When I was studying during deployment, I was moved by my reading, and my spirit was impressed to pray, " ... Father, we ask that You would keep us from sin and that we would not even desire its pleasures, that You would teach us to discipline our bodies, that You would teach us to walk in Your ways, and derive our pleasure completely from You. We ask that You would change our hearts that we would mourn over sin, and that we would be so close to You that we would be sensitive to the sin around us, and we would run from it. I especially pray this for myself, Father. Keep me pure.”
Praying Scripture
“Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” —Luke 18:1
I learned to pray scripture several years ago when introduced to a book by Jodie Berndt called Praying the Scriptures for Your Children. I love to take the words of the Bible and personalize them in order to pray for myself or for others. In the introduction to this book, Fern Nichols says that when we pray the promises of God, we are “praying back the very words of God.” (2) This can be as simple and as powerful as using John 3:16 in a prayer for salvation that might look like this: “Thank you for loving Johnny so much that You gave Your one and only Son, that when Johnny believes in Him he will not perish but have eternal life.” And Psalm 121:7-8 are great verses to pray for safety of a loved one (or yourself): “The LORD will keep you from all harm—He will watch over your life; The LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” As you read scripture, look for verses that you can personalize in this way in prayer.
We have recently seen some episodes of a new special out on PBS called “The War.” Today the story was told of a WWII soldier who repeated the 23rd Psalm as he was preparing for battle in the Pacific. “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. . . . . . Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.” When I hear stories of people calling out to God with scripture, it reminds me of the verse from Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and active.”
Psalm 91 has been called “The Soldier’s Psalm”. Perhaps you have even seen it printed on a camouflaged bandana. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ Surely He will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. . . . . You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, . . . .For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. . .” Psalm 91:1-3, 5, 11. There are many stories of how this particular Psalm has inspired and comforted soldiers and their families in the recent conflicts in the desert as its promises have been proclaimed.
There is a classic book on prayer written by Andrew Murray in 1885 entitled With Christ in the
Questions to share:
2. Is there a favorite scripture verse that you can pray for someone you love?
(1) The Complete Works of E.M. Bounds on Prayer, compiled by Baker Books, 1990, p.72.
(2) Praying the Scriptures for Your Children by Jodie Berndt, Zondervan Publishing, 2001, p. 9.
(3) With Christ in the
This Post Has 0 Comments