Today, I want to talk about prayer. Specifically, how to pray Scripture. I believe everyone should know how to do this, so I’ll introduce the concept and share resources if you’d like to learn more. There are two books I personally recommend for praying Scripture:
Praying the Psalms by Daniel Henderson, founder and president of Strategic Renewal.
The first person who taught me how to pray Scripture was my dear friend Kate, who lives in Switzerland. When I lived there, she would come to my home every Thursday, Bible in hand, and lead me in prayer. As we prayed, she would pause and turn to different passages. I can remember it vividly, her bible open and as we prayed, she would pause, and then she would flip to another section of the bible to pray. Her ability to pray using scripture left a lasting impression on me.
When I moved back to the U.S., I struggled to maintain my prayer routine. Kate and I started praying together over the phone during my commute to work, but I longed for a prayerful community with other women in my city. That’s when I met Sharon, another mentor and friend, who invited me to a prayer conference. That experience reinforced my conviction that prayer is a vital part of a Christian's life. Today, Sharon leads the Women of Prayer group at my church, where we pray through the Psalms. I have found the Psalms to be the perfect foundation for praying Scripture.
So, what does it look like to pray as you memorize?
Well, it really is a simple approach, whenever you read a Psalm, I encourage you to circle or underline any attributes of God.
As we begin memorizing Psalm 19, I will be incorporating prayer. Hoping to inspire you to pray as you memorize.
Lets practice this today by starting with Psalm 19:1
To deepen our understanding, let's read verse 1 in various translations from BibleHub:
- NIV: The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
- NLT: The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.
- ESV: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
- Berean Standard Bible: The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
- NASB 1995: The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
From these translations, we see that:
- the heavens declare, proclaim, tell of the glory of God.
- The skies display, proclaim, declare His handiwork.
- I marked God and the pronoun His. I can see God is Creator. His glory is revealed in creation and that he intentionally created the skies with his hands.
Lets take what we learned about God, and pray:
Praise and Thank God (AWE-Adore, Worship and Express)
- Lord, thank You for this time together to lift Your name and praise You as our Creator. You formed the heavens, and each time I look up at the sky, I see Your handiwork, constantly shifting, breathtaking from moment to moment. Every sunrise is a reminder of Your faithfulness and glory. I praise You for Your wondrous works. Amen.
Responding and Realigning ( R&R)
- Now that you have an idea of how to find Attributes of God you will want to also continue to pray by confessing any sin and then bring your requests to God. I have found that once I get to this point in my prayer time, because I have taken the time to think about His attributes and give Him the praise that He deserves, my prayer list starts to diminish. Not that because I have forgotten them or that they are not important but because I am reminded of the magnificence of God and peace overwhelms my soul.
The Women of Prayer ministry uses this one sentence which I have found to be super helpful to keep women focused on praying specific. You may want to write it down or check out the blog post that goes along with this podcast.
God because You are _(attribute)_
I’m asking You to _(action)_
so that _(purpose).
Remember, the Lord knows the situations and we don’t have to lay out every detail of what is going on for people to pray.
You can take this example of praying verse one and continue to use it in your own personal prayer time. I hope this helps AND for more digging in check out these cross references from Bible Hub
Romans 1:20
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Job 38:4-7
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. / Who fixed its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched a measuring line across it? / On what were its foundations set, or who laid its cornerstone, ...
Isaiah 40:26
Lift up your eyes on high: Who created all these? He leads forth the starry host by number; He calls each one by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.
Colossians 1:16
For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.
Hebrews 11:3
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
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