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Bible Engagement Blog


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Ten Ways We Hinder Bible Engagement

Tragically, we’re prone to reducing the Bible to something manageable, comfortable, or palatable. When we reduce the Bible to something less than it’s meant to be, we handicap Bible engagement.

Here are ten ways we hinder Bible engagement:

Marginalizing – We shut down the Bible when it’s treated as something insignificant or trivial. Pagans do this all the time, but so do Christians. When we say we’re Bible-believing but don’t open it to read it, we’re side-lining it. And when we open it to read it but don’t obey it, we’re not giving it the worthy response it deserves.

Sanitizing – When we connect with the things we like in the Bible but not the things we dislike, we strip the Bible of its efficacy. Are we worried that people will pull back from God if we reveal His whole character? If we feel we have to clean up the Bible by avoiding difficult, controversial, or distasteful passages, we’ve stepped out of line.

Romanticizing – Treating the Bible in an idealized way, as a heroic tale or a book about flawless heroes should be anathema. On one level, the Bible is a love letter; but it’s also a record of humanity’s sin, selfishness, guilt, shame, tragedy, deviancy, darkness and despair. When we engage with the Bible we must engage with it warts and all!

Trivializing – There are occasions (e.g. teaching the Bible to children) when we use approaches designed to make Bible engagement fun. While fun in and of itself isn’t wrong, we should never be amused spectators or reduce the Bible to our carnal level. When the Bible is equated with feel-good preaching or entertaining story-telling, we’ve missed the mark.

Moralizing – The Bible is the doorway to redemption and reconciliation in Christ Jesus. If we diminish it to a niggling petition for ethical change, we close it down. The Bible should never be used to impose control, make demands, get people to conform, or make others feel guilty. It’s not a narrative on issues of right and wrong or a book of moral stories. And it’s never more important to be good than to know Jesus.

Legalizing – While the Bible contains statutes, precepts and commands, it’s not a book of rules per se. Nor is it the means to teach behaviour modification as the be-all and end-all of Christian living. The Bible should never be manipulated to keep people in little boxes. We lock the Bible down if we don’t understand that biblical law only makes sense within the context of faith alone, in Christ alone, through grace alone (cf. Romans 10:4, Galatians 6:2, Ephesians 2:8-9).

Sensationalizing – While the Bible is sensational (extraordinary), it shouldn’t be sensationalized (embellished or overstated). Presenting the Bible in ways designed to provoke interest and excitement at the expense of accuracy is always wrong and always impedes meaningful encounters with the One who is the Word, Jesus Christ.

Minimalizing – Do you snack on a Bible verse a day? Do you only consult the Scriptures for guidance or directions when things go wrong? Do you select just a few favourite passages to the exclusion of others? If you’re doing these things, you’re getting in the way of the Bible fully having its way with you.

Categorizing – Sometimes we treat the Bible like a school textbook, a history of the Jewish nation, or a book of outstanding literature. The Bible is more than information, more than spiritual sayings, more than tips for better living, and more than a storehouse of doctrines or propositions. Pigeonholing the Bible as anything other than the Book of books makes a mockery of the fact that the Bible is God’s living, active, unfettered Word.

Liberalizing – When the Bible is considered fable-laden or false, when it’s treated as something that doesn’t reconcile with modern thinking, or when reason is considered to be the final authority for interpreting which teachings are correct and which are not, then the ultimate shut down of the Bible has occurred. When this happens, Bible engagement is a misnomer.

Sometimes our reductionist approaches are unintended; sometimes they’re due to inexperience, and sometimes they’re intentional. Are you helping or hampering Bible engagement? If you’re doing any of the things mentioned above, you’re reducing the Bible to something less than God intends it to be.

© Scripture Union Canada 2021

2 Corinthians 4:5


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Connecting Children with the Bible

Story is the fundamental instrument of children’s thoughts. They dwell in stories all the time, inside their own heads. It’s what helps them know who they are and why they’re here – their building-blocks for life and living.

By God’s design, most of the Bible is narrative in character – making it a spiritual playground for children. As the Story of stories, the Bible invites children to enter in and enjoy it. As children enter in, they soon realize that the Story wants them to meet the Storyteller!

No two children enter God’s Story in the same way. They enter arbitrarily – making unique connections that uniquely join their lives to His life. If we try to make children fit in with how we think they should become part of the Story, we do them an injustice. God’s Story must speak for itself.

While we should never tell children how their stories should connect with God’s Story, we should ask questions that help engage their imaginations. By entering God’s Story with their imaginations, children make links to their experiences. When the Bible connects with their experiences, it has meaning and value.

German-born theoretical physicist Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” When we connect children with the Bible, the aim should never be solely Bible knowledge. Transformation, not information, is the goal. When information is the goal of a child’s interaction with the Bible it results in death, but when transformation is the goal, it results in life.

There’s something in every child that seeks relevance. Children want to be raised-up – set on the path to being all they’re meant to be. Spiritually, they’re looking for redemption, desire deliverance, and want to see what falls being restored. As Christian educator Dorothy Furnish says, “Only if the Bible has meaning now will children look forward with expectation to the discovery of Bible meanings in the future.”

Sometimes our efforts to help children find meaning in the Bible, while well-intentioned, are counterproductive. The Bible study method that equates Bible characters with superheroes is a good example. How can children find meaning in their lives when they’re taught that men and women of the Bible are like Superman or Wonder Woman? Scripture Union’s children’s ministry specialist Wendy Strachan aptly says, “The Bible comes alive to children when we help them to realise that the people in its pages are people like them. Not heroes. Ordinary people.”

Furthermore. Since every child connects with the Bible distinctively, they likewise respond to the Bible distinctively. We should never expect children to react to God’s Story in set ways. Rather, our task is to invite children to engage with the Story in ways that encourage and respect their interaction – however unexpected their questions, comments, or responses may be. By inspiring discussions and valuing children’s responses, we pave the way for a lifetime of Bible engagement.

Along with verbal responses, multi-sensory reactions to God’s Story should be encouraged. Children should have opportunities to connect with the Story through journaling, singing, acting, Godly Play, drawing, painting, writing, reflecting, and celebrating. Helping children connect with the Bible using all their senses enables them to engage their hearts, heads, and hands.

The Nike slogan, “Just do it!” should be the visible outcome of children interacting with the Bible. Children should respond to the Scriptures by helping others, caring for creation, doing what is fair and just, being compassionate, and interrelating with the world in a way that points people to Jesus.

This can’t and won’t happen if the Bible isn’t the window through which children view the world. It’s only when the Bible takes root (in a child’s life), that it produces fruit. In other words, when children are besotted with the Storyteller, they’ll live out His Story.

Finally, while children will connect with the Bible on their own, they’re far more likely to connect with the Bible when they do it with others. Bible engagement happens best in the context of community. Children need their parents and a faith community to “impress” the Scriptures on them (cf. Deuteronomy 6:7). Loving relationships are a big part of connecting children with the Bible. When we appreciate the biblical insights and contributions of children, their connections with the Story and the Storyteller are enriched.

© Scripture Union Canada 2021

2 Corinthians 4:5


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Parenting and Bible Engagement

Children who experience Bible engagement as a regular slice of family life are more likely to love and live for Jesus through adulthood than children who don’t. This isn’t conjecture, it’s fact.

If you take parents from any denomination, with the same levels of faith and frequency of attendance, the parents who prioritize Bible engagement in their homes are the ones who are more likely to see their children committing themselves to Jesus and staying connected with a community of faith.

Bible engagement makes all the difference. When parents, together with their children, read, reflect, and respond to the Bible, it provides a rock-solid foundation for faith (cf. Matthew 7:24-27). But when Bible engagement is neglected in the home, children are more likely to turn their back on Jesus and leave the church.

For parents concerned about the spiritual wellbeing of their children, the answer is simple: Make Bible engagement part of daily life. Here are some ways to do this:

  • Generate regular discussions about the Word. Families who frequently talk about the Scriptures open the door for Jesus to enter in
  • Create and maintain a “sacred space” in the home. This is a designated place where a member of the family can sit and quietly read/listen to God’s Word
  • Make sure your children see you reading/listening to the Bible. This communicates non-verbally that contemplating or studying God’s Word is one of your daily priorities and core values
  • Make the Scriptures visible. For example, handwritten verses on sticky notes on the fridge door, or send verses as text messages to older children who have phones
  • Memorize Scripture. Make it a monthly challenge for the whole family (maybe practice together each night after supper)
  • Watch Bible videos/films together
  • Have Bible comics or graphic adaptations of the Bible sitting on a coffee table where they’re more likely to be picked up and read
  • Look for unplanned opportunities (teachable moments) to share biblical insights with your children  

For churches concerned about the spiritual wellbeing of children, the answer is also simple: Equip parents with Bible engagement strategies and tools. Here are some ways to do this:

  • Train parents in basic Bible engagement practices, i.e., how to interpret, teach, apply, and pray the Scriptures
  • Provide Bible reading guides suitable for families and different age groups
  • Invite families to share testimonies with the congregation about how they meet with God as a direct result of the Bible engagement that happens in their homes
  • Publicly champion the role of parents as the primary disciple-makers in their children’s lives
  • Practically encourage and build parents confidence so they can thrive in leading family Bible engagement

Parents and churches need to work together. Bible engagement is the single most important spiritual discipline in the faith development of our children. So we can’t let Bible engagement fall through the cracks. If family Bible engagement isn’t happening in the home, everything possible should be done to make it a priority.

Recommended Resource:

© Scripture Union Canada 2021

2 Corinthians 4:5


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Bible Engagement Defined

What do we mean by the term Bible engagement?

Bible engagement is the process that connects us with the Bible so that we have meaningful encounters with Jesus Christ in order for our lives to be progressively transformed in Him.

To elaborate: Bible engagement happens through the course of our lives as we find our part in God’s Story. For Bible engagement to happen we must first come together with and develop a vital relationship with Christ. The relationship begins and proceeds by grace and through faith as Christ saves us from sin and sanctifies us by the Spirit. Bible engagement is evidenced through ongoing obedience to God’s Word that’s seen in life-changes that take place individually and in community.

According to James 1:17-25, there are four actions involved in Bible engagement:

  1. Receive God’s Word – “humbly accept” James 1:21.
  2. Reflect on God’s Word – “looks intently” James 1:25.
  3. Remember God’s Word – “not forgetting” James 1:25.
  4. Respond to God’s Word – “doing it” James 1:22-23, 25.

 

To effectively receive, reflect, remember and respond to God’s Word there are several things we need to know:

  1. Bible engagement flows out of an intimate reciprocating relationship with Jesus. The motivation for reading, reflecting, remembering and responding to the Word is only as strong as our love for Christ. The more we love Jesus, the greater our drive to engage with His Word will be.
  2. Bible engagement is a process. There are no shortcuts. It involves what the scholar and author Eugene Peterson, calls “a long obedience in the same direction” – a course of action that’s repeated over and over again through the ups and downs of life.
  3. Bible engagement involves desire. When our desire to receive, reflect, remember and respond to the Word is greater than staying where we are, we’ll be on the way toward regular and consistent engagement with the Word.
  4. Bible engagement requires discipline. Daily choices about how we prioritize our time must be made in order to grow stronger in our engagement with God’s Word. Praying or hoping for a better connection with the Bible is futile if we spend our time glued to the TV or consumed by social media.
  5. Bible engagement is fuelled by the Holy Spirit. “The same Holy Spirit who inspired Bible authors to write, inspires Bible readers to understand and accept it, as God’s Word,” says David Jackman, president of the Proclamation Trust. Self-efforts to improve our engagement with the Bible will end in failure. We’ll only mature in receiving, reflection, remembering and responding to the Word when we seek the daily filling of the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Real Bible engagement is initiated and enabled when we recognize our impotence – then invite the Holy Spirit to equip us as we listen, learn and live out God’s Word.
  6. Bible engagement is a challenge. The enemy of God, Satan, does not want us to engage with the Bible. The spiritual forces of darkness work actively to distract, divert, daunt, deceive or defeat us when we seek to receive, reflect, remember and respond to God’s Word.
  7. Bible engagement results in action. In the Parable of the Sower, the climax of the story comes when people “hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop” Mark 4:20. When hearing the Bible results in people becoming living epistles, i.e., being life words, then Bible engagement has occurred. Producing a crop is the ultimate goal. It’s not enough to hear the Word and accept it; the inward must become outward – the concealed must be revealed.

 

All told, Bible engagement is foundational and imperative for God’s people. So “get them (the Scriptures) inside of you and then get them inside your children” Deuteronomy 6:7 (MSG).

© Scripture Union Canada 2021

2 Corinthians 4:5


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Consistent Bible Engagement

The more we read the Bible, the more it will read us. That’s one of the great reasons why Bible engagement should be a steady, ongoing, day-by-day concern; certainly never a hit or miss affair. Yet this isn’t always the case. Most of us don’t feed on the Word as consistently as we eat physical food. So how do we connect with the Word to be regular readers and doers of the Word? Here are three ways to strengthen Bible engagement:

  1. Do what’s achievable. The best person to figure out the best way for you to connect with the Bible in the best way is you! If you’re big on reading, do whole book reading (also called the synthetic study of the Bible). If you’re not a big reader, read smaller bite-sized chunks. If you like reading, but need visuals, try something like the Kingstone Bible or the Word for Word Bible Comic. If you don’t like reading, then listen to the Bible. Google “Free Audio Bible” and you’ll find a range of audio options to choose from. And, if you’re not a good listener, then watch a visual production – one where the dialogue is word for word according to the written text, e.g. the Lumo Project or the Visual Bible.
  2. Tap into technology. There are loads of Bible apps and plenty of online tools to help facilitate a range of Bible engagement practices. I use Bible Gateway all the time. My wife is plugged into YouVersion. Other popular apps include Bible.Is, ESV CrossWay, Glo Bible, NIV Bible by Tecarta, Blue Letter Bible, Daily Audio Bible, and the Olive Tree Bible Study App. Bible apps are especially helpful if you’re a visual or auditory preference learner, so find what works for you and implement.
  3. Do it together. Two are better than one (Ecclesiastes 4:9). Simply doing something with someone else is motivation in and of itself. When we journey through the Word with others, it makes it easier to engage with the Word. That’s because there’s something about helping each other stay accountable that serves to spur us on to read the Scriptures in the morning or listen to them while driving to work.

 

You can do it! Prayerfully, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, adopt these three simple tips, and you’ll fortify your connections with the Bible!

© Scripture Union Canada 2021

2 Corinthians 4:5


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Faith-Based Bible Engagement

Faith unlocks the door to Bible engagement. To connect with the Bible we need a dynamic, personal relationship with God through the transforming and indwelling power of Jesus. Nothing else will suffice. Bible engagement only happens when there’s an active trust in Jesus and the belief that what He says is true.

The necessity of faith can’t be minimized. To approach God’s Word we must be persuaded that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” Hebrews 11:1.

In the absence of faith, all attempts to understand the Bible properly will fail. The Bible is only alive to those who are alive to Jesus. Without faith, confusion reigns. Without faith, any critical explanation or interpretation of the Bible (exegesis) is faulty. And without faith, Bible engagement is reduced to nothing more than historical, textual, source, form, or literary criticism.

As my colleague, Annabel Robinson aptly said, “Faith is not a matter of being able to check all the right boxes. It’s a matter of relationship, of continuous love and obedience and discipleship, which might take different forms for different people.”

With the above in mind, here are twelve characteristics of faith-based Bible engagement:

  1. It acknowledges the primary role of the Holy Spirit, functioning through the text and the reader, to interpret the text.
  2. Prayer and humility are the desired posture for reading/listening, studying, and interpreting the Scriptures.
  3. Exegesis is not a solitary affair. It’s done in the context of the community of faith. That is, it’s the practice of the church and for the church.
  4. Present-day exegesis links with and continues an ancient dynamic conversation. We appreciate being part of a long line of faithful Bible engagers.
  5. While interpretations must be true to God’s intended meaning for a text, explanations are not identical.
  6. Faithful people experience fresh encounters with the Scriptures and apply them in new ways. These encounters with the Scriptures are not strictly the Scriptures themselves speaking to us, but the Holy Spirit speaking to us in and through the Scriptures.
  7. Sanctified imagination, i.e. imagination inspired by the Holy Spirit and informed by the text, is used to engage with the text.
  8. The Holy Spirit works through the text to form and reform us. The reader/listener anticipates and longs for transformation as she/he engages with the text.
  9. The Old Testament resonates with and prefigures the story of Jesus even though the writers of the Old Testament books and first readers dimly conceived Jesus.
  10. From Genesis to Revelation there’s continuity and connectivity in the meta-narrative. Connections between the testaments, when correctly traced and interpreted, tell the story of Jesus.
  11. Exegesis focuses on the Scriptures as testimony principally about Jesus. Every page of the Bible (albeit some very faintly), are witnesses to Christ.
  12. Every story fits into the larger Story. The witnesses to Christ, distinctively and with integrity, “talk to each other.” In so doing they create one big (complex yet cohesive) Story.

 

Because faith is about what we hope for and things we don’t see (cf. Hebrews 11:1), it’s tied to our longings and desires. This means faith-based Bible engagement flows from the heart (cf. Proverbs 4:23), not the head. To connect with the Bible and have the Bible connect with us, we must focus on who we love – the living truth, Jesus Christ.

Focusing Bible engagement on who we love interweaves exegesis with worship. Faith-based Bible engagement is keenly aware that we’re accountable to the Word. We cannot stand apart from the Word. It demands a response. What happens in our hearts and heads must move to our hands. We enter the world of the text, not to become brainiacs, but to be involved in the world we live in. For it’s only when we engage with the Bible obediently and practically (cf. James 2:26), and therein attribute worthiness and honour to Jesus, that faith is proved true.

© Scripture Union Canada 2020

2 Corinthians 4:5


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Spiritually Malnourished

Why are so many Christians spiritually malnourished? Maybe it’s because they’re trying to survive on a starvation diet.

It’s odd. There’s plenty of spiritual food available. Yet many Christians only eat once a week. Admittedly the once a week meal is usually a feast that a pastor’s prepared. Then when everything’s been consumed, mouths are dabbed with communion napkins and we go home to live hungry lives until we can slide into a pew for the next banquet.

What’s up? Why do some of us try to exist on a diet that consists of only one or two meals every seven days? It’s bizarre! We’re not food-deprived. We could and should be enjoying an amazing buffet every day.

When we don’t eat physical food we soon become tired, weak, irritable, depressed, lack concentration, or fall sick. Something similar happens when we don’t eat spiritual food.

Just like we’re made to eat physical food, we’re made to eat spiritual food. One or two meals a week can’t sustain us and a snack every now and again is simply not enough. Physically, we need three square meals a day. Spiritually we need a substantial, satisfying and balanced meal every day.

A child learns to suckle and then chew. Many Christians are spiritually malnourished because no one’s taught them how to eat the Word.

So how do we learn to eat? By first learning how to live on milk and then learning how to live on solid food (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:2, Hebrews 5:13-14). Like everything in life, learning begins with understanding the elementary principles and practices, then building on that foundation.

Eating the Word commences with learning how to read, listen, digest, and apply the Scriptures. Once these things are mastered, we must learn how to contemplate, interpret, study, memorize, pray, teach, and live the Scriptures.

When I was a boy, my diet was basic. As I grew older, I started eating a wider range of foods. In the same way, we must start with a basic diet, then add new foods as we grow. There’s a smorgasbord of fine foods to satisfy our palates. To grow spiritually we must taste the different Bible engagement practices in order to enjoy the delights of God’s Word.

The hunger in us needs to be satiated. We were made to feed on God’s Word. Spiritual malnourishment shouldn’t exist in the Church. But that will only happen when we learn to eat the Word.

Recommended Resource:

Bible Engagement Basics https://www.amazon.ca/Bible-Engagement-Basics-Lawson-Murray-ebook/dp/B079B77Y72

© Scripture Union Canada 2020

2 Corinthians 4:5


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Healthy Bible Engagement

A lover who is separated from the beloved doesn’t let a love letter just sit on the kitchen table unopened for days on end with the ever-growing pile of junk mail, but instead quickly and eagerly opens it upon its arrival, reading and rereading it until the ink is nearly worn off from use. Scripture is a love letter from our Divine Bridegroom … we too should eagerly and often read the Scriptures and hear there the voice of our Beloved speaking to us. Tim Gray, “Praying Scripture for a Change: An Introduction to Lectio Divina.”

Bible engagement isn’t something we master overnight. “Exposure to the contents of Scripture does not necessarily lead to a transforming encounter with God’s Word,” says professor of theology J. Todd Billings. The Bible reveals while it hides and hides while it reveals. To engage the Bible successfully with our hearts, heads and hands requires much more than reading the Scriptures, listening to sermons, or memorizing some verses.

It can be a challenge to engage with the Bible. In fact, the reality for some Christians may look like this: Commit to reading the Bible every day. Do okay for a while. Fail. Try again. Do okay for a while. Fail again. Try again. Do okay for a while. Fail again. Give up.

Maybe one of the reasons why some people fail in their efforts to read, reflect, remember and respond to God’s Word is because they think it’s about them; about what they need to do to please God, how they can get Him in their lives, or how to be right with Him. That’s getting it back to front. Bible engagement isn’t about our prosperity, safety or gratification.

For others, it may be that when all is said and done, Bible engagement doesn’t really matter. In their heart of hearts, some Christians secretly wonder if reading the Bible makes a difference. They look around and see nice people who aren’t Christians and Christians who aren’t nice people, and say to themselves, “Why should I read the Bible?”

When I took to the streets and asked people why they don’t engage with the Bible, most people responded, “Because I don’t have enough time.” On the surface, this may be true. Our lives are often frenetic. On the other hand, we’re rarely too busy to surf the internet, watch television, or meet someone for a cup of tea or coffee. The truth is we think we have better things to do and we prioritize our time accordingly.

The more fundamental reason why people fail to connect with the Bible is sin. Some people shy away from reading the Bible because they’re sustaining their lives in their own strength. Our independent spirits don’t want to confess the need to be dependent on God. Pride, lack of obedience, an unwillingness to submit, and a skewed view of God result in us not doing what we should be doing.

Here’s the bottom line: Bible engagement thrives when it’s about Jesus, not when it’s about us. “He must become greater; I must become less” John 3:30. To engage fruitfully with the Bible we must look to Christ, and not ourselves. Author and pastor Eugene Peterson says, “One of the most urgent tasks facing the Christian community today is to counter self-sovereignty by reasserting what it means to live these Holy Scriptures from the inside out, instead of using them for our sincere and devout but still self-sovereign purposes.”

So Scripture is given to us to reveal Christ. Christ is the theme, purpose and interpretive key to Bible engagement. He is the motive, the means and the message. Yes, Bible engagement is challenging, but it isn’t complicated. Quite simply, if our relationship with Christ is healthy, our Bible engagement will be healthy.

© Scripture Union Canada 2020

2 Corinthians 4:5


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Bible Engagement Workshop

I wear two hats! My day job is serving as the President of Scripture Union Canada, and on the side, I also serve as the National Director of SGM Canada.

Me wearing two hats is an advantage to both ministries. Both SU and SGM are Bible agencies, so there are synergies that can be harnessed for mutual benefit. One area of collaboration is Bible engagement advocacy. We know, and we’ve seen, how we’re stronger together when we work together to promote connections with Jesus and His Story.

SGM’s latest initiative is a vlog called the Bible Engagement Workshop. The Bible Engagement Workshop is a free eLearning hub where people anywhere and everywhere are trained in Bible engagement. The video blogs take the form of PowerPoint presentations that are ±13 minutes long. Their meaty content cuts the fat and chews the fact!

The Bible Engagement Workshop was developed because 95% of Christians say they’ve never been taught how to engage with the Bible. When SGM heard this alarming statistic, they wondered what they could do to help. The result, a new virtual workshop every month where participants are equipped to receive, reflect, remember and respond to the Bible.

SGM Canada is hoping and praying that the workshops will help cultivate change. They want to see closed Bibles open. They want Christians to pick up their Bibles and apply the principles and practices that are taught in the workshops. And they’re dreaming about the day when most Christians will meet with God every day in and through dynamic encounters with the Word.

The Bible Engagement Workshop launches today! So, joining together for combined effect, with simulated balloons and fireworks, the Bible Engagement Blog is announcing the inauguration of the Bible Engagement Workshop!

Take some time to check it out. This is a tremendous resource for individuals, families, small groups, local churches, and schools. You can access the workshops directly through Loom, or at www.bibleengagementworkshop.com

Listen to a featured video:

© Scripture Union Canada 2020

2 Corinthians 4:5


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Why Pray Scripture?

Many people pray. Many people pray biblically informed prayers. Praying, or praying biblically informed prayers is different from praying Scripture.

Every Christian should pray Scripture. Unfortunately, most Christians, while they know how to pray, don’t know how to pray Scripture.

Praying Scripture is using God’s Word directly to inform and form the content of prayer. It’s praying the Scriptures word for word, praying the Scriptures word for word along with reflection on the words, or praying the themes of a Scripture passage in a manner that sticks close to the text. According to Christian spirituality professor, Evan Howard, “To pray the Scriptures is to order one’s time of prayer around a particular text in the Bible.”

Here are ten reasons why we should pray Scripture:

  1. Jesus prayed Scripture.

When Jesus was dying on the cross He prayed, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46. It’s a direct quote from Psalm 22:1 and illustrates how Jesus obviously read, understood and prayed Scripture as it related to His situation or circumstance.

  1. The Israelites and early Church prayed Scripture.

The people of the Old and New Testament times prayed Scripture and meaningfully applied it to their contexts (e.g. Nehemiah 9:5-37, Acts 4:24-26).

  1. It enables us to enter into the Story.

Praying Scripture personalizes the Word. When we personalize the Word, His Story becomes our story. As this happens, we find our parts in the drama which in turn enables us to act out the roles designed for our lives.

  1. It focuses the mind and heart.

Praying Scripture changes us. It captures our imagination, forms our identities, directs our desires, and shapes our habits. When we pray Scripture, we don’t have to ask, “What should I pray for next?” or “What words should I use?”

  1. It provides meaningful content for prayer.

Sometimes our prayers are trivial or trite – the same tired ritualistic phrases. Praying the same old prayers the same old way mummifies prayer. When we pray Scripture, it provides substance, form, and a wide range of subject matter for our prayers.

  1. It strengthens interaction with the Scriptures.

Reading Scripture and praying Scripture go hand in hand. Bible reading enables us to pray more vividly and expressively. The more you pray Scripture the more you’ll read Scripture, and the more you read Scripture the more you’ll pray Scripture. Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology Andy Naselli says, “But if we pray Scripture as we read through the Bible, that will force us to pray about a rich variety of issues in scriptural proportion.”

  1. It cultivates breadth and depth in our prayers.

To pray Scripture we must read and reflect on Scripture. The process of reading and reflecting on Scripture cultivates breadth and depth in our prayers. Left to ourselves, our prayers have a narrow focus, but the Scriptures open us up to many things we can and should be praying. As author and teacher, John Piper reminds us, “If we don’t form the habit of praying the Scriptures, our prayers … eventually revolve entirely around our immediate private concerns, rather than God’s larger purposes.”

  1. It kindles love for Jesus.

Jesus is the theme of the Bible. Praying Scripture draws us closer to Jesus. Love is fostered by proximity. The nearer we get to Jesus, the more we love Him. Ray Ortlund says, “I have learned to see the Bible as kindling for a holy fire. Scripture is meant to inform us, and thus to inflame us. It is meant to illuminate our thoughts of God, and thus to ignite our affections for God.”

  1. It aids Scripture memorization.

Praying Scripture involves repetition. Repetition is essential for memorization. As we pray God’s Word back to Him, it helps lodge His Word in our hearts and minds.

  1. It aligns us with God’s will.

We can’t go wrong when we pray Scripture. Praying Scripture is praying truth and praying truth unites our hearts with God’s heart. Therefore, when we pray Scripture we won’t be self-deceived because Scripture brings us in line with God’s will.

Are you in a prayer rut? Do your prayers lack life? Do you have the best of intentions to pray, then when you get started, your mind wanders or you fall asleep? You can pray for hours if you pray Scripture. Open your Bible to the Psalms, start reading, pause at each verse, engage your sanctified imagination, pray the verses back to God, and without fail, you will pray dynamically and productively.

Recommended Resource: The Abide Bible, Thomas Nelson, 2020. [This Bible includes prompts or sidebars to help you pray Scripture]

© Scripture Union Canada 2020

2 Corinthians 4:5

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