How meeting every weekday with a band of brothers has changed how I look at Bible Study and prayer.
April Beginnings: The Tidewater Men’s Morning Psalms Devo and Prayer Time
As the COVID-19 pandemic led to stay-at-home orders and our church transitioned from in-person services to streaming worship, I decided to start a morning devotional time with the brothers in my region. I noticed that the month of April had 22 weekdays and that Psalm 119 has 22 8-verse stanzas, so I put the word out that I wanted to connect with my brothers through a morning devotional on Psalm 119 followed by time in prayer.
At first the group members changed every few days, but by the middle of the month we had a set of regulars that met every day at 8:00 am for the half-hour devotional time. I started with reading the day’s stanza and sharing some thoughts I had prepared, then opened it up for a few comments, finishing with about 10 minutes of prayer. The burden of preparing the lessons fell on me, along with sending out reminders and working to recruit more of the brothers. The initial vision was more or less a presentation, following our paradigm of church midweek services: Lesson, Discussion, Prayer.
May Changes: Our Modified “Haverim” Format
Soon the end of April was approaching and the five of us who were regularly meeting decided unanimously that we wanted to continue. We discussed a few ideas but settled on reading through the Psalms that are just before (Psalms 113-118) and just after (Psalms 120-134) the previous months psalm, Psalm 119. Also, instead of me preparing thoughts for each day, we decided to rotate who would be responsible, and that we would begin the time reading each psalm from different translations. After the readings, we would discuss our thoughts then have a time of prayer. The plan had shifted to a new paradigm: Read, Talk, Pray.
The May format is more like a “haverim” study group. In John 15:15, Jesus tells his disciples that they are his “friends”, the meaning of the word haverim. He met often with his disciples to teach them and to spend time in prayer. In a haverim study group, typically the group breaks into sets of two to study a passage, then comes together to share what they’ve discussed in the group. This communal form of learning provides a way that we can learn from each other through a time where we read, talk and pray.
June and Beyond: A Committed Band of Brothers
We’re nearing the end of two months together as a “haverim” group, and the morning times together have helped us get through these days of stay-at-home quarantine. We realized that this is something we could have done all along, but didn’t because we had a mindset of needing to be together physically, our paradigm until recently. Meeting up for a read, talk and pray time would have been difficult: we would have needed to find a place to meet, someone would have always been running late to get to our meeting place, and we would need to rush off to get to work on time. By using technology, we’re able to meet consistently and without the distractions of travelling and meeting up physically. I’m greatly encouraged that our small band of five brothers have all committed to keep it going through June and beyond by meeting virtually, our new paradigm.
Our morning times together have been personally rewarding. I’ve learned much from the time together, and have found starting the day with my brothers in Bible study and prayer has helped me stay spiritually focused during the pandemic.
Here are three things I’ve learned from our Men’s morning psalm and prayer times:
Read: Hearing Scripture Read Out Loud
Each morning at 8:00 am, we start our session with a reading from the Scriptures, with each brother reading from a different translation. While the purpose is to help with our discussions, there’s also great value in hearing the Word read out loud.
In Nehemiah 8, the Bible describes the day when Ezra brought the book of the Law before the people in the square in Jerusalem and read it aloud to those who gathered. This was soon after the wall of the city was restored and the captives returned from exile in Babylon.
2 So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. 3 He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.
Nehemiah 8:2-3 New International Version (NIV)
As Ezra read the Word, the people listened intently, and were moved to tears (Nehemiah 8:9). When we hear the words of Scripture, it affects our heart in a way unlike reading it on our own. We also can hear it read in a voice that’s not the one we hear in our head. In the case of our morning group, the voices are my brothers in Christ. Often we hear in our voices how the Word energizes us and brings out our emotions, like the Israelites listening to Ezra, something we may not have experienced by merely reading it to ourselves.
Many of the books and passages in the Scriptures were written to be read aloud, in particular the epistles, which were mostly written to be read at the church in the city to which they were sent. For example, Paul asked the Colossians to read their letter to the church in Laodicea, and in turn read their letter back in Colosse (Col 4:16).
16 After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.
Colossians 4:16 New International Version (NIV)
Reading scripture out loud to one another is uplifting and engaging, and helps set our minds to discuss what we’ve heard from God’s Word.
Talk: Sharing What The Spirit Is Teaching Us
After reading in several different translations, we have a brief time of discussion, with one of the brothers being responsible for selecting a few verses or a few thoughts to start things off. We’re currently reading from the New Living Translation (NLT), New International Version (NIV), New King James Version (NKJV) and the English Standard Version (ESV). These range from the more interpretive to the more literal in approach, so they provide some thought-provoking differences in wording that we’ve wrestled with at times. The different tones and words have helped us better understand the true message or theme of passages, and have helped fuel our discussion times.
Our discussion also helps us to hear what others are learning from the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit uses Scripture to counsel and convict each of us, and hearing what my brothers are learning helps me to gain new insights and convictions. I’ve left many of our morning times with a new or renewed conviction to better obey and follow God’s Word.
We’ve tentatively decided to focus on Jesus’ parables for June and July. In some cases when Jesus taught a parable, he would discuss it with his “haverim” group of disciples. In Mark, after sharing the “Parable of the Sower” and others with the crowd, his disciples asked him about the parables, and he took time to explain them.
10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables
Mark 4:10-11 New International Version (NIV)
I’m sure the group of 12 had many discussions about the Scriptures, and while they didn’t have various translations like our group of five, they had Jesus there to explain the meaning. The discussions we have each weekday morning help us to better understand the scriptures as we share the thoughts the the Holy Spirit puts on our hearts.
Pray: Listening To The Needs Of Others
We save time to pray after we read and discuss, even when we sometimes run beyond our planned end time of 8:30 am. One by one we offer up prayers for our families, God’s church, those in need and our own character and any other needs or concerns that we have. Praying these prayers each day might be the most important reason I wanted to have a devotional time with the brothers.
When we pray we can speak to God about what we read and discuss. Some of the psalms we have read in our morning group have included prayer.
169 May my cry come before you, Lord;
give me understanding according to your word.
170 May my supplication come before you;
deliver me according to your promise.
171 May my lips overflow with praise,
for you teach me your decrees.
Psalm 119:169-171 New International Version (NIV)
As with the read and talk portions of our time together, the time we spend to pray is enhanced by offering our prayers together. When my brothers pray, I hear their needs, concerns and requests before God, and I get the opportunity to pray for them as they pray for me.
19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
Matthew 18:19-20 New International Version (NIV)
Read, Talk, Pray
Our men’s morning devotional time has taught me that the time we spend to read, talk and pray together gives me a way to get closer to God beyond what I can do on my own. It helps me to better understand the Scriptures by hearing them read out loud in different translations and by listening to the thoughts my brothers bring from what they’ve learned. It also gives me a deeper time of prayer from sharing our needs before God together.
I encourage you to find a group, or put one together and meet often. If you’d like more ideas or input on topics please contact me. May God bless you and your “haverim” richly as you read, talk and pray together!
Tom, thanks for fly our thoughts. They are very inspiring and reminds me of the BT men’s group that I am apart of on Monday and Wednesday. I would love to discuss this group with you and have you come in and teach a Devo for us. We meet from 12 – 1 pm but I will say being apart of both groups has helped me to continue to grow.
Thanks, Reg, for your comments and for your support for our morning group. The men in our Bible Talk started meeting a few times every week at 11:30 am, but our focus has been on sharing what we’re reading and how we’re doing. If be happy to join your noon men’s group sometime… let’s talk about that soon.