Psalm 19

I have heard of doing this before, but have you ever tried "Praying the Psalms?" I often pray a slightly edited version of Psalm 23 at night before I fall asleep. Here's another short Psalm that could easily be used during prayer time. It's about God's creation, testifying to His glory.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. 

²Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.

³Without speech or language, without a sound to be heard,

⁴their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun.

⁵Like a bridegroom emerging from his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course,

⁶it rises at one end of the heavens and runs its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.

⁷The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple.

⁸The precepts of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart; the commandments of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

⁹The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true, being altogether righteous.

¹⁰They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.

¹¹By them indeed Your servant is warned; in keeping them is great reward.

¹²Who can discern his own errors? Cleanse me from my hidden faults.

¹³Keep Your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless and cleansed of great transgression.

¹⁴May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." - Psalm 19

That last verse (v14) is an absolutely perfect prayer!

Verse 1 in a prayer could sound like this:

"The heavens declare Your glory, O God; the skies proclaim the work of Your hands."

We don't do enough praising in our prayers. Maybe by including this, or something like it, we can make our prayers more pleasing in God's eyes.

Another bunch of Psalms that can turn into prayers are the Psalms of Ascent (Psalm 120 - 134). Here's the first verse of Psalm 121 as an example: 

"I lift up my eyes to the hills - 

    where does my help come from?

²My help comes from the Lord,

    the Maker of heaven and earth."

Listen at the 3:49 mark of the following song and see if it doesn't sound familiar.

Praise You In This Storm - Casting Crowns