So let’s begin the journey today by exploring a trail that is often known but rarely taken. In the vast mountain range of prayer, there is an aged and well-worn path called scripture. This method of prayer connects us with a long history as it opens the way for the living Word of God to penetrate, divide, heal and reveal the things God may be up to in our lives and world.
The thing to remember when praying scripture is that your goal is not to get through the prayer and move on to the next item; it is to let the prayer get through you and move in to your heart. This requires that you pray it slowly and thoughtfully, often repeating a line or phrase that stands out to you. As you pray remember that you are free to change the tense or person to better fit it for prayer. For instance, when the Psalmist calls out “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise” (Psalm 48:1), you can say “Great are You Lord...” You can also feel free to branch off in the middle of the passage to expand on it a bit. For instance, when confessing sin through Psalm 51 you may want to be specific when speaking about the “sin that is always before [you].”
Maybe you’d want to rewrite one of Paul’s prayers into your own words or put a psalm to music and sing it. Or perhaps you are led to meditate on a narrative section until you imaginatively enter the story and converse with God that way (I wrote about Lectio Divina in an earlier post). My point is that praying the scripture is not limited to only praying the words of the Bible, but praying the words is my point today.
Knowing that the Bible is filled with prayers and with passages appropriate for prayer, here are a few verses to get you started. Falling back on the old prayer model known as A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication), you could begin by adoring God with I Chronicles 29:10-13 or Romans 11:33-36. As mentioned above, a great passage for confession is Psalm 51. Thanksgiving is seen in Psalm 136 where you could add your own experiences of God’s love which endures forever. Finally, Paul gives some excellent prayers of supplication in Ephesians 1:17-19 and Philippians 1:9-11.
The simplest way to do this is to pick up a book that guides you in praying words from scripture. My favorite is Ken Boa’s two volume work, Face to Face, which collects scripture and turns them into daily prayers of adoration, confession, renewal, petition, intercession, affirmation and thanksgiving. Go ahead, give it a shot. Walk this path a few times and notice what happens to your awareness of God and His work in your life.
Or if you are looking for something that addresses your current need and you’d like the chance to branch out more on your own, pick up Evan Howard’s book, Praying the Scriptures: A Field Guide for Your Spiritual Journey. It is a wonderful source for information, ideas and suggested passages.
In the next few days, I encourage you to expand your practice of prayer by praying scripture for the first time or, if it is already part of your practice, by doing it in a new way (email me if you’d like some ideas). Who knows, as you hike this path you may just become a little more aware of how God is using your practice of prayer to deepen your relationship with Him and form you more completely into His image.
Rob
