An Important Prayer Before Reading Scripture

A prayer to be prayed before opening up the Bible: 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

I come to You today as I present myself before Your Word.

I believe that all Scripture is God-breathed, and reveals to me Your nature, Your will, and Your ways.

I know that I cannot comprehend it on my own, and I ask for the Spirit of God to open my eyes, my ears, my heart, and my understanding, that I may hear clearly what the Spirit is speaking through the Word.

May the words of these pages teach me the truth about God, and may they draw me deeper into communion with You, deeper into the knowledge of You, deeper into commitment to Your ways, deeper into love for You, my neighbour, and my enemy.

Feed me with the living words of the Living God, and strengthen my soul with the power of Your revelation.

I confess that I come to this Book with sin, with selfishness, with biases, with preconceived ideas. I come to it with a worldview, with cultural lenses, with traditional ideas and long-taught views. Some of these things are not good, and some are not bad in and of themselves, but all may affect how I read and understand Your Word – so help me lay all of these things down today, that Your truth might break through all things and bring me to clarity.

May I empty myself of myself today as I read these pages, that I may be filled with the fullness of the revelation of God.

Where I understand You properly, may those ideas be built up and strengthened.

Where I have misunderstood You, may those ideas be corrected and replaced.

May You use this Word to change me, to make me more holy, to make me more like Jesus.

Forgive Your people for where we have used these words as weapons to harm others, and for where we have used them to elevate ourselves over others, looking down on them for what we think we know that they don’t.

May I humbly approach Your Scripture, remembering that I am mortal and incomplete and that You are immortal and all-complete, and that only by Your grace and Your drawing can anybody possibly know You.

Grant me this grace today, as I prepare to open Your Word.

Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.

Amen.

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