Unregistered

Greetings! It is only my opinion that Ohio has stated some thoughts well in his last post on pray-reading. Witness Lee did use Ephesians 6:17-18 as a basis for using the Word to pray. We should not merely look at pray-reading as something only Witness Lee encouraged and taught from the Bible. A careful study of church history will find that so many believers used the Word to help them in their prayer time. Martin Luther said "the best prayer book is the Bible." He shared his experiences of using the Word to mix in-between his prayer. Madame Guyon, a spiritual Catholic, recommended pray-reading. Andrew Murray also encouraged this practice. Could it be that there have been some pray-reading experiences among some believers that really "are not the best example" of what real pray-reading is meant to be?

I think that this very discussion will help all of us readers to pray-read the proper way, and not mindless shouting and empty repeating the same words. The loud voice in heaven in Revelation 19:1-4, repeating of "Hallelujah" and "Amen" at least 3 times certainly is not vain repeating of the same words. Amen and Hallelujah are the praises of the saints for Christ's victory. And do not think that I sit around and read only WN and WL publications. I recently came across a portion in a publication by K.C. Hinkley in his "A Compact Guide to the Christian Life." On page 43 he asks the question, "How is Christian meditation different from what is done in Eastern religions?" He then states, "The meditation practiced in Eastern religions is a matter of emptying your mind and opening yourself up spiritually to whatever voice or influence happens. Christian meditation aims to focus the mind in openness to God's voice, and no other." And then further he states on page 44, "Christians use the word meditation to describe two slightly different things. The first is a directed, focused thinking in which you mull over a passage of Scripture to draw out its meat. The second is a kind of prayer. It is related to meditating on Scripture that is intended to quiet your brain enough to let God's Word to sink into your heart." A growing believer may find his mind to be troublesome with all the anxieties of this age that we live in, so I feel it is fitting for K.C. Hinkley to point out that we can "quiet your brain enough to let God's Word sink into your heart." Lastly on page 81, Hinkley states that meditation is "digesting a scriptural truth by chewing on it over and over until you understand it." Another publication that I have greatly benefitted is written by Terry Bowland entitled, "Make isciples!:Reaching the Postmodern World for Christ." He discusses how to approach friends and people to reach them and share the good news of the gospel. This book has been a great help to my patience towards sinners and has helped me to listen to people with a concern and care, all the while intending to look for an opportunity to share the gospel with them. I hope we all can take a moment after considering this matter of pray-reading and delight ourselves in prayer over God's Word.