"In the beginning" seems like the perfect way to start a story, even better than "once upon a time". This is especially so if we're telling a true story about things that really happened that answers some of our deepest, most basic questions about where we came from and our place in the world. In today's episode we are reading Genesis 1 together and going back to the beginning.
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. We also need to grasp the overall storyline of the entire Bible.
In our podcast we take time to listen to God's word, reflect on it and then pray it back to God as well as carry that word with us through the rest of the day. We use the entire Bible to do that and not just the "uplifting" or inspirational parts of it. On today's episode we listen to Genesis 1:1-2:3 and hear about God creating the world.
Genesis 1 has become a battleground even though no fighting or military action is described. A modern, scientific viewpoint seems to contradict Genesis 1, and a number of people have criticized this account of how the world began for various reasons. While we acknowledge those debates do influence how we hear this story, we're striving to let the story speak to us with its own logic and power as God speaks creation into existence.
Listen to this fresh reading of Genesis 1 from an original translation from the Hebrew original and then ponder what it means before we pray a prayer to God shaped by this passage.
You can follow up this podcast by reading Genesis 1 in another translation or version of the Bible. I also encourage you to read one of the Psalms that speak about creation: Psalm 19, 33, ,104 or 148. Make sure you follow or subscribe to this podcast to hear more from God's word.
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).
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 Genesis 1? We recommend two short videos by The Bible Project to get you further into reading, understanding and praying this essential Bible story: Genesis 1 and the Bible as Ancient Jewish Meditation Literature.
We use a four step process for reading/hearing, meditating, praying and then living out scripture demonstrated here.
Additional resources at https://word-of-prayer.com