Laying yourself out in prayer

[Our offering of ourselves]

The first thing we realize from the Psalms is that in prayer anything goes. Virtually everything human is appropriate as material for prayer:

• reflections and observations,
• fear and anger,
• guilt and sin,
• questions and doubts,
• needs and desires,
• praise and gratitude,
• suffering and death.

Nothing human is excluded. The Psalms are an extended refutation that prayer is being "nice" before God. Not at all - it is an offering of ourselves, just as we are.

[God's offering of himself]

The second thing is that prayer is access to everything that God is for us:

• holiness,
• justice,
• mercy,
• forgiveness,
• sovereignty,
• blessing,
• vindication,
• salvation,
• love,
• majesty,
• and glory.

The Psalms are a detailed demonstration that prayer brings us into the welcoming presence of God as he generously offers himself, just as he is, to us.

(formatting mine, p. 617, Eugene Peterson, "Prayer" in Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible)