A Series of Prayer #1: IOUS

My Quiet Place

IOUS

The topic of prayer has been on my heart recently and I would love to share with you girls my favorite prayers, methods of praying, and anything else that involves talking to God. The first post for this series is an acronym that I discovered in  John Piper's book When I Don't Desire God. This is a prayer to pray right before diving into God's Word. 

I NCLINE my heart towards You. Ask the Lord to create within you a desire for God's Word....a hunger for righteousness that fair out weighs your hunger for breakfast and a thirst for God that is stronger than your thirst for coffee. Actually wanting to read God's Word can only come from Him. We cannot muster it up within our hearts on our own. 

{ Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain. Psalm 119:36 }

O PEN the eyes of my heart. Ask the Lord to speak to you through His Word in a new, awakening, and exciting way. Sometimes I read a passage and it makes no impact on me whatsoever. The Bible is not boring! It is active and alive and cuts deep into our lives! Reading it can give us joy if we ask God to do develop a yearning within us. Again. Only He can do it. 

{ Open the eyes of my heart that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. 

Psalm 119:18 }

U NITE my heart. Ask the Lord to pick up all the pieces of your heart that are going so many different directions and put them all together in His Name. Part of us may be tired. The other half is focused on the verses. Part of us may want to just cross Bible reading off of our list. Another part feels the Lord's presence. Part of us keeps getting distracted by the events of the day. The other half is captivated by God's voice. Pray that God will give you 100% attentiveness to what you are reading and complete joy in its truth! Fear of the Lord is a wonderful experience! 

{ Unite my heart to fear your name. Psalm 86:11 }

S ATISFY my heart with You. Ask the Lord to satisfy you with His Word and not of the things of this world. Fullness of joy can only be found in the presence of God. The power of His love working through scripture can satisfy us way more than sleeping in, watching tv, or planning out the day. Only He can satisfy Your cravings. 

{ Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Psalm 90:14 }

I found that I get the most out of my Bible reading when I focus my thoughts on Him before even opening His Book. Instead of reading quickly, unconsciously, and out of habit, I ask that the Lord bind my wandering heart to thee by praying this simple acronym. 

❊Question for the Comments❊

How has praying the IOUS acronym impacted Your Scripture reading?

The Girl Next Door