“I’ve Been Thinking about Prayer and Scripture (Essentials Red)”

For: The Institute of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephens University, Essentials Red Online Worship History Course with Dan Wilt.

Prayer and Scripture have played an integral part in my spiritual history and my most vivid memory is of our family reading the Bible and praying together when I was young.  My parents were able to bring biblical stories and concepts alive within the context of my life experiences in that moment in time.  Prayer and Scripture were also integrated in a healthy way within the church setting for me.  From an early age, I was taught to read and meditate on the word and to incorporate it into my prayer and worship time. 

Many of the worship songs I remember fondly from my childhood were taken straight from scripture and I can recall bible verses simply by singing such songs in my head.  These are the songs we sang at church and in family worship times around the piano.  I am sure many could testify to this.  I recall memory verse challenges in Sunday School where we not only learned parts of scripture by rote but understood them in context as part of our unit of study.

Within a more contemporary church setting, this integration of prayer and scripture is perhaps not as evident as stand-alone moments. I know that my children are not having the rich exposure to scripture that I did as a child both through its reading and its use in song and prayer.  Yet they are exposed to a more varied expression of worship to and for God than I was and understand that God loves the sacrifice of praise we bring to him in what ever form it takes. 

I am prompted to consider the patterns I am teaching my children in regards to both prayer and the value of the word and its relevance within contemporary culture.  Dan Wilt speaks of the importance of reflection in The History of Worship Part One (Essentials Red)1.  Likewise, when it comes to our own emerging understanding and application of prayer and scripture in our own spiritual journey “we must ask ourselves why we do what we do in life”2.  Am I simply replicating the patterns I have learned or am I open to discovering new and innovative ways to encounter Christ and who He is?  Can I bring my spiritual heritage to bear on the way I teach my children biblical truths?  Stay tuned for further answers to these questions in coming weeks.

1. Wilt, Dan. History of Worship Part One: Essentials Red.

2. Webber, Robert E. Ancient-Future Time: Forming Spirituality through the Christian Year. (Michigan: Baker Books, 2004), p.47.

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