Monday, January 30, 2012
Day 2-Prayer Challenge
“The Bible wasn't
meant to be read. It was meant to be prayed.
Reading without praying is like eating without digesting. The nutrients
aren't absorbed the way they should be. The way you get the word into your
heart, into your spirit is by praying it. Let me give you an example. This morning I was reading about "the
circumcision of the heart" in Romans 2:29.
The Holy Spirit stopped me in my tracks.
I knew I needed to stop reading and start praying. I spent the next several minutes having a
heart-to-heart with my Heavenly Father about some of my heart issues.
The spiritual disciplines are more
interrelated than what we realize. I
used to think of reading Scripture and prayer as very different endeavors. In fact, I felt bad because it was easier for
me to read Scripture than to pray. Then
I read something from the Talmud that set me free. The Jewish Rabbis said,
"An hour of study is as an hour of prayer." That's when I realized that reading Scripture
can be a form of prayer, a part of prayer.
Many people don't know where to
begin when it comes to prayer. What do I
say first? Here's my advice: start with Scripture. Start reading and you'll eventually come to
something you need to talk with God about.
Prayer isn't a monologue where we outline our agenda for God. Prayer is
a dialogue. Scripture is the way God
speaks to us. Prayer is the way we
respond to it. And when you pray the word you can pray with holy confidence
because God's word does not return void. “
Pray the Word!
Mark
Batterson-Circle Maker
