Praying Narratives: A Look at the Old Testament

Text: (NKJV)

Text: (NKJV)

Introduction:

John Piper…

Transition: How can we…

Review:

1. We’ve looked at Psalms.

2. We’ve looked at N.T. letters.

Transition: Now let’s look at narratives…

Background:

1. We have the whole Bible to pray.

2. Narratives shouldn’t be ignored.

Transition: But…

Exposition:

I. Praying a narrative presents special challenges.

A. It doesn’t normally lend itself to verse-by-verse praying.

1. Verses that have general, geographic, temporal or introductory material might not work.

c.f. (NKJV) — Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.

2. This isn’t exactly conducive to prayer.

B. It may sometimes include difficult material.

1. There are some narratives that might leave us a little uncomfortable.

Illustration: Rape of Dinah

2. God still included that material which means it still holds some value.

Note: We just have to figure out what that is.

C. It may not seem to apply.

1. Some material doesn’t seem all that applicable.

Note: Some of the laws in Leviticus may seem a little difficult.

2. Yet those laws still represent something valuable.

Note: They are still God’s laws.

Transition: So keeping all this in mind…

II. Praying a narrative is very possible.

A. Read the whole passage.

1. Instead of micromanaging the passage, look at the whole thing.

Note: Most Bibles have sections called pericopes which will help with this step.

Definition: Pericopes are those usually bold “subheadings” in your Bible that break up specific content.

Note: Pericopes will help you determine where similar narrative material begins and stops.

2. Read the entire pericope.

Note: Make sure to listen carefully to what characters are saying and how they are interacting.

Illustration: God to Abraham

c.f. (NKJV)

Promises to Abram

12 Now the Lord had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country,

From your family

And from your father’s house,

To a land that I will show you.

2 I will make you a great nation;

I will bless you

And make your name great;

And you shall be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you,

And I will curse him who curses you;

And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

4 So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.

7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. 9 So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.

B. Find the overarching principle in it.

1. Boil the whole passage down to the basic point of the narrative.

Note: For our passage the point would be obedience to God’s call and how he rewards it.

Illustration: Leviticus and “Whew! Thanks for not making me do all this!”

2. Make that point your main point in prayer.

Note: Use that point to guide you in your prayer discussion on various aspects of your life.

Idea: This might be a good time to have your prayer list next to you so that you are ready to apply this principle to whatever you need to pray about.

C. Look for Christ in it.

1. No matter what part of the Bible you read, find how Christ fits in with the grander narrative.

Note: The grander narrative is the overall theme of the Bible which shows God’s redemption of His people through His Son.

2. Thank God that the principle you found invariably points toward His great plan of salvation.

Note: If you do this step properly, you will always find Christ somewhere.