Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
Oh, and finding places where scripture contains the recording of a prayer that we can also pray does not support the general statement that scripture in general "was designed to be prayed." A prayer was designed to be prayed. That is not a general statement about the rest of scripture. So you can correctly assert that "there is scripture that was designed to be prayed" and that would be because it was a prayer when it was recorded.
And just because the word accomplishes God's will, and the words "Thy will be done" are found in a prayer does not support a general statement that the words of scripture are "designed to be prayed." That is just nonsense.
Yes. Pray the Word. Use it all in prayer. We can pray anything (although there clearly is no purpose in praying the American Heritage Dictionary). But that does not make any of it broadly "designed to be prayed." The purpose of scripture in general was not to be prayer. It was to be God's speaking. We can pray it. It is possible to do so. In some cases it is profitable to do so. But I do not see any evidence that, as a whole, it was "designed" as such.
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Once again you take a very general statement "the word of God is designed to be prayed" and put your very strict definition on it. If I said Cheerios were designed to be eaten would you assume I was talking about the box?
No it is not nonsense. If I can show you a verse in the Bible that was clearly designed to be prayed that is proof of the statement. I never said that every word was designed to be prayed. I understand that there is a range of acceptance on this point, personally I feel that a very high percentage of the Bible is designed to be prayed, but if others feel only 5% is designed to be prayed, so what, that does prove my statement. Not your absurd assumptions about what the statement meant. This is typical of you. Take a reasonable statement, put absurd inferences on the statement that then make the statement almost impossible to prove and say the statement is false. If you agree, which you have stated that you do, that one word in the Bible is designed to be prayed, then you have agreed to the statement that "the word of God is designed to be prayed". All you are doing is qualifying it to say you don't agree that every word is designed to be prayed. So what?
Likewise, if you agree that the word of God reveals God's will. Then without a doubt praying that God's will be done can certainly involve praying this word back to God as many examples in the Bible attest. Yes, this definitely proves that "God's word is designed to be prayed". Once again you color this statement with an absurd inference that I used the qualifier "every". Also you cut the verse references out of the context. It is as though I had a two step proof and you argue that step one by itself is not a proof?! The proof is this: 1. the Lord taught us to pray "thy will be done" (we all agree this is what is taught), 2. We learn of God's will from the word of God (again, no dispute that the word of God reveals God's will). 3. There are many examples of prayers recorded in the Bible in which God's will from His word is prayed back to God (once again no dispute). Therefore, to pray God's will as revealed in the word is a Biblical practice of the Bible. Try respecting the ways of God and his servants.
Instead, I would say that as you find the easiest words to pray back to God you will find others as well. So although you initially may feel that only 5% of the Bible was designed to be prayed, that percent will grow as you pray.