Scripture Guided Prayers

Psalm 113

This short psalm is a typical psalm of praise. It begins with the call to praise the Lord, a command repeated three times in the opening verse. The Lord is worthy of praise because He is high above all nations and His glory (beauty and greatness) is above all the heavens (4). No one is like the Lord our God who is seated on high (5).  

So far, typical “praise the Lord” kind of stuff. But the psalm gets interesting in verse 7. 

The last four verses of the psalm give four specific reasons why the Lord is worthy of praise: He looks far down on both the heavens and the earth (6), He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap (7), He makes the poor and needy to sit with princes of His people (8), and He gives the barren woman a home and makes her the joyous mother of children (9). 

If you are like me, the phrase “barren woman” sets alarm bells ringing in the Scripture memory portion of your brain. Several pivotal and significant “barren women” appear in the biblical narrative, including Sarah, Hannah, Manoah’s wife, Elizabeth, and Mary. Sarah was the wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac. Hannah was the mother of the first prophet, Samuel. The unnamed wife of Manoah was the mother of Samson. Elizabeth was the mother of John the Baptist, and Mary was the mother of Jesus. 

Suffice to say, barren women and their sudden pregnancies punctuate important moments in salvation history. 

Fortunately, we have the written prayers of two of these barren women: Hannah and Mary. Hannah’s prayer is recorded in 1 Samuel 2 and Mary’s prayer is recorded in Luke 1. And guess what shows up in the prayers of these two barren women? Words and ideas from Psalm 113. 

Hannah’s prayer not only speaks of the barren woman (1 Samuel 2.5) but also contains these words: “He raises up the poor from the dust; He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor.” With the exception of the last phrase, these words are the same as Psalm 113. 

Mary’s song, known as the Magnificat, speaks of the Lord “looking on the humble estate of His servant,” “exalting those of humble estate,” and “filling the hungry with good things.” While Mary does not use any of the exact phrases of Psalm 113, the ideas of exalting and satisfying the poor are certainly prevalent. 

When I read Hannah’s prayer, I wonder who is quoting whom? Did the words of Psalm 113 come flowing out of Hannah’s heart when she prayed or did the unknown psalmist borrow her words in constructing this praise song? Neither Hannah nor the psalmist copied Mary, obviously, but Mary found her prayer voice in the heartbeat of this ancient prayer. 

While many things can be said about this great psalm, one truth encourages me today. The prayers found in Scripture not only give voice to our faith and to our questions, they also direct and deepen them, too. 

What do you pray when the Lord blesses you with a child you for which you agonized in prayed for years? You might praise the Lord for lifting your poor, needy soul from what felt like the forsaken ash heap of life. What do you pray when the Lord blesses you with a child you never prayed for?  You might be in awe that the Lord chose a poor and needy soul to make the joyous mother of a child. 

But, when Scripture gets involved in their prayers, suddenly these barren women are praying about princes, kings, the horn of His anointed, bringing down the mighty from thrones, and remembering the mercy promised to Abraham.  

Here is the point: Scripture guided prayers enlarge our praise and our faith. We see our pain and the work of God in light of the much bigger picture, and we wonder as we experience the glory of God using poor and needy souls like ourselves in His divine eternal plan. 

Mary was blessed with an angelic visitor to help her understand what was happening. Either Hannah was blessed with the psalm, or the psalmist was blessed with the prayer of Hannah, but either way, the angelic guide to help them pray and praise was Scripture. 

If this is true, that Scripture guided prayers enlarge our praise and faith, then what are you doing to hide the words of Scripture in your heart so that you have the prayer words you need when the moment comes?