We allow an unhealthy practice when we consistently pray without a Bible. Good prayer is over an open Bible. The Bible is the Christian’s prayer book. It is not to be read passively; it is to be read as if one were having a conversation with God. It is a love letter as well as an instruction manual for life. You read, and you respond in prayer. You borrow from the concepts and language of the Bible. You wrestle. You ask God, what does this mean…. to me … right now? In the pages of scripture, we find the clearest and soundest resonance of God’s voice.
The Bible is our prayer book. From it we draw the language to pray. On the basis of its promises we argue our claims in the courtroom of heaven. By it we are guided to make corrections in our lives, change our plea, deepen our intensity, or discover some answer we had not seen before. From the pages of God’s sacred Word, He speaks most clearly. Scripture comes alive. New meanings emerge. Our hearts are strangely warmed. Our minds understand. Our spirit is renewed. Pray with an open Bible. Make your prayers consistent with Scripture.
Praying the Psalm is like a house already built and that you are invited to enter there to make it your own. Praying from within the Psalm is to pray your own prayer… though you use words already written, you have become the present and living soul within those words.
How to Pray Using the Bible
- Read a portion of Scripture.
- Reflect. Ask, “What word or phrase, what verse leaped off the page when I read this?” Listen for God’s word in that word.
- Respond. Let the Scriptures touch your heart.
- Rest. Simply receive His presence. There can be quiet even in His thunder.
- Become. Live it out! Ask for grace change, and to become.
The Bible is to be prayed! You must enter the Scripture and pray from within it.
