“We are well warned: it is not enough to understand the Bible, or admire it. God has spoken; now it’s our move.
We pray what we read, working our lives into active participation in what God reveals in the word. God does not expect us to take this new reality lying down. We’d better not take it lying down,
for God intends that this word get us on our feet walking, running, singing.
“God doesn’t make us do any of this: God’s word is personal address, inviting, commanding, challenging, rebuking, judging, comforting, directing.
But not forcing. Not coercing.
We are given space and freedom to answer, to enter into the conversation. From beginning to end, the word of God is a dialogical word, a word that invited participation. Prayer is our participation in the creative, salvation, and community that God reveals to us in Holy Scripture.”
Eugene Peterson, Eat this Book (109)
