PRAYING SCRIPTURE

Have you noticed that as He prayed on the cross, Jesus prayed scripture? He repeatedly prayed to God in the exact words of Scripture. In fact he prayed so much of the 22^nd Psalm that a friend of mine believes He quoted the entire psalm in prayer, and the Gospel writers recorded enough of it for us to understand that. Praying Scripture can be a wonderful practice.

You can memorize a verse and pray it off and on throughout a day. The scripture itself does not have to be a prayer like Psalm 22. You can pray from almost any scripture by praying from the truth opened up in it. “I thank you, Father, that I know all things, even this trial I am facing, work together for good.” (Rom.8:28) “Lord, help me not do what I do to be seen by others.” (Mt.23:5)

However, I think a great way to begin or extend this practice is by praying prayers from the Bible. I have often been thrilled by re-praying the prayer of the believers in Acts 4. “Sovereign Lord. . .” I believe one of the best Bible prayers for us to pray is The Lord’s Prayer itself. Most people already know it by heart. And praying from each thought in the prayer opens great vistas of the character and grace of God. “I thank you, Father, that I am part of a family. You are ‘Our Father’.”

This week I intend to challenge a group, some of whom have not developed a daily quiet time, to pray through The Lord’s Prayer every day for a week. I cannot wait to see what God does in their lives.