Praying Scripture

When we look at how we are spending our devotional time, there is often a real disparity between the amount of time we spend reading the Scripture and praying.  It is easier to read about spending time with God than it is to spend time with God.  We read about some of the spiritual giants of the faith who not only rise early to pray, but spend big chunks of time actually praying and we wonder how they do it.  We pray and pray and pray, cover the entire waterfront of intercession, and are amazed that we have spent only ten minutes actually praying.   From the looks of the time we spend in prayer, God might come to the conclusion that we love Him a lot, but only want to spend a little time with Him.  Part of our problem with spending so little time in praying is that we live with a narrow definition of prayer.  

Learning to pray the Scriptures is one way of enlarging the scope of our praying.  For those unacquainted with such praying, praying the 23rd Psalm might sound something like, "Lord, You are indeed my Shepherd.  I thank You for constantly providing care and protection for me.  Help me, Lord, to know the difference between what I want and what I need and then help me to be content with what You provide.  Give me a heart to heed Your leading so that I might live a balanced life, a life of trusting in You for what I really need, and a life where the needs of my inner being are clear to me so that I might go after them instead of some lesser things.  Lead me in the right way, Lord, keep me from wandering and help me to live so that others see Your hand on my life."  (Psalm 23:1-3)    

By a thing as simple as changing the pronouns, this prayer can become a prayer not for ourselves, but for someone we love, or someone who has asked that we remember them in our prayers.  The one certain thing is that when we pray the Scriptures, we are praying inside the heart and will of God for these are the words and thoughts He has placed on the inspired page we hold in our hands.