Enhance Your Prayer Life, Pray Scripture
I enjoy praying scripture. Not only the prayers in the Bible, but praying other parts of scripture. Reading scripture can be very revealing and inspirational in my life. Praying scripture is even more inspirational in my life. It can be yours as well. I enjoy praying particular scripture passages for several reasons. Especially a scripture that speaks to me and a certain part of my life as I read it. Oftentimes a scripture passage will reveal something I need to change or correct in my life or something that is missing. Other times I am reminded how blessed I am to personally know the living God.
When a scripture passage speaks to me this way I will transform those words into a prayer for my own life, or the life of my church. Here is an example: Psalm 41:1“Blessed is the one who cares for the poor; the LORD will save him in a day of adversity.” After reading this verse my prayer might be, “Lord, I want to be counted among those who are blessed for caring for the poor. Help me to understand this and practice caring for all those you put around me, according to your word and will, regardless of their situation in life. I can’t help every poor person in my path. Show me those I can and how you would have me to invest in them.”
One Saturday night while reading through the book of Jeremiah, God revealed to me what scripture to read and pray in my pastor’s prayer time in the worship service the following morning. I was reading Jeremiah chapter 3. The Supreme Court had earlier in the week made a, in my opinion, very immoral ruling. Speaking to the nation of Israel Jeremiah states in verse one, “But You! You have played the prostitute with many partners – can you return to me? This is the Lord’s declaration.”
God troubled my heart with this scripture. As I continued reading this chapter God’s Spirit showed me other verses to include in my prayer the next morning. I felt compelled to begin my prayer time with the congregation using that statement from verse 3, applying it to the condition of our nation today. Not to the nation as a whole, or the unbelieving people of our country. My prayer was concerning me and the church, God’s redeemed. What the Spirit had revealed to me that night was that it was us, believers, who had prostituted God’s work and His moral standards. My prayer began, “God forgive us, me, and your people, for we have prostituted your…”
While I have not untaken a study on the topic, and I am not sure if I could say that a majority of scripture could be used in our prayers for application in our own lives, I do know there is enough of scripture to pray that would keep us busy praying for a lifetime. Both the Old and New Testaments are filled with passage after passage that can reveal a need or a blessing in our lives. Every one of these and more can be prayed for your life and mine today.
In the New Testament, John chapter one beginning with verse one scripture says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” I am thankful for the understanding of this verse. My prayer today in reading this verse is, “Lord, thank you that The Word, Your Word was with You from the beginning. Not only was it with You, The Word is You. Help me to not only know this truth but to come to a deeper understanding of the meaning of this verse and also to live it and demonstrate it in front of others.
And near the end of John’s gospel in chapter 21, verse 22 Jesus says, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? As for you follow me” My prayer of this scripture has been, “Lord, if you want John and Missy to have this, what is that to me. Help me, O lord, to follow you.” Or perhaps I would pray, “Lord, as you said this to Peter about John, let me take hold of it in my life. Help me not to be so concerned with another believer that it hinders my work for you. I have enough taking care of my own life and followship. Forgive me where I have failed you in this way.”
Scripture can speak to us in so many facets of our life. When you read scripture do you grasp it, take hold of it, let it speak to you, then pray that scripture for your own life? If not why not try it, start today. If you want to enhance your prayer life, pray scripture. Pray earnestly as God reveals to you when you are reading His Word.
For more on praying scripture and related topics contact George Yates and visit SonC.A.R.E. Ministries on the internet.