Pages: 251-260 and Psalm 119
Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. Psalm 119:18
This morning, I continued with John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture, continuing with Part 3 The Natural Act of Reading the Bible Supernaturally, chapter sixteen - The Indispensable Place of Prayer in Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Wakening Our Desire for the Word. Here, Piper seeks to help us understand that the "ongoing miracle of divine teaching, in and through God's written word, is a gift in answer to prayer." Piper wants us to have both prayer and study - he uses Psalm 119 as he points out in this Psalm the the psalmist "prays five times that God would give him understanding:"
- Psalm 119:27
- Psalm 119:34
- Psalm 119:73
- Psalm 119:125
- Psalm 119:169
Building on the acronym shared in the previous chapter, Piper shares that prayer "grows out of the admission of our helplessness at the most fundamental level." He offers us another acronym to help us pray prior to Bible reading:
- I(ncline): incline our heart
- O(pen): open my eyes
- U(nite): teach me your ways so that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name
- S(atisfy): satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love
Piper urges us to consider prayer as crucial to our Bible reading as it "contains an absolute surrender of yourself to God." He goes on to say that "[l]oss of interest in the word of God is loss of interest in God." Piper himself writes how "hundreds of times I have hit a wall in my effort to understand a text. Often I have had a sense of desperation because I must preach on this text in two days....[he] plead[s] with the Lord to lead [him] into the truth...."
Very good teaching indeed.
Comment and discuss this post here.
My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God and Your Word IS sweet and more valuable than gold - thank You Jesus for giving me desire for You and Your Word. Please sustain and intensify this desire for You and Your Word. Thank You for how You bless me and sanctify me with Your Word. I am undeserving. I worry and I am selfish. Please forgive me for these and other sins. Help me overcome and turn from such sin and towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.
