Psalm 23 and the Lord’s Prayer

Psalm 23 is unquestionably the most loved, most quoted, and most well-known psalm. There is so much truth and comfort in this short psalm which is comprised of only six verses. It expresses so much about the character of our Heavenly Father. Each verse corresponds to one of the names of God.

Verse 1a – The Lord is my shepherd. – Jehovah Rohi – The Lord my Shepherd. He cares for us in the same way a shepherd cares for his flock.

Verse 1b – I shall not want. – Jehovah Jireh – The Lord will provide. – God will provide everything we need in every area of our lives, not just financially, but physically, socially, and spiritually. We will not lack.

Verse 2 – He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters. – Jehovah Shalom – The Lord is my Peace. God’s peace is not the absence of conflict or problems. We can even have peace on the inside when everything around us is in chaos.

Verse 3a – He restores my soul. – Jehovah Rapha – The Lord my Healer. He has the power to heal and restore physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

Verse 3b – He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Jehovah Tsidkenu – The Lord my Righteousness. – He is righteous, and through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have been made righteous. We can never be right with God on our own. It is all because of Him.

Verse 4 – Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. – Jehovah Sabaoth – The Lord of armies or hosts. We can rest in the fact that His universal sovereignty rules over all. He is King over all Heaven and Earth.

Verse 5a – You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. – Jehovah Nissi – The Lord my banner, mighty warrior, and victory. The battle is the Lord’s. He will contend with those who contend with us.

Verse 5b – You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. – Jehovah M’Kaddesh – The Lord who sanctifies and anoints us. He fills us and anoints us with the Holy Spirit and sets us apart for His purposes.

Verse 6 – Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. – Jehovah Shammah – The Lord is there. The Lord is with us. He is present and active and will never leave us. He goes before us and behind us.

Knowing and understanding God’s character helps us in so many ways. One of the things I do is pray through the names of God when I pray through The Lord’s Prayer.

Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father, Who is in Heaven, hallowed be Your name.” At this point, I begin to praise God for who He is and speak His names. For instance:

“Our Father, who is in Heaven, Hallowed be Your name. I praise you that you are Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord my Righteousness. I thank You that I do not come to You because of my own goodness, but because I have been made the righteousness of God in Christ because of what Jesus has done for me. Because You are my righteousness, I can come boldly to Your throne of grace to help me in my time of need.”

Then I go on to some of His other names:

“I praise You, Father, that you are Jehovah M’Kaddesh, the one who sanctifies and sets me apart. I pray that I will walk in your calling today and fulfill your purpose for my life.

“You are Jehovah Shalom, the Lord my Peace. I have peace in every situation – even in the midst of chaos and trials.

“I praise you that you are Jehovah Shammah. You are always with me. You never leave or forsake me. You are the God who is present and attentive in my life.

“I’m thankful that you are Jehovah Rapha, the Lord my Healer. Thank you for your healing flow in my body, mind, and soul. It is your will that I prosper and be in health even as my soul prospers. By Jesus’s stripes I am healed.

“I praise you that you are Jehovah Jireh. You meet every need that I have. I lack for nothing.

“You are Jehovah Nissi, the Lord who fights my battles. I have victory because Jesus lives in me and He has already overcome the world. The battle is the Lord’s.

“I praise you that you are Jehovah Rohi, the Lord my Shepherd. You guide me through this day and protect me from all enemies. Jesus said His sheep hear His voice, so I hear the voice of the Good Shepherd.”

This is just a sample of how you can pray using not just the Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6, but also Psalm 23. There is so much in common between them. There are many other things to pray about, but this is a good outline and can help get your mind focused. This is using just the first line of The Lord’s Prayer. You can go on with “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven” and pray over many other areas.

Many years ago, I read a book called, “Could You Not Tarry One Hour” by Larry Lea. He goes into much more depth and detail about how you can use the prayer as an outline and then go deeper into each area.

I hope this will help you in your prayer time and that you find yourself praying more often and with more intensity. We, as well as our families, churches, communities, country, and the world, desperately need God’s intervention which comes as we unite and prayer.

The song, “Jehovah,” by Elevation Worship is a great song to play often and goes along with this blog. I encourage you to listen to it!