Praying for a Real
Meal
"Our living and loving God, astonish us anew with the riches of your Word. Astonish me and give me ears to hear all that you desire. Amen."
The study of Scripture and the proclamation of its message
to the world and the Church are not accomplished merely through hard work and
the application of coherent exegetical methods.
Prayer is also vital and essential to the process of reading the Bible. It
is ultimately the Holy Spirit who gives life to the words on the pages of
Scripture. The same Spirit who inspired the original authors and preserved
these books through the millennia now brings the Word of God to us anew. I
learned from Ellen Davis in her book Wondrous Depth: Preaching the Old Testament
to pray for astonishment
whenever I sit down to read and ponder the Scripture,
As I’ve prayed for astonishment (see opening prayer above), I’ve found some poignant
and profound prayers from the ancients that I am beginning to incorporate into
my own prayers for illumination as I read and ponder the life giving words of
Scripture. I hope that you find them as helpful as I have.
Bede (c. 673-735)
was a great scholar in the early English church. He lived as a monk in
Jarrow. Here is a prayer that he
composed for use when studying the Bible:
May your Spirit, O
Christ, lead me in the right way, keeping me safe from all forces of evil and
destruction. And, free from all malice,
may I search diligently in your Holy Word to discover with the eyes of my mind
your commandments. Finally, give me the
strength of will to put those commandments into practice through all the days
of my life. Amen.
Gregory of Nazianus
(329-389) was one of the key early Church fathers who worked during the pivotal
fourth century. Here is a prayer that he wrote for help in interpreting the
book of Psalms:
Lord, as I read the
psalms let me hear you singing. As I
read your words, let me hear you speaking.
As I reflect on each page, let me see your image. And as I seek to put your precepts into
practice, let my heart be filled with joy.
Amen.
Origen (c. 185 –
c. 254) was one of greatest of the early church fathers. He was a skilled interpreter and theologian. Here
is a prayer that he composed for use in the study of the Scriptures:
Lord, inspire us to
read your Scriptures and meditate upon them day and night. We beg you to give us real understanding of
what we need, that we in turn may put its precepts into practice. Yet we know that understanding and good
intentions are worthless, unless rooted in your graceful love. So we ask that the words of Scriptures may
also be not just signs on a page, but channels of grace into our hearts. Amen.
The last prayer that I will share comes from Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225-1274). Aquinas was the most prominent theologian of
the medieval period. This prayer was
intended for use before Aquinas preached or wrote. I find this one particularly profound:
O Creator of the
universe, who has set the stars in the heavens and causes the sun to rise and
set, shed the light of your wisdom into the darkness of my mind. Fill my thoughts with the loving knowledge of
you, that I may bring your light to others.
Just as you can make even babies speak your truth, instruct my tongue
and guide my pen to convey the wonderful glory of the Gospel. Make my intellect sharp, my memory clear, and
my words eloquent, so that I may faithfully interpret the mysteries which you
have revealed. Amen.
May God grant you His grace and peace this day!
All of these prayers may be found in HarperCollins Book of Prayers: A Treasury of Prayers Through the Ages(Edison, N.J.: Castle Books, 1997).