How to Study the Bible: Psalms
Choosing God’s path is the way to find healing. When you read the Word and develop a relationship with Him, He will guide you through life. Choose God to receive the Holy Spirit and the promise of eternal life.
Meditating on the Word means spending time reading, thinking, marking, and reviewing what we have read. It means changing and growing so we live in accordance to what God wants. Getting a study Bible was the best decision I could have made for my faith. Meditating on and understanding God’s word are the first steps to applying it to your every day life.
For example, when I began taking Communion again, Satan’s demons recognized me as a follower of Christ and therefore their enemy. I had to read Ephesians 6 every day in order to fight the demons’ control over my mind. Putting on the full armor of God enabled me to battle Satan’s demons and defend myself against them.
Reading the Word every day helps me with my mental health and my mood. Conferring with the Holy Spirit and Jesus allows me to be guided through my day to day and helps me to find insight in my past and present and even future.
Reading Psalms every day helps me to praise God and speak to Him and getting to know Him. I read Psalms as a form of prayer to ask God for forgiveness of my sins. One Psalm that is great for doing this is Psalms 51 —
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” - Psalms 51:10-12
God listens to those who are faithful and devoted to Him, and speaks to his loyal followers. He answers when we call on Him when we obey His commands and word and adhere to His standards. God hears our prayers and answers us, but his answers may not be what we expect.
One way to grow closer to God and develop an intimate relationship with Him is to pray to him earnestly each morning. Before our minds become jumbled with problems, we can commit the whole day to God in the morning. Talk to God regularly and honestly, start when you wake up.
Repentance is necessary. Sin makes us uncomfortable, our moods worse, our hearts become blackened by feelings of hatred. After I repent, I feel better and my mood improves and am no longer despondent. Mood is important for us to function in our day to day. God has become engrained in my daily living, and He helps to go about my days.
We cannot hide from God. “You, the righteous God who probes minds and hearts.” - Psalms 7:9. We can trust God to know us fully and to help us work through our weaknesses in order to serve Him as He intends. When we truly follow God, he rewards our efforts.
God is our vindicator. He upholds us and our just causes. In this life, we face many injustices. God sees the good we do and He rewards us. If we do not trust Him to vindicate us, we will be susceptible to hatred and self pity. If we trust Him, we experience his peace and are free from the worry of how others perceive us and treat us. Trusting God means placing our full confidence in Him and trust God’s guidance and comfort and protection.
God tests us —a refining fire that tests us to refine us like purified gold. Do not ignore or defy the tests and challenges that come your way. Use them as opportunities for you to grow.
“And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times.” - Psalms 12:6
There are many reasons to read Psalms.
When you want…
To find comfort - Read Psalms 23. “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He mades me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.” - Psalms 23:1-2.
To pray - Psalms 103 - “Give thanks to the Lord of lords: to him who alone does great wonders, who by his understanding made the heavens, who spread out the earth upon the waters, who made the great lights, the sun to govern the day, the moon and stars to govern the night;” - Psalms 136:3-9
To learn more about God - Psalms 24 - “Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” - Psalms 24:8
To understand yourself more clearly - Psalms 8 - “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” - Psalms 8:3-4
To know how to come to God each day - Psalms 5 - “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” - Psalms 5:3
To be forgiven for your sins - Psalm 51 - “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love.” - Psalms 51:1
To feel worthwhile - Psalms 139 - “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” - Psalms 139:14
To give praise to God - Psalms 145 - “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.” - Psalms 145:8.
To learn more about Psalms and the Bible, get a study Bible. I recommend the Life Application Study Bible.
Thank you for reading, and have a blessed day.
