Hello, my friends! Today’s post is in answer to a question I received last week. Each Sunday I post  #SundayScripture, #PrayingTheWord on Facebook. I take a verse or two of Scripture and write a prayer to go along with it. I was asked for more information on exactly how I pray God’s Word in my devotional time.

It’s pretty simple, and I don’t have a book or pattern I strictly follow. It’s just something I’ve grown into during my quiet times with God over the years.

Please understand that this “method” isn’t a magic formula to “get” your prayers answered! Instead, it’s a way to grow closer to God in prayer, using His Word to lead and guide you.

Very simply, this is what praying God’s Word means to me:

It’s taking verses of Scripture and praying them back to God.

I do this in three main ways:

1. Praising God
2. Claiming God’s promises
3. Praying for individuals

Let’s take a quick look at each of these categories. I’ll show you a few verses I use, and explain how I pray them back to the Lord.

Praising God

I absolutely love using God’s Word to praise Him! Psalms is a wonderful place to search for verses of praise to pray to God. Here are a few of my favorites:

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:2-5) 

After reading the verses, I might pray something like this:

Lord, I bless and thank You for all the benefits You have given me! You have forgiven all my sins, and You’ve healed my diseases—both the sin disease of my soul, and the many sicknesses I’ve had in my life. You have redeemed my life from destruction, and I praise You for that. Every day You shower me with lovingkindess and tender mercies. Not only do You meet my daily needs, but You satisfy me with good things!

Claiming God’s promises

When we are praying for God to meet specific needs in our lives, it’s so good for us to pray the promises of God! It reminds us that God has kept His promises to us in the past, and helps us continue to trust Him for the future. It’s a wonderful way to keep our faith strong!

Let’s say you need provision in an area of your life. Philippians 4:19 speaks specifically to this:

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” 

After reading the verse (actually, the whole chapter is wonderful if you are in need!), you could pray something like this:

Lord, You know my needs. You’ve promised to supply all my needs according to Your riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Help me to trust You as I wait for Your provision, and give me wisdom if there are any steps You want me to take as I wait on You.

Praying for individuals

Many times we get into the rut of praying “God bless so-and-so” when we are praying for the people in our lives. I find that praying specific verses of Scripture really helps to focus my prayers for others. Here’s one of the verses I love to pray for my sons:

“That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.” (Psalm 78:7)

My prayer might be something such as:

Lord, please help my sons set their hope upon You. May they never forget the great works they have seen You do in our family, school, and church. May they always follow You and keep Your commandments.

As you can see, praying Scripture is very simple. It’s taking the words God has given to us and speaking them back to Him in prayer.

As you seek to pray God’s Word, I’d encourage you to jot down verses you’d like to pray (as you come across them in your quiet time or hear them in sermons, etc.) and then incorporate them into your prayer time.

I hope this has been helpful to those of you wishing to pray God’s Word. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them in the comments here or on Facebook and I’ll try to answer as best I can.

Praying God’s Word has been a great help to me, both in focusing on God’s power and meditating on what He has already done in my life. I pray you will be blessed as you continue to seek Him!

In closing, here are a few wonderful verses to pray if you are in need of God’s refuge and strength.

“Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.

From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I;

For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.

I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings.” (Psalm 61:1-4)