psalms that name a time of day for praying, including lines for bedtime.
LORD, in the morning you will hear my voice.In the morning I will lay my requests before you, and will watch expectantly.
My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
In the morning I will lay my requests before you, and will watch expectantly. Praying is followed by waiting to see what comes.
Evening, morning, and at noon, I will cry out in distress.He will hear my voice.
Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
Evening, morning and at noon. The psalm cries out three times a day and trusts that God will hear.
Let my prayer be set before you like incense;the lifting up of my hands like the evening sacrifice.
Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Prayer as incense and raised hands as the evening sacrifice. The psalm asks that prayer be received the way an offering is.
when I remember you on my bed,and think about you in the night watches.
When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
Remembering God on the bed and thinking of him through the night watches. It is prayer as thought rather than words.
Verses that say a prayer was heard.
You who hear prayer,all men will come to you.
O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.
God is addressed simply as you who hear prayer. All people, the verse says, will come.
Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer,nor his loving kindness from me.
Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.
The verse puts the prayer and God's loving kindness side by side: neither was turned away.
The LORD has heard my supplication.The LORD accepts my prayer.
The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer.
The LORD has heard, the LORD accepts. Three verses earlier the same psalm describes a bed soaked with tears, so the change happens inside the prayer itself.
Intercession: psalms that pray on behalf of someone else, a city or a people.
May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble.May the name of the God of Jacob set you up on high,
The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;
May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble. The first five verses of Psalm 20 are a blessing prayed over someone else.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.Those who love you will prosper.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. A direct instruction to pray, and the prayer is for a city.
Save your people,and bless your inheritance.Be their shepherd also,and bear them up forever.
Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.
Save your people, bless them, be their shepherd, carry them forever. It ends a personal psalm by turning outward to everyone else.
Short lines that speak about meditating on God and his word.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heartbe acceptable in your sight,LORD, my rock, and my redeemer.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
Words of the mouth and meditation of the heart, both offered to be acceptable. It asks that what is said and what is thought both please God.
but his delight is in the LORD’s law.On his law he meditates day and night.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Meditating on the law day and night. The first psalm makes this the mark of the person it calls blessed.
Let my meditation be sweet to him.I will rejoice in the LORD.
My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.
Let my meditation be sweet to him. The verse hopes the meditation pleases God as well as the one meditating.
None. The Lord's Prayer is in the Gospels, at Matthew 6:9 to 13 and Luke 11:2 to 4, where Jesus teaches it. It is not a psalm, and no psalm contains it. If you are looking for psalms that are prayers by their own headings, they are Psalms 17, 86, 90, 102 and 142.
Two headings call a psalm A Prayer by David: Psalms 17 and 86. Psalm 142 is headed as a contemplation by David in the cave, and also A Prayer. Psalm 72 ends with the note, this ends the prayers by David, the son of Jesse, which applies the word to the psalms of David before it. Many more psalms are headed By David and speak to God directly.
Many are. They speak to God directly, and five headings call the psalm a prayer. Others teach or praise and speak about God rather than to him, such as Psalm 1.
Psalm 4:8 speaks of lying down and sleeping in peace. Psalm 63:6 describes remembering God on the bed through the night watches, and Psalm 141:2 asks for prayer to rise like the evening sacrifice.
Psalm 66:19 to 20 says God has listened and has not turned away my prayer. Psalm 6:9 and Psalm 116:1 to 2 say the same.
Short lines include Psalm 25:1, to you, LORD, I lift up my soul, and Psalm 70:1, hurry, God, to deliver me. Psalm 19:14 is a little longer and is a complete prayer on its own.
The psalms do not rank their own prayers, and none promises a result for being repeated. Psalm 51, Psalm 86 and Psalm 142 are among the fullest prayers in the book, each asking for something specific.
Psalms of LamentPsalms for Guidance and DirectionPsalms for the MorningPsalms for Sleep and Night PrayerPsalms for HelpPsalms for the Church, Pastors and Revival