Praying Psalms: A Personal Journey Through the Psalter

In Praying Psalms Ian Stackhouse offers daily reflections on all 150 psalms. In so doing he seeks to alert the reader to the sheer emotional range of the Psalter in the hope that this will give courage to pray bold honest prayers. Indeed Praying Psalms is best used not as a commentary but a basic primer for anyone wanting to encounter the psalms in all their rawness and vitality. Whether in small groups settings or private prayer and whether in sequence or in random selection Praying Psalms is a confident reassertion of the central place of the Psalter in Christian spirituality. Passion. Joy. Anger. Wonder. Confusion. Rejection. Thankfulness. Pain. Awe. Worship. Wisdom. These are just some of the words conveyed by the psalms to those who read them thoughtfully. And Ian Stackhouse is a thoughtful reader and prayer. These bite-size reflections on all 150 psalms are just the thing to take us closer to God in wonder joy confusion and whatever we are feeling. I highly recommend this book! --David M. Howard Jr. Professor of Old Testament Bethel Seminary (Bethel University) St. Paul Minnesota I have a simple rule: if Stackhouse has written something then its worth reading. This book proves my point. When I first discovered the Psalmody is a book of prayers my understanding and enjoyment increased. In this volume Ian Stackhouse demonstrates how we can make these prayers our own. There is depth breadth rawness emotion and something of the fresh air of heaven in these pages. Be enriched as you read and reflect. --Ian Coffey Vice Principal Director of Leadership Training Moorlands College Christchurch England Praying Psalms is the work of a man who is as accomplished a biblical scholar and theologian as he is a pastor. But it is above all in the radical openness of his humanity to God that Stackhouse is able to take his readers by the hand and lead them along the great textual river that is the Psalter and perhaps even across it. --Melissa Raphael University of Gloucestershire UK and Leo Baeck College London Ian Stackhouse is Senior Pastor of Millmead Guildford Baptist Church UK. He is author of numerous books and articles including The Gospel-Driven Church (2004).