Prayer by the Book

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Ps 119:105

What do coffee with a friend and developing a deeper prayer life have in common? In our prevailing culture, coffee houses are more than places simply providing coffee drinks. They have become essential ‘homes of fellowship’ for many of us who dwell in a fast paced and increasingly impersonal suburban life that does not offer many places of community intersection. A coffee house has become what has been called a “Third Place” or a place that allows for meaningful connection with people third only to our work place and home. We are wired for community and we need some form of recognition in our daily life.

After years of evangelistic preaching to people all over the world, Billy Graham has said that loneliness is one of the greatest problems people face today. We all need community. If a certain coffee house is a place we frequent regularly, then the staff will probably know our name and second guess our order before we have had time to express it. If we meet a friend for coffee we have time to share our lives and enjoy a refreshing hot drink. Prayer with the Scriptures open before us is like having coffee with a friend. It is a soothing experience like chatting while sipping coffee in a cozy setting.

Even to slow down and take just one verse and carefully examine it, like sipping your coffee and examining the flavor and aroma of the brew, transports us into a deeper awareness of God. It enlivens our hearts to converse with God because of the things we are observing and reacting to through God’s holy Word. In this state we are more likely to speak to our Father, heart to heart, and more likely to draw closer to Him. God is so personally interested in you and longs for this level of communication. How can I develop a deeper prayer life is more about asking how can I love God more. So, find a special place, open the Book and ask Him to meet you through your reading today – receive His love for you.