Proclaimer Blog
Praying the Bible by Don Whitney
Regular readers will know that I’m a keen advocate of using the Bible to pray. In fact, I can be a bit repetitive when it comes to the subject. So, bottom line, any book on praying the Bible is welcome. And – to be clear – I like Don’s book, Praying the Bible, when considered in the round. It’s practical, it’s short, it’s readable, it takes you step by step through his thinking and helps you pray, with particular focus on praying the psalms. But for my money, this book’s constituent elements are not always what they might be. I’m hestitant to say this – especially because it is endorsed by so many well known names. And if this is the only book you have on praying the Bible, go for it. But there are some weaknesses. Let me explain.
First, it’s expensive. It is 96 well spaced pages, casebound (hardback to you and me). That’s not much book for £9.99. I wanted it to be £1. And I think it could be.
Second, it’s short. This is both a strength. And a weakness. I understand the need to be short to make what is essentially one point. Ironically, however, it would have benefitted from some clarification, namely…
Third, the emphasis on praying the psalms needs qualification. Don is right to say that when praying the Bible our primary activity is not Bible intake (i.e. understanding a text) but prayer. That’s a useful point to make. But there are lots of things in Old Covenant psalms that do need some interpretation. Prosperity for one.
To be fair to Don, he helps with this by saying he’s using the language of the psalms rather than the thoughts behind the psalms themselves. He uses Psalm 23 as his example. He says that “restoring my soul” is not about evangelism and he would not preach that way. But it’s OK in his scheme to read that verse and then pray “restore the soul of my mate” who is not a believer.
Now, I’m sorry, but I don’t think that is praying the Bible. It is certainly using the language of the Bible. Fair enough. But the real power is surely in praying what the Bible intends, not just what words it uses. Don qualifies this somewhat. “I have enough confidence in the Word and the Spirit of God to believe that if people will pray in this way, in the long run their prayers will be far more biblical than if they just make up their own prayers.”
I happen to agree with that. But there is surely a better way even that this, which is to take the aim of Scripture and pray that in, using the Bible words if possible. That’s the richer seam for me. All of which is to say this is a good book. It just could have been better. In fact, it could have been more like one or other of Rachel Jones’ books, which are cheaper and – ultimately – superior. Go to it.