Imagine we didn’t have language to communicate with. No words, no letters. Only noises, looks, body expressions, like charades—but all the time. If God didn’t use language, what would we know about him? How would we express ourselves to him? Psalm 145 lifts up praise to God and sums up so much that has come before it in the Psalms, leading us into the final movement of prayer--pure praise of God.
If you are getting started in a relationship with God, trying to have a quiet time or seeking guidance at this point in your life, you're in the right place.
In fifteen minutes (or less) you will listen to God's word for you, reflect on it and learn to pray to God as well as carry that word with you through the rest of your day. What a perfect way to get started!
We are nearly done with season three and we've prayed a wide selection of psalms trying to expand our vocabulary of prayer. We've noticed that the second half of Psalms has fewer laments and more praise songs and hymns. Psalm 145 is a high point, a kind of climax in Book 5 and really for the book of Psalms overall.
God deserves all praise, and we marshall all our language to bless him, praise him, exalt and give thanks to him for who he is and all the mighty works he has done. Psalm 145 is special because its first and last verse uses the Hebrew word tehillah which means praise. It's the only psalm that is specifically called tehillah, and yet the plural form of this word (Tehillim) is the Hebrew title for the entire book of Psalms!
Psalm 145 is also an acrostic psalm, the eighth and final one of the book of Psalms, so from A to Z (or aleph to taw) we get a comprehensive treatment of what praise is all about. The other acrostic psalms we've covered include Psalm 25, 111, 112, and 119. If you want to read the remaining acrostic psalms we didn't cover in season 3, check out Psalms 9, 10, 34 and 37. One feature of this psalm is the repeated use of the word "all", which is especially prominent in the second half of the prayer. God is good to all, and all beings are called on to give praise to God.
Psalm 145:8 echoes a foundational verse from Exodus 34:6 in which God reveals his fundamental character. This is a good verse to meditate on. Other verses to meditate on or memorize include vv. 1-3, 5, 18 and 21. Choose one of more of these verses and let God work out its truth in your life.
While we can't exhaust the riches in these verses, you can go deeper into them on your own using our four step process. The entire psalm is worth pondering and reading or listening to multiple times. You can download the helpsheet that details and demonstrates the four step process we use on First Fifteen using Psalm 1.
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You can get a copy of the book God Help Me Grow: Learning to Pray through the Psalms on Amazon (or the ebook) so you can pray all of the first 30 psalms in the book of Psalms.
Additional resources at the Word of Prayer website https://word-of-prayer.com