Scripture-saturated prayer (4)

Can you consistently and whole-heartedly echo the words of the psalmists, saying to God:

"how sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth" (Ps. 119:103);
"they are more precious than gold, than much pure gold" (Ps. 19:10)?

Me neither.

But this fierce love of the word of God should be found in us, the people of God,
and should form the cornerstone of our prayer life.


Blessed... is the one whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night .                                   - Psalm 1:1-2

Augustine translates meditates here as chatters, and Spurgeon comments:

As chattering is the employment of birds,
so a continual conversing in the law of the Lord
ought to be the employment of man.

Now if the word of God is written on our hearts (Heb. 10:16) and is quick to our lips (Josh. 1:8)
then our prayers should surely also be saturated in Scripture.


More obviously, the bible explicitly teaches us how to pray (e.g. Luke 11),
and gives plenty of examples of godly prayers (e.g. Ex. 33:13, Jon. 2:2-9, Dan. 9:1-19, Phil. 1:9-11),
and so is a precious resource for anyone who wants to grow in prayerfulness.

Also, the bible also trains us in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16),
and so general exposure to scripture will improve the effectiveness of our prayer lives (Js. 5:16).

And God's word renews our minds, so by reading it we understand the will of God (Rom. 12:2),
and it is prayers that are prayed according to his will that are heard and answered (1 Jn. 5:14).

Lastly, the word of God points us to the grace of God and the glory of Jesus (Jn. 5:39),
and it is being captivated by these things that will stoke and sustain a true passion for prayer.


And with that aim, here are five simple ways we can work towards Scripture-saturated prayer:

1. Memorise scriptures that you can pray (e.g. Pss. 1,16,23,103,117,145; Jn. 15, Rom. 8, Heb. 12)
2. Spend five minutes in the bible before any extended time of prayer, and keep it open as you pray
3. When praying for Christians use Paul's prayers in his letters as a model (e.g. Eph. 3:14-21)
4. Pray off the back of each verse of a psalm in turn, applying it to your situation
5. Read relevant books, e.g. understanding Scripture - Schreiner; knowing God - Packer

May God delight you in his word and motivate you to pursue Scripture-soaked prayer,
Jeff :)