Have you ever heard someone that can pray really well? And then isn’t it a bit intimidating when you’re asked to pray right after that master pray-er?
Or maybe you hear about people that spend extended time praying. But you think, “I run out of things to say after just a few minutes,” or “I get so distracted when I’m trying to pray.”
Here’s a thought from Mark Batterson’s book The Circle Maker which may help you—
“Prayer was never meant to be a monologue; it was meant to be a dialogue. Think of Scripture as God’s part of the script; prayer is our part. Scripture is God’s way of initiating a conversation; prayer is our response. The paradigm shift happens when you realize that the Bible wasn’t meant to be read through; the Bible was meant to be prayed through. And if you pray through it, you’ll never run out of things to talk about.”
Think about it this way. If you are a parent, doesn’t it get your attention when your child says, “Dad, you said…”? I know that makes my ears perk up. It’s the same way when we use Scripture to pray. It’s like saying to God, “Dad, you said….”
Praying Scripture also helps you personalize the promises you come across. Whether you need courage, health, money, wisdom, protection, or anything else, there is a promise in the Bible that you can pray to God.
As Mark said, don’t just read through your Bible, pray through your Bible!
Craig T. Owens 