In the Words of the One Who is Wiser

            One of the many central ideas from this class that has truly made an impact on my thinking is the idea of thinking, praying, and speaking the Word. The use of the Scriptures in prayer, thought, and speech, in worship but also in teaching and everyday life, in order to exhort one another is key to drawing hearers’ minds to sacred things and to God’s Word. I have seen this evidenced in the words and prayers of many professors as well as pastors and peers and have noticed and appreciated it more fully because of the emphasis placed upon it by such authors as Terry L. Johnson and J. Ligon Duncan III. Praying freely, guided by the forms, language, and words of Scripture takes away the fallibility of human words and replaces that with God’s Words – using God’s Words to speak to God. Not only that, but as the afore mentioned authors noted, scriptural prayer is the pattern on Scripture itself, more accurately reflects the will of God, is more comforting to the heart and soul, and reinforces the ministry of the Word.

In my life, this should and will affect how I teach and pray, not as a pastor, but as a follower of Christ. Practically, for any follower of Christ, this entails first of all knowing the Scriptures and secondly knowing the context of the Scripture in order to integrate it into prayer and teaching effectively. This concept is something that I had never thought about in this way before reading this book and the other class books and I am thankful for all the insights brought out over the course of the semester in the class.