Tips to Thrive

Tips to Thrive-Issue 3 2019

Have you ever heard a person say, “I read the Bible every day, but I don’t pray very much. I know I should pray more.”

Evelyn Griffin is a retired pastor’s wife. She and her pastor/husband have four children and 14 grandchildren.

 

Have you ever heard a person say, “I read the Bible every day, but I don’t pray very much. I know I should pray more.” Perhaps Bible reading can be a very real way to pray. Have you ever prayed about the various things on your heart and then said, “I want to hear from you, Lord . . . I’m waiting. I’m waiting.” But you hear nothing?


Prayer is to be a conversation with the Lord—a time for us to speak to Him and hear Him speak to us. The Bible is the Word of God; therefore, His voice comes to us through His written words. Words are one of the most important ways to communicate.


So before starting to read the Bible, we can ask the Lord to show us things to “talk about” with Him. When we come to a certain verse we might think, “Oh, Lord, I love this! Thank you for saying that to me!” God has just spoken to us through the reading of His Word. We may respond to Him by dwelling on the verse and sharing more of our thoughts with Him. He may even reveal other things as we meditate.


After reading on, we might find another passage in which God speaks to us. This time we might say, “Oh, dear Lord, this verse is talking about me! This is one of my besetting sins. Please help me to be an overcomer. I want to be free of this sin.” We can then think of Him being in heaven, pleading on our behalf and offering His help to us. Continuing to read, we may find help in overcoming, or comfort in knowing He understands and offers forgiveness, help, and love.


We can also ask God to help us remember our morning prayer experience as we go through the day, and we can meditate on our conversation with Him as we work. He can keep bringing new thoughts on the subject to our minds. God longs for conversation with us! He wants to be our Friend, and His words in the Bible are His personal words to us.