Is your prayer life a bit stale right now?
If so, Donald S. Whitney, author of Praying The Bible, has a suggestion for you: Pray the Bible.
I have put Whitney's approach into practice in the last few days and find it practical and helpful.
Christians have prayed the scriptures for many centuries. And there are many who do today.
D. L. Moody, the great American evangelist, and George Muller, founder of British orphanages and an apostle of prayer, prayed with the Bible open before them. Each considered prayer vital in seeing God move powerfully in their work.
Whitney, an American seminary professor, says the advantage of using scripture passages to fuel your prayers is that you are using God's words and his promises. And, as you pray the Lord's words, you are praying his will.
Another advantage: You will never run short of prayer material.
Whitney says Muller began praying the scriptures after finding he had a hard time concentrating during his early morning prayer time. His prayer life took wings when he began praying through Bible passages, even as he walked through nearby fields.
I like Whitney's simple method. Here is his illustration of someone praying through David's Psalm 23:
He urges us to continue praying through a psalm until we feel we have completed our prayer time. We might even go on to another scripture passage.
Whitney says the psalms lend themselves most easily to this kind of prayer because they were originally written as prayers.
But he notes that the letters written by the apostles are full of great material for praying. And even the gospels are good as we can use an incident in Jesus' life as a springboard to prayer.
In fact, there are Old Testament passages which offer inspiration for prayer, too.
Whitney emphasizes that praying the Bible is not the same as studying or
meditating on the scriptures. The purpose is to use God's word to stimulate prayer.
As Whitney says, we need never be bored in our prayer times again.
If so, Donald S. Whitney, author of Praying The Bible, has a suggestion for you: Pray the Bible.
I have put Whitney's approach into practice in the last few days and find it practical and helpful.
Christians have prayed the scriptures for many centuries. And there are many who do today.
D. L. Moody, the great American evangelist, and George Muller, founder of British orphanages and an apostle of prayer, prayed with the Bible open before them. Each considered prayer vital in seeing God move powerfully in their work.
Whitney, an American seminary professor, says the advantage of using scripture passages to fuel your prayers is that you are using God's words and his promises. And, as you pray the Lord's words, you are praying his will.
Another advantage: You will never run short of prayer material.
Whitney says Muller began praying the scriptures after finding he had a hard time concentrating during his early morning prayer time. His prayer life took wings when he began praying through Bible passages, even as he walked through nearby fields.
I like Whitney's simple method. Here is his illustration of someone praying through David's Psalm 23:
- Starting with verse 1 - "The Lord is my shepherd" - this person might thank God that the Lord has shepherded him all his life.
- Then, he might ask God to shepherd his family, guarding them against the ways of the world and guiding them into the ways of God.
- He might request the Lord to shepherd him in the decision that faces him about his future - does he change jobs or not?
- He might go on to pray for the leaders of the church - the church's "under-shepherds".
He urges us to continue praying through a psalm until we feel we have completed our prayer time. We might even go on to another scripture passage.
Whitney says the psalms lend themselves most easily to this kind of prayer because they were originally written as prayers.
But he notes that the letters written by the apostles are full of great material for praying. And even the gospels are good as we can use an incident in Jesus' life as a springboard to prayer.
In fact, there are Old Testament passages which offer inspiration for prayer, too.
Whitney emphasizes that praying the Bible is not the same as studying or
meditating on the scriptures. The purpose is to use God's word to stimulate prayer.
As Whitney says, we need never be bored in our prayer times again.
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