Do you live a storybook life? Most of us don't. In fact, our daily routines and happenings often seem so ordinary to us that we seek excitement, adventure or escape through songs, movies or stories of other people that attract us (or at least distract us). But the truth is, you are living out a story whether or not you are aware of it, and the things that happen in your life become elements of your own personal story.
In season five we're learning to pray the most common type of scripture: narrative or stories. They make up almost half of the Bible so it's important we learn how to read and pray this very common type of Scripture.
In our regular episodes we take time to listen to God's word, reflect on it and learn to pray to God and carry that word through the rest of the day. We use the entire Bible to do that and not just the psalms, prayers or "uplifting" parts of it that seem suited for devotionals. On today's episode we take time for a conversation between Ron and Angela about how to read and pray Scripture stories especially in the family setting.
1 Samuel 1-3 introduces several parents and children: Elkanah and Hannah and their son Samuel along with Eli and his two sons Hophni and Phinehas. The story helos us notice the contrast between Eli's two wicked sons and young Samuel growing up in Shiloh under Eli's supervision. One natural question is how is faith formed in children (or deformed by adults making their own choices)? Ron and Angela reflect on that in light of their own experiences and offer some guidance about intentionally sharing stories from the Bible with young people.
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Angela Oltmanns has written a month-long series of family devotions based on 1 Samuel. Get a copy of the book 1 Samuel: How to Be a Child After God's Heart on Amazon (or the ebook).
We also have a study based on the stories of Elisha called Spirit of Elisha: A Double Portion for Moms on Amazon (the ebook is here).
The Action Bible is a great resource for visually engaging with Bible stories, both for older children and adults who are young at heart. See our review of this book on our Youtube channel.
Want to go deeper into reading narrative parts of scripture? We recommend these four short videos done by The Bible Project to get you further into reading, understanding and praying Bible stories: Plot, Setting, Characters, and the Bible as Ancient Jewish Meditation Literature.
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