How To Pray The Bible
Pray the Bible with Jesus as the focus
It's critically important to remember that God's plan is to be glorified through the work of Jesus. This is the eternal plan that brings God maximum glory and brings us maximum joy. Reality has always been, is now, and will forever be about Jesus. The gospel is the defining picture of God's magnificence - his love and holiness converging in the gospel as that work that will bring eternal praise to the Trinity. So, we should be looking for Jesus, the gospel, and the attributes of God in every passage. Sometimes we see the gospel clearly as in Isaiah 53:5 or John 3:16 or Romans 5:8. Sometimes we see the many surrounding components of the gospel like God's justice (Jesus absorbed what we deserve) or God's love (Jesus died for sinners) or our sin (our need of salvation); it all points to Jesus. So, first, when we pray the Bible, Old or New Testament, our focus is on Jesus.
Pray the Bible with the important elements
While a "method" of prayer is not sacred, it can be helpful in keeping us on track. In The Lord's Prayer, Jesus gives us the important elements. And if you are like me, it's easy to forget that adoring/worshiping God is the most important thing we can do. It's easy to become self-centered and myopic in our praying.
I like the ACTS outline because adoration is primary and it's good for me to confess my sin and acknowledge my dependence on God's grace:
Adoration - Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. - Psalm 29:1-2
Confession - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. - 1 John 1:9
Thanksgiving - ...singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. - Ephesians 5:19-20 (also Col 2:6-7, 3:15-17; 1 Thes 5:16-18)
Supplication - This is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. - 1 John 5:14
Read about other prayer structures HERE.
Pray the Bible focusing on the text at hand
Try to stay focused on the text. There is much to pray about but if we're going to absorb and apply the passage, let's stay focused on it.
Pray the Bible without constraint
While the text is primary, we want the Holy Spirit to have freedom to lead us. So, my suggestion is that we pray with text-loyalty and then pause for whatever else the Holy Spirit brings to our minds.
5 Steps in praying the Bible
P) Pray for help in your efforts
R) Read the passage at least twice - carefully.
O) Observe - What is this passage about? While, this does not need to be a long and deep and detailed exercise it's good to know the issue of the passage and the mood or emotion. As much as possible we want to align with the general disposition of the passage. THEN, Look for God and the gospel. Look for God's attributes and character; what is God doing? Look for his love and holiness. Look for the gospel. For example: In the psalms God is often proclaimed as a shelter. How is it that God could be a shelter for a traitor like me? Only because of Jesus - the gospel.
P) Pray the as the Holy Spirit leads you. I like using a prayer-structure like A.C.T.S. - Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication.
If you want to see how this might look go HERE
Other helpful articles
How I Pray the Bible - John Piper
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