Here is a simple way to pray through a portion of God’s Word – Psalm 32

1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up[b] as by the heat of summer. Selah

5 I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

6 Therefore let everyone who is godly
offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
they shall not reach him.
7 You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
or it will not stay near you.

10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

1. Prayer of Preparation: Pray and Read Through Your Passage

• Gracious God and Heavenly Father, no day of my life has passed without proving me guilty in your sight. I stand in need of your blessing of forgiveness. Teach me now the liberating treasures of your truth found in Psalm 32. AMEN.

2. Adoration: Praise God for Who He Is

What should you praise God for based on your passage?

• Our LORD welcomes sinners into his presence to confess their sins.
• Our LORD delights to forgive when we confess and forsake our sin.
• Our LORD and His help can be found in times of trouble as we seek him in believing prayer.
• Our Lord surrounds his people with his protective care (a hiding place).
• Our LORD surrounds us with his steadfast love as we trust in Him.
• Our LORD offers his instruction and careful guidance to repentant sinners.

3. Confession: Acknowledge and Turn from your Sinfulness

What sin should you confess based on your passage?

• The ultimate sin in this Psalm seems to be that of trying to cover my own sin. There are only two ways to live before God: Keep silent about your greatest need or confess your greatest need.
• Secondary sins: Diminish my need for God’s forgiveness. Abuse God’s gracious pardon by continuing to tolerate what God wants to kill in me – sin!

Are there any sins you need to confess to others? Make note of them and make a plan to keep a clean conscience before both God and man (Acts 24:16).

• How often I have been like a stubborn mule before you. Persisting in going my own way and refusing to go yours… needing the bit and bridle.

4. Thanksgiving: Express Gratitude for God’s Works and Gifts

Now work back through your passage and look for things to thank God for. What has he done for you that fills your heart with gratitude?

What should you thank God for based on your passage?

• Forgiveness is not cheap and easy business.
• The precious blood of the only-begotten Son of God had to be spilled to cover my sin.
• He is only one who lived perfectly with no deceit ever.
• Your hand O Father was heavy upon your Son at the cross so that you might always hold me in the palm of your hands… so that nothing would ever snatch me from that place of security and intimacy with you.

5. Supplication: Ask God to Meet Your Spiritual and Physical Needs

What should you ask for yourself based on your passage?

• That I would be quick to confess and forsake my sin when the Spirit convicts me of it.
• That prayer would become a notable feature of my life. That I would “offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found.”
• That I would experience in supernatural ways in my daily life and decisions your guiding ministry of instruction, teaching, and counseling.
• That I would know in my heart constantly that your eye is upon me which would enable me to reject sin, be killing it actively, and pursue in thought, word and deed those things that please You.
• That I would be greater capacity to be glad in You no matter what my circumstances and that my personal and corporate worship of you would be marked mainly by JOY.

6. Consecration: Commit to Obeying God’s Will

What should you commit to doing based on your passage?

• Regularly, deliberately, and carefully criticize yourself in the presence of God which is your confession. “Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord.”
• Cherish with a renewed sense of wonder his grace and forgiveness.
• Seek out his counsel and instruction and expect his guidance.
• Look for ways to actively cultivate a stronger capacity to trust in the Lord.

7. Intercession: Ask God to Meet the Needs of Others

Record your prayer for God’s help.

• Develop in each member of our family a sensitive conscience that is quick to confess their sin to You.
• Move in the hearts of each one so that they cherish with a renewed sense of wonder your grace and forgiveness.
• So work in their hearts that they recognize quickly when they are attempting to cover and hide their own sin. Make this tendency repugnant to them.
• Grant them a hunger to spend time with you and in your Word so that they seek out your counsel and instruction and expect your guidance.
• Show them how to actively cultivate a stronger capacity to trust in the Lord.
• Would you be so kind to preserve every member of my family from trouble… surround them with your salvation, deliverance, and steadfast love. May you become their hiding place.
• Deliver them from a stubborn, self-will that resists Your Spirit and Word.
• Bring them to a place where they find their chief happiness, delight, and gladness in You, not in anything else.