Praying the Scriptures brings power and strength into our lives. After all, we are speaking God’s own Words back to Him, to ourselves, and out into the universe. These examples of praying the scriptures in the free EBook below will give you a platform to then find your own verses that speak to you as you release their power into your life.
Praying the Scriptures For Strength
Praying the Scriptures for strength is a practice that will also plant the Word of God firmly in your heart and soul so that whenever you have a need, God’s words will be your first thought and readily released by your lips.
When you think about the power of The Word, you may not associate that power with your own words, However, when your words reflect God’s words and will, His power is released into you and your situation. You don’t always have to quote the Bible directly, but you can take God’s words and personalize them according to your situation and need. By praying the scriptures and changing ‘you’ to ‘me,’ the verses suddenly become more personal.
Examples of Praying the Scriptures
Here is Esther 4:14 in the NKJV translation, “For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Here is the same verse personalized, “Father, help me not be silent when I should speak. Give me the courage to speak Your words as relief and deliverance arise for me and those around me. I thank You that, like Esther, I was made for such a time as this and even though I may feel insignificant, perhaps through my obedience others may find salvation.“
As you see, the same meaning is there. It is simply personalized without losing the integrity of the original verse.
Making The Word Part of You
There are many ways to make the Word of God part of you. Memorization is one tool. Regular reading and study of Scripture can also make it part of you. Speaking the Word out loud and personalizing it are also powerful ways to make it a part of your life – something you rely on and remember because it has a specific meaning in your life.
I am not Esther and have never had the opportunity to save a whole nation. However, you and I do have opportunities to demonstrate Jesus’ love to others, which means that we were made for just that time and person! Praying the scriptures and applying them to yourself is perfect! And, we remember those times and the Word because it is now more personal.
Another great example is in Psalm 51. David had sinned by committing adultery with Bathsheba and orchestrating the circumstances for her husband to be killed. Nathan, the prophet, had confronted David with this sin, and Psalm 51 is David’s prayer of repentance and restoration. When we sin, we must repent and David’s prayer can be our prayer because it applies in any situation in which we find sin in our lives,
Psalm 51:1-2, 6-7, 10-11, 15-17, 19 – Adapted from TPT – “God, give me mercy from Your fountain of forgiveness! I know Your abundant love is enough to wash away my guilt. Because Your compassion is so great, take away this shameful guilt of sin. Forgive the full extent of my rebellious ways, and erase this deep stain on my conscience. I know that You delight to set your deep truth in my spirit. So come into the hidden places of my heart and teach me wisdom.
Purify my conscience! Make this leper clean again! Wash me in Your love until I am pure in heart. Create a new, clean heart within me. Fill me with pure thoughts and holy desires, ready to please You, May You never reject me! May You never take from me Your sacred Spirit!
Lord God, unlock my heart, unlock my lips, and I will overcome with my joyous praise! For the source of Your pleasure is not in my performance or the sacrifices I might offer You. You will not despise my tenderness as I humbly bow at Your feet. And when I am fully restored, You will rejoice and take delight in every offering of my life as I bring sacrifices of righteousness before You in love!“
This particular Psalm didn’t require much personalizing and, you could actually use the entire Psalm as a prayer. This gives you the idea. You don’t have to be David to pray his prayer. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God, standing in need of repentance, forgiveness, healing, and restoration. David’s prayer is everyone’s prayer.
David asks God to create a clean heart within him and we all have times when our heart is in need of refreshing and renewal so that we can receive more and more of Him. You might be interested in purchasing A Heart After God’s Own Heart for only $2.00. It is a study in renewing your heart with 71 pages of Scripture, prayers, instructions, and much more to help you be like David – a man after God’s own heart.
Praying the Word of God
Praying the Word is easy and there are verses in every Book of the Bible you could personalize and pray. Due to copyright restraints, I can’t include all of them but am including some in the free download attached to this blog. I’m including some examples of praying the scriptures along with a reference list of many more verses you can personalize for yourself. This is by no means all of the verses that could be used as prayers, but it will give you a great start.
Praying the Word of God will also cause you to think more about that verse or verses than when you just read because suddenly it isn’t just a bunch of words. Instead, it’s words that are about you, your life, and your relationship to your Creator and King. It’s personal.
You can read about Esther or David or the Apostles and feel as if what is said really doesn’t apply to you, However – every word applies to each of us because God knows what we need and has already provided it for us! We release that power by praying the word of God
“Hebrews 4:12 TPT, For we have the living Word of God, which is full of energy, like a two-mouthed sword. It will even penetrate to the very core of our being where soul and spirit, bone and marrow meet! It interprets and reveals the true thoughts and secret motives of our hearts.
God’s words are alive, active, full of energy, sharper than any sword, penetrating and revealing. They aren’t just words on a page. Instead, they come alive in and through us and our spoken words. Praying the scriptures is releasing their life into ours.
Praying the Scriptures Out Loud
Speaking is about saying words out loud, not just thinking about them. While we can definitely pray silently, there is great power in speaking our words out loud. No other human has to hear them. God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit hear. Our enemy hears as well and is banished as we stand and speak the Words of God.
There may be times when we can’t even speak words, we can only groan, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Romans 8:26 ESV. However, groanings are sounds! The Holy Spirit is speaking and praying on our behalf which means that even our deepest groanings are God’s words.
If you’re not accustomed to praying out loud, I would encourage you to try it. When you’re all alone just say something out loud to God. Tell Him you don’t really know how to do this! He understands. And Praying the Scriptures is a perfect way to help you begin praying out loud. You are just reading the word of God out loud, just like reading to a child or another person. Only, this time, it’s all about you and your relationship with Him.
Praying out loud is all about releasing God’s power into the universe, It’s about praying according to God’s will. It’s about developing a relationship. If you have a friend or loved one, you develop your relationship through words spoken out loud. There are also things you do for them, but words are the primary way we come to really know one another – words spoken out loud. That’s what praying the scriptures out loud is – building your relationship with your Savior.
I’m attaching a free download for you of Personalized Scripture Prayers along with Scripture references to verses you can personalize on your own. I encourage you to print some of them and use them. At the lowest time in my life, I found my way through the darkness by praying scripture prayers. My grief was intense and I just couldn’t figure out what to say. I prayed in the Spirit but I also prayed these prayers out loud to myself repeatedly. For me, praying the Scriptures, praying the Word of God, was a lifeline.
Just click on the image below and you’ll be taken to the free download. You can download it to your computer, save it, print it, or just refer to it. Let this practice of praying the scriptures out loud release a new dimension of life, hope, faith and strength into your life.
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