Begin with the Word

This post is adapted from Day One of Still Waters: Learning to Pray with the Psalms, our free ten-day journey of prayer. Each day teaches a different posture of prayer—listening, trusting, lamenting, resting, and more—and the journey begins where prayer itself begins: with listening. Before you read, consider taking two minutes of silence and stillness before God.

The book of Psalms is the Bible's prayer manual, and it begins by pointing us to “the law”—that is, the earlier portion of the Bible. So if you're looking for a beginning to prayer, begin with the Bible. This isn't merely a good preparation for prayer—like stretching before your morning run. This is, in fact, the first part of prayer—listening to the God who has already spoken.

After all, prayer is talking to God—a conversation. But good conversations go two ways. Most of us, on the other hand, ramble to God without ever pausing to ask what He's saying to us. If we did this to anyone else in our life, they'd be annoyed. They might even start to avoid us. Fortunately, God's a whole lot more patient than that. But He still wants the conversation to go both ways. So don't rush into your side of the prayer conversation without listening first.

It should be freeing to realize that when you sit down, or kneel, or close your eyes to pray, you aren't taking the first step. God has already taken the first step. He has spoken into the confusion and darkness and injustice of your world. The Word is already there. Blessed are we if we delight in that Word.

A Question to Consider

Where do you hear the voice of God speaking to you today?

A Prayer

God, from the dawn of the world until now, You have been speaking—through Your Word, through Your people, through Your Spirit. Open my ears to hear Your voice today. In Jesus' name, amen.

Then conclude the way you began—with two minutes of silence.

Adapted from Still Waters: Learning to Pray with the Psalms, written by Ancient Path staff writer Chris Pappalardo.