Scripture and Prayer
- if you can remember back a long time ago, we began
talking about the Christian life you’ve always wanted to live
- my assumption was that all believers want to live godly
lives, but we’re frustrated, many of us, by our tendency to sin
- as the hymn says, "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel
it, prone to leave the God I love"
- how many times do we feel frustrated by our lack of
follow-through when it comes to pleasing Christ?
-
- so, way back in July I told you two things that won’t
work
- focusing on outward change doesn’t work
- self-effort doesn’t work – it’s not
a matter of simple will-power
- and I began to unravel what I believe the secret is
to a life that is pleasing to God
- I told you that I believed the pathway to spirituality
is through a set of spiritual disciplines that condition us to me more
like Christ
- just as you couldn’t expect to run a marathon
without entering months of rigorous training, you can’t expect
to live a life that is pleasing to God without entering into a regimen
of spiritual training
- really, what we do in private determines the success
of our walk with God day to day
-
- so far, I’ve talked about five spiritual disciplines,
and I’ll bet you can’t remember what they are
- celebration, slowing, servanthood, confession, and
secrecy
- and I have three more to cover: prayer, Scripture,
and in a couple of weeks, the subject of fasting
- so I want to ask you, how is it going?
- have you found that your walk with the Lord has been
improved by the practice of these private disciplines?
-
- a few weeks ago, my schedule was controlling me, rather
than me controlling my schedule
- I was feeling frustrated in my personal devotions,
fatigued, and a little harried
- and I took a day apart
- I actually booked a room in an Anglican convent for
a day, up in Willowdale, and spent the day in prayer and reflection
- you might not be comfortable with the idea of an Anglican
convent, but the main idea for me was to get away into a place of solitude
where I could spend time with my God in prayer, and in reflection of
my life and effectiveness
- but let me tell you that the time away, although too
short, renewed me in a way that nothing else could have
- in fact, I’m going back on a regular basis
- because I’m learning that nothing can replace
what God’s people throughout the ages have practiced and found
to be helpful: the regular practice of spiritual disciplines, not as
an end to themselves, but as a way to draw closer to God
-
- tonight I’d like to talk about the area of personal
devotions
- this is probably what you thought I would discuss when
I first began the series on spiritual disciplines – even though
they are only two of many practices
- I WANT TO TALK FIRST ABOUT MEDITATION ON SCRIPTURE
- what I want to talk about is not the two most common
methods of looking at Scripture in personal devotions
- the first common method is called study
- it’s important
- sometimes we need to get out our Bible helps and dig
down and do an in-depth study of the Word of God
- that’s absolutely crucial
- in fact, I believe that every Christian needs to invest
in some good Bible study tools that will last them a lifetime, because
the study of the Word of God is so important
- but that’s not what I want to look at today
-
- I also don’t want to look at the next common
method of looking at Scripture, which you could call survey
- I think it’s important to do this as well
- I have a few different one-year Bibles, and I think
they are useful to get an overview of books of the Bible, and to get
to know the Bible as a complete book rather than a few isolated verses
here and there
-
- but the problem with both of these common methods of
Bible study is that their goal is knowledge
- and as important as knowledge is, it isn’t enough
- you see, the goal of the Bible is not to give us more
information but to transform us
- some of the people with the greatest knowledge of the
Bible haven’t had their lives transformed by God’s Words
- how do I know this?
- (John 5:39) You diligently study the Scriptures because
you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures
that testify about me,
- (John 5:40) yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
- the religious leaders thought that their knowledge
of the Scriptures was proof of their spiritual greatness
- but they never allowed the Bible’s teachings to
transform their minds and hearts
- and they never met Jesus in the Scriptures
-
- there is a big difference between reading the Bible
to be transformed, and reading the Bible to find information or to prove
a point
- it is possible to read Scripture without being "washed
by the Word"
- as John Ortberg says, "The goal is not for us
to get through the Scriptures. The goal is to get the Scriptures through
us"
-
- now, don’t get me wrong
- knowledge of the Bible is indispensable and it is good,
but it is not enough
- we need to come to the Bible in our personal lives
not to gain more knowledge, but to transform our lives
-
- we need to come to a small passage of Scripture, and
enter into it and meditate upon it until it changes our lives
- somebody has written:
- If you read quickly, it will benefit you little. You
will be like a bee that merely skims the surface of a flower. Instead,
in this new way of reading with prayer, you must become as the bee who
penetrates in the depths of the flower. You plunge deeply within to
remove its deepest nectar.
-
- the Bible talks over and over again of this practice
- the words for meditate in the Scriptures are used over
58 times in the Old Testament alone
- (Genesis 24:63) He went out to the field one evening
to meditate.
- (Psalms 63:6) On my bed I remember you; I think of
you through the watches of the night.
- (Psalms 119:148) My eyes stay open through the watches
of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.
- (Psalms 1:2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
- and it comes from the belief that the God of the universe,
the Creator of all things, desires our fellowship
- and one of the ways he desires to meet us is through
his Word
-
- LET ME TIE IN THE IDEA OF PRAYER WITH THIS
- you probably know Revelation 3:20 off by heart
- (Revelation 3:20) Here I am! I stand at the door and
knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and
eat with him, and he with me.
- most of the time we use this verse evangelistically,
but did you know that it was written not to unbelievers but to believers?
- Richard Foster says of this verse, "We who have
turned our lives over to Christ need to know how very much he longs
to eat with us, to commune with us. He desires a perpetual Eucharistic
feast in the inner sanctuary of the heart"
- and it comes as we meditate on Scripture and pray
-
- and this is what prayer is
- prayer is simply opening that door to intimacy and
communion with God
- as the authors of the study Experiencing God
remind us, God is pursuing a love relationship with you
- he longs to love you, to commune with you in a way
that is real and personal
- just as Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of
the day, God desires to walk with you – to cultivate his relationship
with you, to go over things that you need to discuss together
-
- you can see how different this is from the way we normally
think of personal devotions
- instead of racing through a Bible passage or studying
a passage in depth, and ticking it off on a chart, and instead of viewing
prayer as an obligation, how about viewing it as a time with the God
of the universe who loves you, who wants a real and personal relationship
with you, who longs to walk with you in the cool of the day, or to enjoy
a perpetual Eucharistic feast with you
-
- I want to give you some suggestions from an excellent
book by John Ortberg that will help to lead you to this place
- THE FIRST THING HE SUGGESTS IS THAT YOU ASK GOD
TO MEET YOU IN YOUR PERSONAL DEVOTIONS
- before you begin, ask God to speak to you
- as you begin reading the Scripture and praying, anticipate
that he will do so
- realize that Jesus is present with you as you begin
to read his Word
- listen to hear God’s voice – a Scripture
might impact you, you may feel convicted about some sin, or be prompted
to take some course of action
- ask the Spirit to illumine you as you read the Bible
- D.L. Moody said, "The Bible without the Holy Spirit
is a sundial by moonlight"
- when we read the Scriptures, we need the Spirit to
teach us
- view your time as not a time with a book, but a time
with the author of that book, who is still present to illumine his Word
and to guide you
-
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer underlines the importance of this
attitude as we come to the Bible:
- Often we are so burdened and overwhelmed with other
thoughts, images, and concerns that it may take a long time before God’s
Word has swept all else aside and come through…This is the very
reason why we begin our meditation with the prayer that God may send
his Holy Spirit to us through his Word and reveal his Word to us and
enlighten us.
-
- THE SECOND THING HE SUGGESTS IS THAT YOU READ THE
BIBLE IN A REPENTANT SPIRIT
- when you come to your time of personal devotions, surrender
everything
- read with a vulnerable heart
- (Hebrews 4:12) For the word of God is living and active.
Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing
soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes
of the heart.
- the Word of God is not simply a collection of words
from God, or a vehicle for communicating ideas
- it is a living, life-changing, dynamic force that reveals
who we are and who we aren’t
- it shows us the core of our spiritual life
- it discerns what is good in us and what is not
- and that is why we need to come to the Word in a spirit
of openness and repentance
- (2 Timothy 3:16) All Scripture is God-breathed and
is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
- (2 Timothy 3:17) so that the man of God may be thoroughly
equipped for every good work.
- the Bible is meant to change the way we live
- we should not study the Bible in order to increase
our knowledge or to prepare to win arguments, we need to approach our
time with God in order to be changed by it
- so come to the Bible with a repentant spirit
-
- THE THIRD THING HE SUGGESTS IS THAT YOU MEDITATE
ON A FAIRLY BRIEF PASSAGE OR NARRATIVE
- let me quote directly:
- "So immerse yourself in a short passage of Scripture—perhaps
a few verses. Read it slowly. Read it the way you would read a letter
at the height of a romance. Certain words may stand out to you; allow
them to sink into your heart. Ask if perhaps God wants to speak to you
through these words. The question that always lies behind such reading
is, ‘God, what do you want to say to me in this moment?’"
- if you’re reading a story, read with all your
imagination
- try to recapture the setting and what the experience
must have been like
- but instead of being focused on covering a huge portion
of Scripture, focus on letting a short passage of Scripture sink into
your hearts
-
- this is where I have had to change
- while I still value reading the Bible completely from
cover to cover on a fairly regular basis, if you just do this you’re
missing out
- we need to slow down and let a short passage of Scripture
filter down into our lives
- we need to saturate ourselves in a passage and until
every aspect of our life is touched by it
- we need to change our idea of success from how many
pages we have read to how much God has spoken to us
- we need to make it our job to stick with a Scripture
as long as it takes to learn what we need to learn at the Savior’s
feet
-
- THE FOURTH THING THAT ORTBERG SUGGESTS IS THAT WE
TAKE ONE THOUGHT OR VERSE WITH US THROUGH THE DAY
- you can’t meditate fast
- you need to slow down enough to meditate on God’s
Word for an extended period of time – when you’re at a stoplight,
or at various periods throughout the day
- it’s compared to the process by which the roots
of a tree draw up moisture from a flowing river to bring nurture and
fruitfulness to the entire tree
- this is what we need to do
- in Scripture, meditation is compared to a young lion
growling over its prey, or the low murmur of a dove, or a cow chewing
on its cud
- take one thought from Scripture, and repeat it all
day, because what the mind repeats, it retains
- make it part of your life
-
- FINALLY, LET THIS THOUGHT BECOME PART OF YOUR MEMORY
- memorizing Scripture isn’t just for kids
- it’s one of the most powerful means of transforming
our minds
- (Psalms 119:11) I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
- memorize statements from Scripture that will help you
where you need help most
- make Scripture part of your life until God’s Word
becomes part of your thought life
-
- this is what I mean by prayer and Scripture
- one of the things my wife and I have had to do to,
in order to cultivate our relationship, has been to continue dating
each other
- we don’t do it enough, but we need to regularly
set time aside with no other agenda than to enjoy each other, commune
with each other, reconnect and just enjoy our relationship
- this is what God desires with us
- (Revelation 3:20) Here I am! I stand at the door and
knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and
eat with him, and he with me.
- or, as the New Living Translation says:
- (Revelation 3:20 NLT) Look! Here I stand at the door
and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in,
and we will share a meal as friends.
