Praying Scripture
Are you
ever unsure about what you should pray? Do your prayers sometimes become
dull or repetitive? Do you feel like you’re praying “wrong?” First
of all, you are not alone, many people feel this way when it comes to
prayer. One of the best ways to deal
with these feelings of inadequacy or uncertainty in prayer is to pray Scripture! Praying the Scriptures allows you to use the
words and emotions of the Bible to gain more confidence in your prayers.
Engaging
the Bible and praying are the two primary methods for developing a relationship
with God. In fact, all other spiritual disciplines have their foundation in the
disciplines of reading the Bible and praying. While many of us tend to
think of prayer and Bible reading as separate spiritual practices (e.g., first
I pray, then I read the Bible), they can be even more powerful when combined
into one practice of “praying scripture.”
There
are many different ways to pray Scripture.
You can pray the exact words of a Psalm that matches you heart. You can recite the prayers of others recorded
in Scripture. You can pray as you read through
a passage. One of the best ways of
praying Scripture I have found is to pray the promises of God!
Praying God’s Promises
God
loves to hear his own words prayed back to him! When a small child crawls up on
the lap of their father and says, “Daddy when are you going to take us to the
zoo like
you promised?” the father smiles and assures his child he has not
forgotten and is very much looking forward to doing what he promised (when the
time is right). In the same way, our heavenly Father delights to hear us remind
him of his promises to us. The Bible is in fact a great big prayer manual that
should fill and guide our prayers each and every day.
In
Genesis 31:2, God makes a promise to Jacob. Involved in that promise is one of
the most faith-giving promises in Scripture—“I will be with you”. A promise
that means God will do us good and pour out his favor upon us! Then later, when
in deep crises, Jacob cries out to God in prayer and reminds God of his promise
to him. Listen to what he says...
But you
said, ‘I will surely do you good’... and Jacob said, “O God of my
father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD who said to me, ‘Return to
your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good.’ - Genesis 32:9,12
Sometimes
people struggle with how to apply the promises in prayer correctly. Is it right
for us to take promises given to the people of Israel or Moses or David, and
apply them in prayer to our own situations?
Basically, the answer is a qualified “YES”.
For all the
promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is
through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. - 2 Corinthians 1:20
Not only
is Jesus the ultimate fulfillment of all the promises, but he is the key to the
promises. We may say that the promises are made ultimately to him and for him
and about him.
In my
own Bible, I have highlighted hundreds of promises with a green highlighter so
I can find them quickly and use them for prayer when needed.
Here are
just a few suggestions to get you started on how to be specific in praying the
Scripture...
When you or someone you know is fearful
about the future, pray these words...
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you. - Isaiah 26:3
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out
fear. For fear has to do with
punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because
he first loved us. - 1 John 4:18-19
The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to
me? - Psalms
118:6
When you or someone you know is
struggling with sin, pray these words...
For the
LORD hears the needy and does not despise his own people who are prisoners. -
Psalm 69:33
I will
sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your
uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new
spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your
flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and
cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. - Ezekiel 36:25-27
When you or someone you know is in need
of guidance, pray these words...
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you. - Psalms 32:8
This is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us
forever. - Psalms 48:14
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on
your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make
straight your paths. - Proverbs 3:5-6
When you or someone you know is
questioning if God hears and answers prayer, pray these words...
I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from
all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be
ashamed. - Psalm
34:4-5
For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him
who has no helper.
- Psalms 72:12
In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.
- Psalms 86:7
When you or someone you know needs to
know that God is near, pray these words...
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in
the shadow of the Almighty. - Psalms 91:1
The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him
in truth. - Psalm 145:18
Pastor Jeff Frazier
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