Cedarville Magazine, Summer 2021

JEREMY KIMBLE Associate Professor of Theology A key is consistency in the rhythm. I am helped by my engagement with the church directory and the Valley of Vision (a book of Puritan prayers), as well as the Psalms to get me started in prayer each day. I read consistently and seek to use the Word of God as a means to hear from God and then pray back to God, communing with the Father, Son, and Spirit. MICHAEL SHEPHERD Professor of Biblical Studies My occupation is to study the Bible day and night (Josh. 1:8; Ps. 1:2), but a very special part of that daily study is devoted to reading approximately three chapters from the Hebrew Bible and one chapter from the Greek New Testament in order to complete both parts of the Bible annually. The focus of this time in the Bible is discernment of the text's verbal meaning. This meaning then prompts me to understand, believe, and obey accordingly. Thus, the Bible itself sets the agenda for my walk with God. MICHAEL MCKAY Assistant Professor of Biblical Theology When reading the Scriptures, I ask myself questions when I have finished the text. First, "What does this passage teach me about God?" Second, "What does this passage teach me about humanity?" And third, "What does this passage teach me about how God interacts with humanity?" I find that these questions help to focus my learning and application from the text. These questions work when doing detailed Bible study or personal devotional reading. JOSH BOWMAN Assistant Professor of Missions and Theology For many years the prayers that I prayed during my time with the Lord in the morning were divorced from what I had just read in Scripture. I would read through a portion of the Bible and then I would finish, close my Bible, and spend time in prayer. One of the simplest but most helpful things I have done is to keep my Bible open. I spend more time meditating on the text and then letting the text guide my response and prayers. This helps me reflect on the text and really apply the Word to my life. It has also helped diversify what I pray about and makes me think about my response. A resource that gives me specific ways to pray for the nations is an app on my phone called IMB Pray. This app gives current prayer requests that have been written by missionaries all over the world. It is such a blessing to know how to pray specifically for people groups and individuals instead of just asking God to generically bless all the nations and missionaries. ERIN SHAW Assistant Professor of Women's Ministry I have sought to prioritize knowing the God of the Bible for who He says He is and not creating a god of my own making. The way to do this is by reading Scripture faithfully. Back in the garden, the serpent challenged the woman with the question, "Did God actually say ...?" (Gen. 3:1). There are many ideas and philosophies floating about that have set themselves up against the knowledge of God. I need to be able to have an answer for this same question today when these godless ideas and despair seek to take refuge in my heart. BILLY MARSH Associate Professor of Theology I always begin my personal reading of Holy Scripture with a prayer asking that the Lord grant me understanding of what the Holy Spirit has "written for us" (Rom. 15:4) through the biblical authors in the Old and New Testaments, the one Word of God. I keep the prayer concise and to the point, as its sole purpose is to preface my study of Scripture. An example of one passage I pray regularly is Psalm 119:33–34, "Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart." Such prayerful pleas before scriptural reading are fitting due to the Spirit-inspired nature of Scripture's origin and content that we confess (2 Tim. 3:16–17; 2 Pet 1:20–21; 1 Cor 2:12–14). Cedarville Magazine | 23