Judi Coats

By Dr. Judith R. Coats

Why pray scripture? The point of this article is to deepen our prayer lives in order to build our confidence in God and to unite our hearts with His heart—to know Him and to enjoy Him. The intent is not to put a guilt trip on anyone–we all should pray more fervently. That is a given.  However, we need to add this dimension to our prayers if we have not added scripture to our prayers already.

What are the common types of prayers that we could offer?

The 9-1-1 prayers: “God, I need a job.” “Repair our truck, please.” “Give us a good day.”

The “me-focused” prayers: What James calls “consuming it upon our own lusts.” Do this for me, God, or else!

The dutiful prayers: Run through a list, Amen. “Duty complete for today.” Oooops. I’m not sure I communed with anyone.

The rollercoaster prayers: Pleased with God on the mountains and angry with Him in the valleys–demonstrates a lack of  knowledge of God.

The grateful, constant, communing prayers: Out of a grateful heart, I know God and enjoy Him. How do I know Him?  I have stored up His Word in my heart.

~~~

I have prayed all of these kinds of prayers at one time or another.  But as we mature in our faith, and as we know God deeply and enjoy Him fully, we should practice prayer that speaks to and from the heart of God.

This article is based on John 15:7: “But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!” This verse does not give us unfettered license. The point is that the table of my life will be emptied of my desires.  Since I am abiding in Him and His words are abiding in my heart and in my mouth, what I ask will be cradled perfectly in the will of the Father.  I will ask the Father’s will for me. How refreshing and how reassuring!

Praying scripture in the morning–in our waking moments, before we blow it, here are some scriptures to pray before we begin our day.  We desire to do His will for the day:

Psalm 19:14 (NLT) “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

Psalm 139:23 and 24 (NLT) “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

Praying scripture for the unsaved–Journal several scriptures that speak to the condemnation of the unsaved.  Then weave those verses into your prayers for loved ones who are not in Christ:

“Dear God, your wrath abides on my loved one.  You have said that you are not willing that any should perish.  You have also said that you are longsuffering.  No man or woman seeks after you. We are all gone astray.  Please quicken the heart of my loved one to bring him/her to a point of true repentance and salvation.”

Praying scripture for intimacy with God–“Talk to God. Do you have anything worthwhile to say to God? At the very least, you can take time to talk to God about Himself. Especially for those of us who have grown up in Christianity, there is a need to appreciate God for who he is and what he has done. How sad is it that the average Christian and even average pastor rarely spend much more than 5-10 minutes in prayer daily. Apathy is our curse. We have grown accustomed to what we know about God. It does not move us deeply. We must spend time daily in prayer or song with our hearts engaged in deep gratitude and worship of God’s greatness and his goodness. This helps deepen our relationship with God. As often as possible we need to review what he did on the cross and do this in a way that moves our affections in gratefulness for his sacrifice and suffering. The normal twenty-first century prayer life is a series of brief “Hi God!” type of prayers: thanks for the food, help me with the quiz, please help my mom’s sister who is in trouble, take care of the missionaries and bless them, be with somebody somewhere today that needs something. . . .We talk to God in the same way we would talk with folks about the weather. Necessary but not deep, only as it concerns or changes my plans is it important. Let’s change this pattern of hollow Christianity.  Let’s pray for intimacy with our God” (Dr. Dave Coats, Soul Purity).

Psalm 139:1-18 is an excellent place to start: “O, LORD, you have searched me and known me.”

Praying scripture for those that are ill–Pray for all of God’s purposes in this time of trial because of illness, especially that God would be glorified and that the sick person would be conformed to the image of God’s son.

John 11:4—“This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.”

Romans 8:29–“For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son.”

Praying scripture when we have sinned–Psalm 51 is a good place to start. “God, have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight.”

Praying scripture for saved loved ones and friends—A good place to start would be Paul’s prayers for believers in the epistles. “So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need.  May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father” (Colossians 1:9-12a). 

Praying scripture for enemies–“God, help me to love my enemies, to bless them and not to curse them, to do good to them that hate me, and to pray for them which despitefully use me and persecute me; that I will be a child of you, my Father, in heaven” (From Matthew 5:44, 45a).

Praying scripture for government leaders, teachers, and pastors–“Dear God, please help Pastor to serve with a clear conscience and a life of honesty as he sets the vision for our church body” (Hebrews 13:18). Pray for the salvation of our government leaders.  Pray for the integrity of saved government leaders.  Our teachers have a great accountability (James 3:1) before God. James is speaking of teachers in the church, but I think the accountability is broadly applicable for teachers.

Praying scripture as we pillow our heads–“God, you resist the proud, but you give grace to the humble” (James 4:6). “Without you, I could have done nothing today.”

“For true and earnest prayer cannot be offered without faith; for when the taste of God’s grace is lost, it cannot be that we can pray from the heart; and it is through the promises alone that we can have a taste of God’s paternal goodness [emphasis mine].” John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah, Lamentations

A Remembrance by Dr. Judith Coats:

Can I answer the question, “Why did this particular place draw me when I was seventeen?”  It just did–that’s all.  Alone with my own thoughts—walking back to my favorite rooms—my favorite paintings—my favorite displays. It was a normal, weekly routine for me to finish volunteering at Hartford Hospital during my senior year of high school, travel by bus over to the city museum, and pass time until my dad could pick me up after he made his way from Vulcan Radiator Company through rush hour. My hospital experience was organized by my school to prepare me for a future career.  My greatest interest was to be a surgical technician.  I wanted to complete that degree and then head off to Bangladesh in medical missions.  If you know me now, you definitely know that is not the road that God had for me.  In fact, fast forward a few years, and I tried to go to Bangladesh on a missions trip during college, but God closed that door due to political unrest in that country. It is so true that we devise our way, but God directs our steps.

Back at the museum, the polished, marble, tile floors looked cold even though my bare feet never actually touched them.  I could see my reflection in each of the shiny squares. My soft-soled hospital shoes washed over them in silence as I scanned each room as if I had never seen its displays before.  Not many people vied for the chance to be there with me.  The quiet afforded clear and flowing thoughts to run through my head. The Hartford museum was an oasis. An ever-present suit of armor at the end of a grand hall guarded the entrance of the museum.  You knew when you saw him that you had passed through a time warp into a maze of various art forms–sculptures, modern pieces, religious paintings, quilts.

Just at the foot of a set of bulky, white, curving stairs hung a huge painting of two figures.  I still see the frightened eyes of a boy looking up at the lamenting eyes of an elderly, bearded man.  The title of the painting was simply this: Eli and Samuel.  I was stunned by their faces.  Apparently, Eli was a priest in the Bible; he had taken Samuel (the boy) into his home to train him in the “ways of God.”  Eli’s sons were supposed to follow Eli in his priestly service, but they had been extremely rebellious.  God had determined that they were unsuitable for the holy calling.

Subsequently, one night as Samuel lay on his bed, he heard a voice saying, “Samuel, Samuel!”  The Bible tells us that Samuel jumped up and ran to see why Eli was calling in the night.  Eli was surprised and assumed Samuel had been hearing things.  Samuel climbed back into bed and fell fast asleep.  Once again the voice came in the night.  I can only assume that it was a deep, clear voice in the darkness.  Samuel ran to Eli again.  Suspecting that God was calling, Eli told Samuel to go back and respond, “Speak Lord, for your servant hears.”  God told Samuel to go back to Eli to tell him that since Eli’s sons had sinned, that God was removing his blessing from Eli’s house and ministry.  What a terrifying truth to relate for such a young boy! This moment was the essence of the painting: Eli’s receiving of this bad news.

Captured in the painting, Eli’s eyes spoke profound sadness upon learning that God no longer looked on his family with favor.  Eli understood that Samuel was to step in and become a great prophet of God.  I Samuel 3:19 says, “And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.”  I stared into Eli’s mournful eyes, and I remained a statue on the marble tiles of the museum. Honestly, I never wanted to see that kind of sadness in my dad’s eyes because of something I had done.  I was definitely not a saint, but I did want to please my dad.

In reflection, as I remember my dad on what would have been his 90th birthday, I return to 1991 when my dad passed away very suddenly.  After a telephone call with the news, when I arrived at my parents’ home, without prompting or thought, I ran to his closet, grabbed a bundle of my dad’s shirts in my hands, buried my face, and smelled his clothing to be close to him once again–I wanted to sit just one more time in the car on the way home from Hartford to have one of those regular days and simple chats with him—those simple times of visiting a museum and then traveling home having mundane conversation.  From forty-two years ago, as a seventeen-year-old, a simple pleasure has resurfaced for me presently as a frozen moment from my past, reminding me of a father in a painting and the father in my life.

By Judith Coats

It has taken me a long time to share publically the truth of my depression; here is my story. In 1983, Dave and Julie, our 1 ½ year old daughter, and I arrived in Haiti to help others in missionary work of various kinds: church planting, camp, youth work, ESL teaching, and missional Gospel living among neighbors and friends. We were thrilled to be there even though life was much more difficult from a practical standpoint. However, we quickly adjusted to the culture, thanks to friends in our mission and thanks to many gracious Haitians. We had opportunities to explore the island, finding places to snorkel, a playground to take our daughter, mountain passes that were absolutely gorgeous, white sand beaches, and busy markets with locally-made products and produce. Life settled into a rhythm.

In 1984, we gave birth to Jennifer Lynn in one of the poorest cities in the world. With several birth complications due to uncontrolled jaundice, we witnessed firsthand a very deficient medical system. We were desperate to help our daughter. One machine, brought into the country by a private doctor, eventually made its way to Jen’s room in the hospital; her bilirubin count began to drop. We had been her nurses throughout the ordeal. We thanked God for His care.

In 1986, we gave birth to Jonathon David in the middle of the Haitian revolution—literally in the middle. One day after Jon’s birth, the United States military flew into Haiti to remove the dictator, Jean Claude Duvalier, to take him to France. There was one problem for us amidst all of the military turmoil: our gynecologist had left the country immediately after the birth of Jonathon because of the political unrest. He had in his briefcase Jonathon’s birth certificate. So we were basically stuck in Haiti to live through the aftermath of Duvalier’s removal. What did that mean for us? Well, the people of Haiti took vengeance on anyone and any business that had any connection with the Duvaliers. So we were stuck inside our home while there were shootings, lootings, beheadings, group-chantings, a cutting off of all communications, and food and gasoline shortages. Eventually, we made our way to the American Consulate to confirm Jon’s birth abroad certificate.

One month after Jon’s birth, I was doubled over in pain. A doctor came to our home to examine me. He put me into a Haitian hospital immediately, not to give me better care, but to have me in a central location for other physicians to visit with me. The hospital had no sheets, no towels, no nursing, no meals, and no clean water. My condition began to deteriorate with terrible pain and high fevers, peaking in the afternoons. Jonathon was by my bedside so that I could nurse him. Doctors were puzzled as to what was going on. They unsuccessfully tested me for malaria, but the private technicians would arrive too late to get the test at the peak of the fever. After several days of severe abdominal pain and high fevers, I began to give up hope. Dave was actually thinking that he may lose me. At one point, a doctor visiting Haiti, took me off all medications; he placed me on a few high-powered antibiotics (shocking my body), suspecting a post-partum infection. My fever broke, and I was finally beginning a trajectory of recovery. After eight days in the “hospital,” I remember walking outside, holding Dave’s arm, and seeing blue skies and swaying palm trees. I had lost 40 pounds in eight days, and I had not been able to nurse Jonathon because of the medication. Jon was drinking Evian water with yogurt mixed in. After I completed the antibiotics, I could nurse him once again. God helped me to pump milk in order to feed Jon after 10 days.

As I began to recover from this ordeal, I hit a wall that took me by surprise. As I began to wake up each morning, I felt a dark wave come over me. I would turn to Dave and say, “I want to die today.” I cannot explain the wave, but I knew it was coming. I sat on the side of my bed. I looked at Dave, and I thought of my children. I knew that they were in the second floor apartment with me. I would walk to the porch and sit in a rocking chair. I did not feel like praying at all. I did not feel like reading my Bible at all. I would sing one song over and over: I will trust when I cannot see, when I’m faced with adversity, and believe your will is always best for me; I will trust when I cannot see. I would passively listen to others that shared biblical truth.

I began to journal the blanket of depression that covered me each and every day for approximately eight months following my initial crashing against the wall of death-thoughts. Despite my desire to die, there was one thing that kept me going while carrying on with my daily tasks (making meals, feeding children, cleaning the apartment, and caring for my own health). That one thing was truth—the truth of the Word of God. Even though I did not feel anything, I knew I needed to speak scripture to myself.  I believed the God of the Word to be my only hope. I would mechanically repeat verses in my head to drive me forward. But the essence of faith was this: I placed my trust in God’s Word void of emotion, will, and desire. I fell into the arms of  God and His truth to find a balm for each moment that I would have preferred to die. His Word sustained me, and His Word saw me through the darkest days of my entire life. My body was in His Hands.  He did not slumber or sleep. He held me.

• Psalms 42:5, 11; 43:5 “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.”
• The psalmist is repeating in these three verses these exact words because he continues to need to hear truth even though his feelings are unchanged.
• What is his situation?  David is crying continually (42:3); he feels like God is afar off (42:3); he remembers better times of joy (42:4); he feels like God has forgotten him (42:9).

How did truth “save” me, you might be thinking? Well, when I approached each day with no other desire than to die, I would recall truth (“I can do all things though Christ”), repeat it to myself, and get up to make breakfast. Or I would recall truth (“Love is kind”), repeat it to myself, and go read books to the children.  Or I would recall truth (“Do all to the glory of God”), repeat it to myself, and wash the dishes.  Dave was, of course, an amazing help and counselor through this time in my life. Once again, the essence of faith in action was the claiming of truth and living that truth despite a body that felt no other feeling than a desire to die.

• Psalms 119:25-28 “My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your Word! Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will mediate on your wondrous works.”
• Notice the next statement in verse 28 “My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.”
• The psalmist repeatedly cries out to God in the midst of feeling like his soul is melting for sorrow.  He does not cry for anything other than the Word of God.

I know that depression is different for everyone–the triggers vary; the reasons vary; the results vary; the time varies.  However, I can unequivocally say and attest to the fact that we need God’s Word in the midst of any and all forms of depression.

“Are we blind to those around us?” That question has become some sort of moot, powerless, paradigm to “think of others.” But, seriously, do we manage our daily lives in such a way that we have actually come to the point where “going the second mile” is not appealing, not possible, or not in our calendar? Should we consciously think instead in terms of how we may have an impact on our community? Our neighbors? Those around us at our jobs? Literally everyone that God brings across our path?

Everyone is busy. Everyone is in a race to survive the next crazy day. Everyone reserves time or tries to reserve time for a break, some rest, some change. Everyone has family and friends to juggle schedules around.

But what about making a concerted effort from a heart of love, God’s love, to see afresh any way possible to make a difference? Helping someone else may be considered pandering or unwanted charity of some sort. Sometimes the independence of others or the instruction from the PC world to “fight through on your own” can cause us to hesitate to step in to offer a helping hand. But the Great Commandments are so very clear—to love God and to love our neighbor.

No matter what, it is worth the effort to try.

I heard recently of a true story that caused me both to shed tears and to re-examine my own selfish bent to make sure that my ducks are in a row for me. A young family, the subjects of my story, live in the Denver area in a neighborhood considered by many to be low income. The schools are poor and the housing is mostly small rentals. The mom and dad are busy keeping up with three small children, supporting Dad in his intense job, babysitting one little boy to earn extra cash, spending time with a missional community each week from their church, helping family and friends and neighbors with child care or yard needs, holding leadership positions in their local public school, traveling to see the neighbor boys play their soccer and football games, and simply juggling car trouble, appliances breaking down, and scraping to save to buy a home. From all appearances, the calendar could fill up rather quickly with no extra time.

However, even with all of this whirlwind “stuff of life,” the young family noticed a woman, whom we will name Meredith walking her daughter back and forth to school every day throughout the fall, winter, and spring. They would watch her from their small front window facing the sidewalk. Meredith trudged through snow and mud to take her daughter Alice to the small local school where the young family’s own daughter attended, too. In fact, their daughter became good friends with Alice who accompanied her mother every day. After Meredith drops Alice off at school, she apparently rides a train to downtown Denver, picks up a baby that she cares for during the day, and returns the child downtown in the evening after picking up her daughter Alice from school.

This young family decided to visit with Meredith in her home. They wanted to offer to drive Alice to school in the bad weather, throughout the winter, so that Meredith did not have to make that trek every day. They knew that she might be hesitant to let them do so, so they invited her to their home to become more familiar with them and their family. Of course, the two daughters were delighted to visit in each other’s homes. Meredith had been brought up to depend on no one, so this couple wanted to be sensitive to her desires. But eventually, she told them that their offer to drive Alice in bad weather was most generous. In fact, the couple ended up driving their daughter and Alice most of the time to school after all. They felt strongly that she could use this extra help.

Out of this heart-directed effort to help Meredith, friendships have been forged, life is a bit easier for this young woman, Meredith has given her life to Christ, and this young family has make an impact for Christ. Why did this story touch me deeply? Meredith is blind.