Praying through the Psalms

For the first time in my life, I am attempting to read through the Bible in a year. It is an enjoyable and meaningful exercise, and I am grateful to my accountability partner John for walking beside me in this endeavor. Right now I am in Genesis and Psalms. I love Genesis for the historical and theological readings, but for me nothing in the Bible can stand up to the Psalms for drawing me into glorifying God. Some of my favorite Psalms are 1, 18, 40, 77, and 139.

This is Psalm 139 (NASB)
1O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
2You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar.
3You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all.
5You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me.
6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
7Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
9If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
11If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,"
12Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day Darkness and light are alike to You.
13For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb.
14I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.
15My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
16Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.
17How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand When I awake, I am still with You.
19O that You would slay the wicked, O God; Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.
20For they speak against You wickedly, And Your enemies take Your name in vain.
21Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
22I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies.
23Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
24And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

What a profound look at God's omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. A good practice to have is to pray the Psalms back to God as a form of worship. Another idea is to rewrite to Psalm in your own words, than pray that to God. David's words are great, but something from your heart is great too. For example I will include my personal rewording of Psalm 139.

Oh God! Make me transparent
As I already am to You
You know my actions
My hang-outs, cliques, and thoughts
I cannot say a word that You do not already know
You have me surrounded
I have to put up my hands in surrender.
Where could I escape to?
The skies, the depths, heaven, hell - You are there
The darkness of depression
The lights of fame
They are the same to you.
You made me - and You did a wonderful job
Thank you for that - cause I sometimes doubt my utility
You laid out my steps
Even before I knew how to walk
Now that is worthy of praise.
Keep me transparent - as I am
Even keep my righteous anger in check
Lead me in the steps you have for me.

I hope this can help you look at the Psalms as a living book, something you can go to no matter how you are feeling and get a good word about God.