I was just a young child when my parents told me I ought to begin daily devotions. I began the habit when I was perhaps eight or ten years old and have largely stuck with it for the past four decades. During that time, I have attempted a hundred different approaches, but it seems like I always end up in the same place: Before my day really begins and often before the sun even rises, I go for a walk through my neighborhood, and as I walk, I listen to the Bible and pray.
There is a sweet harmony between Scripture and prayer, which is to say, a sweet harmony between hearing from God and speaking to God. My time of devotion is not first a time of study, but a time of relationship—of hearing God speak to me and then speaking to him in return. I often return home feeling relationally connected and marveling at the privilege that is mine to be able to have a friendship with God—a relationship that, like any other, depends upon two-way communication.
I have often spoken to people who struggle to know how to integrate prayer and Scripture in such a way that they can carry on a conversation with the Lord. For those who struggle in that way, I want to give you a tip: Begin with Proverbs. Begin with Proverbs because, in my experience, there is no book that more readily gives itself to conversation.
To get started, open Proverbs to one of the middle chapters. I randomly picked chapter 18 for the sake of this article. Proverbs 18:1 says, “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.” As you read these words or listen to them, God is speaking to you. What is he telling you? He is telling you that there is danger in isolating yourself, and that if you isolate yourself, you will end up going against the sound counsel that comes through living in community and dependency. How can you respond to God’s words? By immediately confessing any tendency toward isolation and antisocial behavior, by thanking God for the gift of community, by expressing gratitude for the positive examples of this you have witnessed in your life, and by asking God to help you to heed the sound counsel of those he has brought into your path.
As you pray that, you have carried out a conversation with God—he has spoken to you and you have spoken to him. You’re relating to God.
A few verses later, you read this: “It is not good to be partial to the wicked or to deprive the righteous of justice” (Proverbs 18:5). What is God saying to you? You don’t need to be a biblical scholar to understand that he is warning against partiality—against a kind of favoritism that would prefer one person over another on the basis of any trait, status, or characteristic. You don’t need penetrating insight into human nature to know this is a universal tendency, and hence one you are prone to. It would be wise, then, to reply to God and say, “God, I confess I am often partial to a [particular kind of person] and often struggle to relate justly to [another kind of person]. Please forgive me and help me to love all people with the love with which you have loved me.” Again, God has spoken to you, and you have spoken to God just like a friend chats with a friend.
“If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame” (Proverbs 18:13). God is telling you that you will be tempted to speak instead of listen and hence to speak rashly instead of thoughtfully. This is, of course, a manifestation of pride, and it ultimately proves folly and brings shame. “Father, I admit that I have often spoken hastily and been more interested in sharing my opinions than hearing another person’s heart. I admit that this is true even in my relationship with you—that I have often spoken to you without really hearing from you. Please forgive me for my hasty pride, and please help me to be a faithful, careful, humble listener.”
Soon you’ll find that God becomes your best and most precious partner in conversation.
And so it goes. Not every verse or passage in Proverbs lends itself to such ready understanding, confession, thanksgiving, or petition (e.g., “The leech has two daughters: Give and Give”), but many do, especially between chapters 10 and 29. If a proverb stumps you, feel free to move to the next one. Some will lend themselves to long prayers and some to short ones. Some will lend themselves to confession, some to petition, and some to thanksgiving, as you see evidences of God’s grace in your life. But you will find, as I have, that every Proverb can be turned into a prayer.
Then, what you have learned in Proverbs, you will be able to extend to every other genre and book. Soon you’ll find that God becomes your best and most precious partner in conversation. God will speak and you will listen, then you will speak and God will listen. You’ll enjoy the immense privilege that is yours as a Christian—the privilege of a genuine relationship with the God of all the universe.
