How To Pray & Read the Scriptures

The motivation for this topic centers on the work of spiritual formation. Spiritual formation is the word we give to cooperative work of being shaped, formed by the Spirit of God to participate in the new possibilities of our life now. The work of spiritual formation includes praying, reading the Scriptures, and praying the Scriptures.

If we believe that the Scriptures are a gift from God, just as the Spirit is, then we ought to be shaped by the Scriptures, through the Spirit. And for those of us that have entered into the work of prayer (yes, it is work), we realize that prayer comes form deep within our own spirit.

Jesus summarized his teachings and that of the Hebrew Scriptures with this: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself. Spiritual formation is the interior work of learning to love God and your neighbor by letting the Spirit of God work on your heart, soul, mind and strength.

We can let God influence us, our heart, soul, mind and strength when we pray and read the Scriptures, and especially when we pray the Scriptures.

As Christians, we believe that the Same Spirit of Jesus makes it's home in us. When we choose to believe that God has grace-fully forgiven us of our sins, we open ourselves up to God himself, His Spirit, the Same Spirit that empowered Jesus. That Same Spirit of Jesus, when it is at work in us and through us, makes all sorts of possibilities come to life - for healing, for hope, for renewal, for a future, for truth, for beauty, for freedom, for love.

So how do we pray? How do we read the Scriptures? How do we pray the Scriptures so that we are shaped by the Same Spirit of Jesus?

One lesson isn't enough to fully answer those questions. But I'll provide an overview here. In posts to come I'll lay out more details on how to pray, how to read the Scriptures and how to pray the Scriptures.

For reference, here are links to other lessons I have done on How to Pray and How to Read the Scriptures.

Here I want to introduce how to pray the Scriptures, since that gets us right into the heart of spiritual formation, while also teaching us some more about how to pray and how to read the Scriptures.


To start, we'll use a Psalm. Ancient Israel's hymnbook for worship was the book of Psalms. They would regularly chant their way through the Psalms, their way of singing worship to God. But for them, singing and praying the Psalms was the same work. We can read the Psalms, but we can also pray the Psalms (and sing them if you really want to!).

For example, let's start with Psalm 32 (I'll include the first few verses here, you can see the whole Psalm by clicking on the link):

1 Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.

2 Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.

3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.

4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Read through it slowly. Then pray through it by personalizing it - bring to mind a sin you feel guilty about, that you desire forgiveness. Imagine Jesus standing before you, pray as if he is there listening to you. Or, select a phrase that resonates with you, and then repeat that phrase as a prayer throughout the day.

As you read through the Psalm, ask God to bring a word or idea to your heart. Enter into a conversation with God about what you are reading and praying.

Question God about it, ask for insight, probe what God might be wanting you to consider, be convicted about, by inspired by.

And especially: what do you need to do in order to help answer your prayer? Again -  let God's spirit guide your steps forward as you act based on your praying the Scripture.


To pray through this Psalm is both easier then imagined and harder. It's easy to say the words, to repeat them, to imagine Jesus listening to your prayer, to ask God questions.

It's hard to focus, to trust that God hears and speaks, to enter into the prayer authentically. It's hard to memorize the prayer, to repeat the phrase throughout the day. It's hard to center yourself, to ignore disturbances, to shut out the noise in your head.

But when you don't know what to say, especially when you feel guilt, when you feel shame, when you feel burdened by your past sins and mistakes, use Scripture to put words in your mouth and heart.

These Scriptures have been used for prayer for thousands of years - there is something rich, enduring, and earthy about them. There may be a sense of formality to them, but that can be refreshing compared to the hesitant muttering we may offer up as a prayer.

For other Psalms, try Psalm 1, or Psalm 22 and Psalm 23. Maybe even Psalm 116, 117 or even Psalm 118. Psalm 139 is a classic.

Why Do You Stay Hidden and Silent?

Job 13-14

When you carefully and thoughtfully observe the world around you, does it ever prompt some difficult and yearning questions for God? Does your own experience with suffering, pain, fear, and oppression cause you to wonder what God is up to and why does he seem absent? It did for Job, for me, and likely for you.

This long and winding poem called Job articulates artfully the probing questions we humans have for our Creator. Does he not notice what life is like for the majority of people on planet Earth?

More than half the population lives on a few dollars a day. The wealthiest of Earthlings are dying of obesity and loneliness. It's pathetic, disgusting, revolting and unacceptable. Is God proud of how miserable humanity has become? And what is he going to do about it?

Job presses God with some pointed and painful questions. And it makes Job's religious friends nervous. They aren't comfortable with God getting accused for stuff. But Job presses them: how big is your God?

Can't he handle the frustration and venting? Job is very direct with God, to the point, boldly upfront about his observations of what is going on - not only in his confusion and wretchedness, but that of so much of humanity.

We're all adrift in the same boat:
too few days, too many troubles.

We spring up like wildflowers in the desert and then wilt,
transient as the shadow of the cloud.

Do you occupy your time with such fragile wisps?
Why even bother hauling me into court?

There's nothing much to us to start with;
how do you expect us to amount to anything?

Job goes on to reflect on the seeming pointlessness of life, the brevity and turmoil of human existence - especially in comparison to nature, to the trees that seem to endure well past our own death.

For a tree there is always hope.
Chop it down and it still has a chance -
its roots can put out fresh sprouts.

Even if its roots are old and gnarled,
its stump long dormant,
At the first whiff of water it comes to life,
buds and grows like a sapling.

But men and women? They die and stay dead.
They breathe their last, and that's it.

Like lakes and rivers that have dried up,
parched reminders of what once was,
So mortals like down and never get up,
never wake up again - never.

Job doesn't want to die. He wants to live! But his suffering, and that of so much of humanity, it makes death look attractive. The prospect of wanting death is abhorrent - but that's how bad life has become. Job is stuck - he doesn't want to die, to have life be over forever.

But he doesn't want this pain. So it leads him to this question for God: if you won't take away the pain now, will you grant me death - but only if you promise for resurrection, for life again, a better life then what we have now?

Here's how Job writes it:

Why don't you just bury me alive,
get me out of the way until the anger cools?

But don't leave me there!
Set a date when you'll see me again.

If we humans die, will we live again? That's my question.
All through these difficult days I keep hoping,
waiting for the final change - for resurrection!

Our life and suffering can resonate with that of Job's. He, however, wrote with no knowledge of Jesus. We do. And where as Job longed for resurrection but with no promises that it would be a possibility for him, it is for us.

If we, like Job, gain wisdom through our sufferings, compassion for humanity wracked by sins and pain, insistence on knowing truth and reality, resurrection can become our hope.

Jesus' story has many similarities to Job's. They both longed for resurrection - for themselves and others. And through Jesus it becomes a possibility for humanity. Longing for it, looking for it, in accordance with what Jesus has to say about God and life and humanity and the future - this changes us. It changes our perspective, our attitude, our hopes.

Much like Job, we wonder why God seems to stay hidden and silent. Yet for Job, his pining for resolution led to hopes of resurrection. If it does for you too, then what Jesus has to promise you will be good news indeed!

Scorn on the Strugglers

Job 9-12

The tension continues to rise in this poem between Job and his grieving companions. Job unrelentingly insists on his innocence, on the disconnect between his behavior and these consequences. Any wrongdoing Job may have done still didn't deserve this kind of punishment, this kind of hardship, this kind of disaster.

Those who observe and hear Job, though, continue to push-back. They cast doubt on Job's assertions. The more that Job lays out his lack of wrongdoing and contrasts it with God's extreme dosage of suffering - the tension only increases. His friends side with God and insist that Job is in the wrong. Ironically, much of what they have to say lacks knowledge of the true situation, and it lacks compassion.

We ought to avoid saying too much to those that struggle. If we find ourselves scorning those who are suffering, we need to look around at our own situation. Are we scorning from a position of health, security, advantage, blessing?

Are we fully informed as to why the others are struggling? Is the best we can do marked by scorn and putting people in their place? Is there value in listening - really listening? Is their value in letting their struggle stir up uncertainty and introspection in your own life?

Beware those who scorn the strugglers.

Bitter, But Honest

Job 5-8

The tension in the story continues to increase. We, the reader, know the backstory between God and Satan. Job, the one "covered with maggots and scabs" continues rage and question God. His friends are appalled. They ask: "Does God mess up?" Implying that Job is getting what he deserves. But that's not the case. And without them knowing why this is happening, we get to read their struggle with a new reality.

Not only is Job bitter towards God, he's bitter towards his friends. Not only does it seem that God has abandoned him, his friends have as well. Though they sit with him in his misery, they accuse him and attack him. Rather then believe Job in his protest of innocence, they question him. "How can you keep on talking like this? You're talking nonsense, and noisy nonsense at that." But Job had already said: "When desperate people give up on God Almighty, their friends, at least, should stick with them."

We learn from Job that there are times when you or your friends may give up on God. Your words to him may be bitter, but honest. And in those dark nights of the soul, you'll want friends who will sit and listen.

God doesn't need you to defend him or speak for him. But he does want you to be loyal to your friends while they walk through the valley of the shadow of death. To be honest with God in bitterness is better then protect God's reputation out of fear.

And God does know what is going on, and his next move might make us miserable. And he'll understand if we don't like it.

What's The Point Of Life?

Job 3-4

It is a gift to put words to the churning emotions within. It is the core essence of humanity to express in eloquence what is violently swirling in our souls. Life has a way of upending our days, of wrecking our homes, of battering our hearts. The unexpected. The unacceptable.

The ancient poem of the Hebrew Scriptures that we call Job is a fount of eloquent wisdom on experiencing devastating suffering. Chapters one and two give the context, provide the background story, create the initial tension in the story. Chapter three is Job's first major utterance following the days of mourning. Chapter four is the initial response by one of Job's friends.

And this will be the pattern in this book - Job makes a speech, one of his friends rebukes him. Job maintains his innocence and protests mightily against God for allowing this suffering. Job's friends maintain that Job is not innocent and that God is just for punishing him.

Job whispers:

Why does God bother giving light to the miserable,
  why bother keeping bitter people alive,
Those who want in the worst way to die, can can't,
  who can't imagine anything better than death,
Who count the day of their death and burial
  the happiest day of their life?
What's the point of life when it doesn't make sense,
  when God blocks all the roads to meaning?

And friend Eliphaz responds:

Think! Has a truly innocent person ever ended up on the scrap heap?
  Do genuinely upright people ever lose out in the end?
It's my observation that those who plow evil
  and sow trouble reap evil and trouble.
One breath from God and they fall apart,
  one blast of his anger and there's nothing left of them.

Can you identify with Job's despair? Do you agree with Eliphaz's point of veiw?
Maybe you need to read Job to help put into words what you have been feeling in your heart.