Pray the Bible (Matthew Barrett)

I will be the first one to admit that sometimes my prayers can become stagnant. When this happens I find myself babbling words that I don’t really mean. To make matters worse, there are times when I frankly just don’t know what to pray. While I can always think of many personal problems or requests to bring before the Lord, I know I should be exalting God himself in my prayers but fail to do so. If you can relate, then allow me to give you some very practical advice: Pray the Bible. That’s right, pray passages you read in Scripture. This takes some hermeneutical wisdom as not every text is meant to be prayed. But so many passages in Scripture can be prayed, or at least the truth and intended application of those passages can be engaged by the believer as he goes before the Lord.

So where should you start? The first, and most obvious, place to start is with the Lord’s Prayer itself (Matt. 6:9-13). It is not an accident that so many of the confessions and catechisms from the Reformation focus on the Lord’s Prayer. The reason is because in this prayer Jesus is teaching his disciples how to approach their heavenly Father. Notice, Jesus begins by exalting the Father (“hallowed be your name”) and his kingdom (“Your kingdom come, your will be done”). Only then does he move to the believer’s needs and petitions (“Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts”). In an effort not to pray selfish prayers (treating God like my personal Santa Claus!), I try to follow this pattern too. But having done so, we cannot miss the fact that the Lord’s Prayer does address our needs and encourages us to bring our needs to the Father. What is the most important need we have? Answer: mercy. Jesus gets right down to the heart of our problem, which is our need for forgiveness (Matt. 6:14-15). So the Lord’s Prayer in many ways is a gospel prayer, addressing our dependence upon God for grace.

Because the prayer is short, I have taught it to my children, one of whom is as young as three years old. Most likely, your children have no idea how to pray. Well, have them memorize the Lord’s Prayer and recite it before bed each night. What a great way to fill their minds and hearts with theology from Jesus himself.

Next, turn to a psalm, and I would recommend Psalm 23, written by King David. This psalm is truly a treasure for the Christian, especially in times of temptation and hardship. I would recommend praying this psalm when you are struggling to trust the Lord. David reminds us that God is a shepherd protecting, guiding, and leading his people or sheep. Again, notice that the prayer roots who we are in who God is and what he does. We do not want because he is our shepherd (23:1). We do not fear evil because God is present and his staff protects us (23:4). We can rest eternally secure because God is merciful (23:6). After you finish praying and memorizing Psalm 23, go for Psalm 25 as well. It seems that the latter only elaborates upon the former.

My last suggestion does not come from any one particular text but from the whole tenor of Scripture. Personally, as I read through Scripture each year I find my heart crying out to God as the Holy Spirit convicts me through a particular passage. Let me give you some examples. When I come to Peter’s great confession (Mark 8:29), I too say to Jesus that I believe he is the Christ. When Jesus tells his listeners not to become anxious for if God so meticulously cares for the lilies of the field he will take care of those made in his own image, I then confess to God that I worry far too much and am a man of so little faith (Matt. 6:30). I then renew my trust in his sovereignty, omnipotence, wisdom, and tender care, and seek his kingdom and righteousness first (Matt. 6:33). And when I hear Paul exhort Timothy to preach the Word (2 Tim. 4:2), I pray that God would give me the strength and boldness to do the same, being ready in season and out of season, reproving, rebuking, and exhorting. The point is this: Don’t just read your Bible, but seek to pray its truths, applying them and living them out.

So, pray Scripture. Put the words of God in your mouth. You will find them to be sweet, refreshing, and nurturing to your soul. As David found to be true, the law of the Lord is sweeter than honey, and in keeping it there is great reward (Ps. 19:10, 11).

Matthew Barrett (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Assistant Professor of Christian Studies at California Baptist University, as well as the founder and executive editor of Credo Magazine. Barrett is also Senior Pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church. He is the author and editor of several books, including Salvation by Grace: The Case for Effectual Calling and Regeneration. You can read about Barrett’s other publications at matthewmbarrett.com.

This column was taken from the new issue of Credo Magazine. Read others like it today:

 

To view the Magazine as a PDF

We live in a world that screams to get our attention. From the moment you wake up to the second you hit your pillow at night, something or someone wants your time. Hosts of people are waiting for you to friend them on Facebook. The world awaits your next tweet and blog post. Your phone is buzzing because you have another email that needs your response. When you go home and turn on your TV there are innumerable “must see” shows, as well as breaking news you cannot afford to miss.  Let’s face it, the world we live in is quite loud, and it never sleeps.

In the midst of all this noise, where does extended time in prayer fit in? Or does it? Prayer seems to run contrary to the busyness of life in the twenty-first century. If you don’t believe me, ask yourself this question, “When was the last time I spent more than 15 minutes in uninterrupted prayer with the Lord?” Church history shows that for Christians who came before us, private and corporate prayer was essential, assumed to be a necessary staple for the Christian and the church. After all, it is the God-given means by which we have fellowship and communion with God himself.  Should we neglect prayer we actually neglect God, and the consequences are spiritually fatal. But should we set aside time to pray to God, we will benefit greatly, finding God to be a refuge and a shield in the midst of a chaotic, consuming, and demanding world.

In this issue of Credo Magazine we will focus on prayer, looking at how Christians in ages past have understood the importance of prayer, as well as Scripture’s own emphasis on the necessity of prayer. Not only will we recognize the importance of prayer, but in this issue we will look at how we pray as well. My guess is that most Christians have never even thought about how they should pray. Well here is a great opportunity to do so!

Contributors include: Gerald Bray, Aimee Byrd, Juan R. Sanchez, Peter Beck, Sandy Willson, Tim Keller, Sam Storms, Phil Johnson, Donald Whitney, Nancy Guthrie, among many others.