Learning to Pray the Bible

Learning to Pray the Bible Jesus’s Call to Prayer • He provides content emphases • He highlights God’s heart towards petitioners …it is high time for me to write to you fully on the painful subject of prayer.… The best thing, where it is possible, is to keep the patient from the serious intention of praying altogether. Screwtape Letters, 15 Problems we face when we pray • • • • • • • We just repeat the same things We don't feel like praying We pray out of balance We focus wrongly on ourselves We get discouraged We get distracted We get bored The Solution: Pray the Bible Prayer the Bible is a God-appointed way to teach us the grammar of prayer. • Daniel in Babylon (Jeremiah 33) • Mary’s Magnificat (various) • Peter and John (Psalm 2, 146) • Jesus on the cross (Psalm 22) Why should you pray the Bible? 1. It helps you focus on what is most important 2. It helps you focus on praying 3. It helps you pray confidently 4. It changes you while you pray 5. It helps you express yourself accurately 6. It keeps your prayers fresh and specific 7. It keeps your prayers in biblical proportion 8. It helps you understand the Bible Turn the Bible into prayer…This is the best way of knowing the meaning of the Bible, and of learning to pray. Robert Murray M’Cheyn Suggested Methods • Pattern: pray biblical prayers back to God • Fellowship: interact with God about the Bible • Reflection: summarize in writing and pray it to God God gave the Psalms to us so that we would give the Psalms back to God [in song]. No other book of the Bible was inspired for that expressed purpose. Praying the Bible, 46 A Starting Point A Psalm A Day: [Day of the month]+30+30+30+30 1. Scan all five 2. Choose one to pray For example: Psalm 11, 41, 71, 101, 131 Other Biblical Examples Narrative: Genesis 11 Proverb: Proverbs 1 Letter: Ephesians 1:1–11, Ephesians 3:14–21, Titus 1 Prophecy: Revelation 22 Closing Encouragements • Remember God’s heart towards you • Come to God like a student, ready to learn his heart • Don’t ignore “the same old things”; apply the text to them Learning to Pray the Bible