Speak to God in His Personal Language: Studying to Pray the Bible

I’ve realized to . . . season my prayers with the phrase of God. It’s a means of speaking to God in his language — talking his dialect, utilizing his vernacular, using his idioms.

—Joni Eareckson Tada

When the Holy Spirit indwells us, he causes us to cry, “Abba. Father!” (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). The Spirit creates in all believers a brand new heavenward, Fatherward orientation. In different phrases, all these indwelled by the Spirit actually need to pray.

Finally, although, most believers fall into various kinds of routines of their prayers. That is fairly regular, however there are each useful and unhelpful prayer routines.

The Drawback: Dry Prayers

One of the vital frequent and problematic prayer habits is the tendency to say the identical previous issues about the identical previous issues. For a lot of, this ends in boredom in prayer. Phrases with out selection are inclined to develop into phrases with out which means. Jesus himself warned about the issue of heaping up “empty phrases” in prayer (Matthew 6:7). Once we do, we often endure from wandering minds and chilly hearts greater than profit from communion with God.

The issue shouldn’t be that we pray about the identical previous issues. Most days are dominated by ideas about the identical issues — household, future, funds, work or schoolwork or different day by day labor, church or ministry, and the present disaster in our lives (such crises may be good, reminiscent of a brand new job, or unhealthy, reminiscent of job bother). Fortunately, most of those don’t change fairly often.

So, on a given day, once you go to hope about your life, it’s common to hope concerning the routine issues that make up on a regular basis life. The issue consists in saying the identical previous issues about the identical previous issues. Earlier than lengthy, these prayers can formalize into merely memorized psychological scripts that produce a heartless, unsatisfying prayer life. We all know prayer shouldn’t be a dry repetition of routine phrases, however both we don’t have the time or psychological power to think about new methods to hope, or we merely don’t know what to do about the issue.

Personally, I’m satisfied that is an virtually common expertise. However take coronary heart: in case you are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, there’s a easy, everlasting, biblical answer.

Easy Answer

For the reason that Holy Spirit makes each believer a praying particular person, then prayer should be each easy and significant. God’s individuals span all ages, academic ranges, psychological capacities, and levels of Christian maturity. And but, if every of us is to hope, then prayer should be basically easy. And will any believer suppose that God intends prayer to be boring? After all not. Prayer, since it’s speaking with God himself, ought to be deeply significant.

So, I hope you’re satisfied that each Christian — together with you — can have a nourishing, satisfying prayer life. And I need you to imagine there actually is an easy, everlasting, biblical answer. And right here it’s: While you pray, pray the Bible. Flip the phrases of Scripture into the phrases of your prayers.

Your Prayers in God’s Phrases

The best place to start is within the Psalms. So let me present you what it would seem like to hope by means of Psalm 23. You learn the primary line: “The Lord is my shepherd.” Then you can pray one thing like this:

Lord, I thanks that you’re my shepherd. You’re a superb shepherd and have shepherded me all my life. Would you please shepherd my household as we speak as your sheep? Information them into your methods. Trigger them to like you as their shepherd as I really like you as my shepherd. And would you please shepherd me on this resolution I’ve to make about my future? I need to do your will. And shepherd our undershepherds at church. Shepherd them as they shepherd us.

And then you definately proceed praying about no matter involves thoughts from the phrases “The Lord is my shepherd.” When you’ll be able to’t consider the rest to say, you’ll be able to learn the subsequent line: “I shall not need.”

Thanks, good shepherd, for by no means leaving me in need. I haven’t missed many meals. All that I’ve and all that I’m is from you. However I do know some who’re in need. Would you please present for them? Is there a way you’d use me to assist meet their wants?

“While you pray, pray the Bible. Flip the phrases of Scripture into the phrases of your prayers.”

When nothing else involves thoughts, then go to the subsequent verse. Possibly you don’t perceive the subsequent verse. Advantageous — skip it. Possibly you perceive the subsequent verse completely, nevertheless it doesn’t immediate something so that you can pray. That’s okay; be at liberty to maneuver on. You proceed on this means till both you run out of time otherwise you run out of psalm. In the event you run out of psalm however nonetheless have time to hope, you may go to the subsequent psalm.

See how straightforward that’s? Anybody can try this — even a toddler. No matter how effectively the Bible, you can try this.

Important Dialog

To hope this manner doesn’t require you to memorize a way or an acrostic. You don’t have to recollect any notes. All you could do is open your Bible and speak to God about what you learn.

Better of all, once you pray the Bible, you by no means once more say the identical previous issues about the identical previous issues. And also you don’t have to think about new issues to say or various things to hope about. You’ll pray concerning the stuff you do need to pray about day by day, however you’ll accomplish that in new methods. As an alternative of claiming, “Bless my household” daily, you’ll pray, “Shepherd my household” once you pray by means of Psalm 23. And also you’ll pray issues like, “Assist my household expertise your presence wherever they go as we speak” once you pray by means of Psalm 139. And the prayers usually are not merely totally different every day (although that alone makes praying the Bible worthwhile); there’s additionally one thing about praying the residing phrases of Scripture that awakens your coronary heart in day by day prayer for your self, your loved ones, and every thing else you pray about.

And never solely will you pray otherwise about the identical issues, however once you pray the Bible, you’ll additionally end up praying about stuff you’ve by no means prayed about earlier than as a result of the textual content prompts you to take action.

While you pray this manner, you’ll be extra targeted and discover your thoughts wandering much less. Your prayers will likely be extra God-centered. You’ll be inspired, convicted, edified, and taught since you are praying the phrase of God — experiences that seldom happen once you say the identical previous issues about the identical previous issues.

You’ll additionally discover that you simply expertise prayer for what it truly is: an actual dialog with an actual Individual. Now not will prayer be merely a recitation of what you need to say to God, however you’ll be speaking with God. The Bible is God’s phrase, God talking. He speaks to you in his phrase, and also you reply to what he has stated — simply as you’d in an actual dialog with an actual particular person.

Spirit of Prayer

George Mueller (1805–1898) is broadly thought of one of many best males of prayer and religion in Christian historical past. For the primary ten years of what he known as his “life of religion” (by which period his prayer life was already legendary), he stated that when he would start to hope every morning, it might take him as much as an hour earlier than he received into “the spirit of prayer” as a result of his thoughts wandered a lot. And solely then, Mueller stated, would he actually start to hope. However as soon as he realized to pray the Bible, he stated he “scarcely ever” had this drawback once more.

What about believers throughout New Testomony instances? In Acts 4:24–30, whereas praying in response to persecution, the church in Jerusalem wove the phrases of Psalm 2:1–2 into their prayer. “And once they had prayed, the place during which they have been gathered collectively was shaken” (Acts 4:31).

What about Jesus? On the cross, he spoke briefly seven instances. And when he cried, “My God, my God, why have you ever forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) and uttered his closing phrases, “Into your arms I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46), he prayed the Psalms (22:1 and 31:5).

One of the vital prayerful Christians ever, George Mueller, prayed the Bible. Christians within the early church prayed the Bible. Jesus prayed the Bible. Why not you?

Why not open your Bible, or recall a verse you’ve memorized, and check out it now?