Listen and Pray through Psalm 22
Click the button below to listen and pray through this passage. This practice will take about 10 minutes.
Prepare
Today we are going to come and sit within the shadow of the cross. So let us come today in a spirit of thankfulness and humility.
Take a moment to release any expectations or agendas. We are simply here to meet with our savior Jesus, our suffering servant king. Breathe deeply. Settle your heart. Feel your heartrate begin to slow. The only item on your to-do list right now is to rest in the presence of Christ.
Our passage today is a messianic psalm…meaning it was written over a thousand years before Jesus walked the earth, yet it points to the coming messiah. In fact, Jesus himself quoted this psalm while he was suffering on the cross. As we listen to it in it’s entirety, see if you can picture Jesus in the words. Ask yourself why Jesus would have quoted this psalm and pay attention to any words or phrases that catch your attention.
Read
Psalm 22
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
2 Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief.
3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 Our ancestors trusted in you,
and you rescued them.
5 They cried out to you and were saved.
They trusted in you and were never disgraced.
6 But I am a worm and not a man.
I am scorned and despised by all!
7 Everyone who sees me mocks me.
They sneer and shake their heads, saying,
8 “Is this the one who relies on the Lord?
Then let the Lord save him!
If the Lord loves him so much,
let the Lord rescue him!”
9 Yet you brought me safely from my mother’s womb
and led me to trust you at my mother’s breast.
10 I was thrust into your arms at my birth.
You have been my God from the moment I was born.
11 Do not stay so far from me,
for trouble is near,
and no one else can help me.
12 My enemies surround me like a herd of bulls;
fierce bulls of Bashan have hemmed me in!
13 Like lions they open their jaws against me,
roaring and tearing into their prey.
14 My life is poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax,
melting within me.
15 My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.
16 My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs;
an evil gang closes in on me.
They have pierced my hands and feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
My enemies stare at me and gloat.
18 They divide my garments among themselves
and throw dice for my clothing.
19 O Lord, do not stay far away!
You are my strength; come quickly to my aid!
20 Save me from the sword;
spare my precious life from these dogs.
21 Snatch me from the lion’s jaws
and from the horns of these wild oxen.
22 I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.
I will praise you among your assembled people.
23 Praise the Lord, all you who fear him!
Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob!
Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy.
He has not turned his back on them,
but has listened to their cries for help.
25 I will praise you in the great assembly.
I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied.
All who seek the Lord will praise him.
Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.
27 The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him.
All the families of the nations will bow down before him.
28 For royal power belongs to the Lord.
He rules all the nations.
29 Let the rich of the earth feast and worship.
Bow before him, all who are mortal,
all whose lives will end as dust.
30 Our children will also serve him.
Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord.
31 His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born.
They will hear about everything he has done.
Listen & Reflect
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
Let the honesty of these words wash over you.
These are not only David’s words—but Jesus’ words on the cross.
By quoting it, Jesus gives voice to the full weight of His suffering—not just physical pain, but the deep spiritual anguish of bearing sin and separation.Sit with these words.
Hear the heartbreak.
Hear the ache of feeling unseen, unheard.
Can you bring your own cries to God today?
What do you need to lament?
Let your heart speak freely to Him.
“Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.” (v.3)
In the very same breath as the pain, there is trust.
Even in suffering, David—and Jesus—remember who God is.
Take a moment to say:
“Even in sorrow, You are still good.”
“They have pierced my hands and feet…
They divide my garments among themselves
and throw dice for my clothing.” (vv.16, 18)
Jesus quoted Psalm 22 not just to convey his suffering, but to also call attention to the rest of the psalm, as if to say…it is now being fulfilled. It is finished.
As you hear these words, remember:
Jesus entered into your pain.
He took on real wounds.
He was mocked. Rejected. Pierced.
He knows every wound you carry.
Sit with the cross for a moment.
Picture Him there—out of love, for you.
Whisper gently:
“Thank You, Jesus… You understand my suffering.”
“I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.
I will praise you among your assembled people.” (v.22)
“The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to Him.” (v.27)
The psalm that begins in agony ends in hope.
It moves from “Why have You abandoned me?”
to
“I will praise You.”
This is the rhythm of Holy Week:
from the sorrow of the cross
to the joy of resurrection.
Let hope rise in your heart—even if faintly.
God is not done. Redemption is coming.
Pray
My God,
when I feel alone,
when the pain is too heavy,
and You seem far—
still, I remember:
You are holy.
You are faithful.
You understand suffering.
Jesus, You were pierced,
rejected, mocked—
for love.
In my cries, be near.
In my sorrow, stay close.
And lead me from despair
to hope.
Amen.