I fed it all to the dog.

To understate the case, my first attempt at baking cookies turned into something of a disaster. I was ten years old. Mom had just started back to work full time, and I wanted to create something-all on my own-that would evoke amazed appreciation in the hearts of everyone else in the family. I wanted Dad to tell Grandma, "I can't believe it, Alma! Those cookies were the best I ever tasted. And her first baking project, too! What a kid!"

The result didn't exactly turn out that way, though at the beginning I thought to myself, "How hard could it be?" I was a prolific reader, Mom had lots of great recipes, and I had watched her bake 100 times. So I shuffled through her recipe file until I came to "Chocolate Chip Delites," or some such promising title. As I began to gather up ingredients, my courage grew; everything on the front of the recipe card was also in the pantry. Flipping the card over, I read the directions. Here they are in their entirety:

Mix together and bake at 350° for 12 minutes.

Diligent, if not experienced, I proceeded to dump every ingredient into the biggest bowl in the kitchen: a stick of frozen butter, eggs, flour, salt, the chocolate chips. Along the way, I forgot the sugar, but the omission really didn't matter. Stirring the resulting mass of ingredients by hand all at once proved impossible. That's when I discovered I didn't know how to turn on the mixer.

I stood staring at the hapless mess in the mixing bowl for a long, sad three minutes. Then, praying Mom would never ask where the package of chocolate chips had gone, I fed the concoction-chips and all-to the dog.

Experienced bakers can make a masterpiece from a list of ingredients and minimal directions. But beginners need more guidance. The same applies to a rich devotional life. And even Christians well-practiced in prayer and Bible reading can find variety spiritually stimulating. For both these reasons, I offer the following "recipe."

English speaking Christians have for centuries used the P.R.A.Y. acronym to integrate Scripture reading with prayer. This acronym provides a framework for our contemplation and response. God speaks to us in His Word; we respond to what He has told us. We praise, repent, ask, and yield to His good and gracious will.

Praise-As we encounter any Biblical text, we can ask ourselves, "Where in these words does my Lord reveal His majesty? At what actions or attributes am I awed or amazed? For what will I praise and adore Him?"

Repent-When we find ourselves in the presence of God's glory and goodness, we become deeply aware of our own sin. With Isaiah, we cringe considering the contrast. "I'm a dead man!" the prophet exclaimed in essence (Isaiah 6:5). Asking the Holy Spirit to apply His Law to our hearts, we explore the text. We confess the sins He reveals to us. And, blessedly, we receive our Lord's assurance of pardon and the peace it brings, all because of Christ's cross.

Ask-The passage we read on any given day will often contain other promises, promises that also belong to us in God's gift of redemption. Or we may see those promises active on the behalf of Abraham or Sarah or Mary or Paul. Realizing that the love that has prompted God's kindness to His people down through the ages belongs also to us, we consider the needs in our own lives and the needs we see around us in the lives of those we love and in the church and world at large. Based on our Lord's gracious promises to hear and help, we present big, bold requests, trusting Him to hear and help.

Yield-We ask, and then relying on God's mercy in Christ, we rest. We rely on His wisdom and love to bring about the best possible results at the best possible time for us. We also ask that the Holy Spirit shape and form in us greater Christlikeness as His Word has its way with us. Then we look for specific ways to walk throughout our day in the truth and love God has revealed to us.

A Practical Example

Mom is in heaven now, but on occasion Dad still uses one of her recipe cards. When I phone on those evenings, he sometimes jokes, "I wanted to bake cookies from scratch today, but I didn't have any scratch." Techniques matter. But without content, all the technique you can muster will not produce dessert.

The P.R.A.Y. technique, likewise, will yield nothing of value apart from the precious Word of God. Still, focused on the Holy Scriptures, the approach builds on the living Word of the living God! Consider this example from my personal prayer journal this week. (I was reading Mark 10:46-52. If you read this account, sometimes known as "Blind Bartimaeus," before you continue in this article, the comments that follow with make more sense.)

Praise-God has given me the gift of sight and all that sight makes possible. How I praise Him for pink sunrises, for crimson autumn leaves, for brilliant snow drifts! Jesus stopped for Bartimaeus, and He stops to hear me, too. He has always cared about my needs and had compassion on me. I praise You, Jesus, for Your mercy!

Repent-If I had been Bartimaeus, would I have dared to ask Jesus for help? So often my unbelief scatters hope and keeps me from prayer. But Jesus is the "Son of David," the Father's promised Savior! He's healed my spiritual blindness and keeps on opening my eyes to His love. Thank You, Jesus, so very much for Your forgiveness!

Ask-Lord, macular degeneration runs in my family. Please protect my eyesight! But more than this, help me see as clearly as Bartimaeus did when he "threw off his cloak" and "sprang up" to come to You (v. 50 ESV). Increase my faith in You as my almighty, merciful God so that I do not hesitate to come to you with every care.

Yield-Bartimaeus followed You, Lord Jesus (v. 52). Who wouldn't want to follow such a kind, compassionate, forgiving Savior!? Show me today how to follow, too, as I act in compassion toward (name) and (name). . . .

So far as I know, the Bible never mentions chocolate chips. But the Holy Spirit once gave Ezekiel a vision of a scroll filled with writing and told him to eat it. The prophet reports: I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey (Ezekiel 3:3 ESV).

I pray that your time with Jesus in His Word may be both sweet and spiritually nourishing, no matter how you combine the ingredients God, in grace, has given.

Dr. Jane L. Fryar serves as Associate Professor of Education at Concordia University, Nebraska. She also writes for Christian Tools of Affirmation, www.ctainc.com