Praying The Bible

Home

Praying the Bible
by Reverend Murray Spackman, Vicar.
Sunday 10th July, 2005
Ps.119:97-104. Rom 15:1-6. Lk 4:42-44

Over the past six weeks or so we have been following through a series of sermons which were an extension of the Confirmation preparation programme. We have considered together some of the basic questions which relate to our Christian Faith - “What is a Christian? How do I become a Christian?

What do Christians believe? How can I live the Christian life? , and last week, where does the Church fit into our lives? Today – the final in the series – because we have the Confirmation Service tonight (at 6pm – and I do hope you will come and support the candidates) - I want to look at two important topics rolled into one. The topics are Prayer, and the Bible.

We could quite rightly consider worship, prayer and the Bible, as our basic soul food. If we try and live the Christian life without engaging in those three (worship, and prayer and bible reading or study) – then we will soon become totally anaemic Christians – and there is a high possibility that we will eventually give up on our faith altogether (see cartoon ).

So both Prayer and Bible reading/study are essential for our growth and development in our Christian faith. This should be the staple diet of every Christian – a daily intake is what’s needed. The problem we all face, though, is that our lives are so busy – it often gets put to one side, or else into the “too hard” basket. So instead of a daily intake of prayer and bible study we do what we so often do with our meals, and go for the instant junk-food; - a verse of the Bible here, or a prayer there.

Now, you may be thinking – “Murray – I don’t have the time to read the Bible for half-an hour everyday, or pray for half an hour. My life’s too busy!” Well, that may be so – and that may also be one area of life in which God is challenging you to take another look at your priorities.

But this morning, instead of you feeling guilty about prayer and Bible reading, or lack of it, I want to encourage you to do something achievable which will help your spiritual growth. It is something that Jesus did, Paul did, the Old Testament prophets did – and something we can do.

What I want to do is to encourage you to establish a daily discipline that is actually achievable and beneficial, that will help you grow in your understanding and in your faith.

What I want to encourage you all to do, is each day, in a particular place, set aside a brief time, to read and pray through a passage of the bible.

It comes under four headings: 1. At a set time, 2 In a set place, 3. A set passage, and 4. with a set attitude.

A set time. Most of us will have some kind of routine at the beginning and end of the day. And a lot of that routine may revolve around reading the paper or having breakfast, or even getting to work. I am sure that, if you want to, you can fit into that schedule an extra 10minutes.each day. Many of you did that for the 40 Days of Purpose Programme – and your life didn’t fall to pieces. Some of you have carried that same routine on. And if you didn’t, I would encourage you to do so. So firstly, find a set time for your Bible reading/study and prayer. Start with 5minutes, if that is all you can make. Even then, at the end of the month that means you will have devoted 2 ½ hours to Bible reading and prayer, what you otherwise wouldn’t have done. In the gospel reading this morning we read again about how Jesus would often get up early, even before it was light, and go off to pray. We know that without pray, and reflection on the scriptures, our spiritual life withers.
A set Place. This will most likely revolve around the particular TIME that you set aside. It doesn’t matter whether its in bed with your cup of tea, at the breakfast table, in a corner of the lounge in your favourite chair , in a quiet special place, or last thing at night in bed before you put the light out. The point again, is that if you don’t decide on some particular place, it will most likely end up NO place, and won’t happen. While the Psalmist could say – “How I love your Law! I think about it all day long” - most of us need some place and some time to anchor it to, or we probably won’t think about it at all!
The third point in reading the scriptures is to follow 3/ - A set passage. Now this doesn’t mean reading the same passage each day – but it does mean reading consecutively and consistently through a passage or a theme. And we have many aids to help us in this respect. We could start at the beginning of the bible and read it straight through. If you read a chapter or two of the Old Testament, a chapter of the New Testament and perhaps a Psalm, each day – you will finish reading the whole Bible within a year. But you may like to use one of the Bible Reading fellowship notes or one of the Bible Society reading plans – and we have some of them on the table by the Welcomers at the entrance to the church. Please take a copy, and use that to guide you in your Bible reading and reflection.

So the important thing in starting on Bible reading is to use 1. a set time, 2 In a set place., 3. A set passage, and 4. with a set attitude.

What do I mean by “A set attitude? “ – What I mean is that when we pick up the scriptures to read and meditate on them, we come with the intention of hearing and discovering God’s word, for me, today. And the best way to do that is to do so prayerfully. That’s what I mean, in the topic by “Praying the scriptures.” We don’t just read through the Bible, like it’s a novel, or a newspaper, - your eyes skim the words for information and then its over!!! This is different. This is like reading a love letter! - reading a letter from someone close and dear to you whose words are important and valued. You want to get everything out of them you can. If you find that reading the Bible is boring – perhaps its because you aren’t reading it with the right attitude.

So don’t just READ what you are seeing on the page, PRAY it also. Put your heart and mind into the prayerful attitude of soaking up what you are reading, and let it sink into the heart as well as illuminate the mind. Bible reading, reflection and meditation can’t be separated from Prayer. Both are essential in our relationship with God.

Something mystical, spiritual , happens when we come before God at a set time, in a set place, with a set verse and with a set attitude - I think this change and transition is summed up in the following reflective prayer by the cartoonist Michael Leunig:

Dear God, we struggle, we grow weary, we grow tired. We are exhausted, we are distressed, we despair. We give up, we fall down, we let go. We cry. We are empty, we grow calm, we are ready. We wait quietly. A small, shy truth arrives. Arrives from without and within. Arrives and is born. Simple, steady, clear. Like a mirror, like a bell, like a flame. Like rain in summer. A precious truth arrives and is born within us. Within our emptiness. We accept it, we observe it, we absorb it. We surrender to our bare truth. We are nourished, we are changed! We are blessed. We rise up. For this we give thanks..
Amen.

Download Sermon as MS Word