How To Pray Bible Scriptures
How To Pray Bible Scriptures
How To Pray Bible Scriptures
Even at the beginning of the Bible at Genesis 1:3, notice that it starts with, "Then God
said..."
God created the heavens and the earth by speaking them into existence. By praying the
scriptures out loud you are speaking God's will for your life into existence. Sure, He can
hear you if you pray silently, but it is Him hearing the spoken Word that makes Him
move in your behalf. Hearing the Word is what causes your faith to rise, not just reading
it. There is power in the spoken Word.
Now if you like you can start reading the Prayer Promises. These are Scriptures that
promise you that He will hear your prayers and answer them. Reading these builds your
confidence and your faith to believe.
Praying for Jerusalem is a request from God Himself, He said, Pray for Jerusalem
When you Pray for the Missionaries, all missionaries are included, but if you know
specifically a missionary's name you can say their name instead of missionaries.
The same goes for Praying For Your Pastor, personalize the prayer by saying his name
instead of the word pastor. If you have a reverend or father as they do in the Catholic
church, then you can use those words instead of pastor
The next prayer is Praying for Pastor's Family. It's important to pray for their family as
well as the pastor, because if the enemy can't get to the pastor, he'll focus on his family. If
you belong to a religion where the pastor isn't married, it doesn't matter. He still had a
mom and dad and other relatives. They all need to be covered in prayer.
Praying for the Church is very important. Many problems relating to the churches and
instances of strife and gossiping can be altered if you will just pray for your church. Or
pray for the churches as a whole, the church, the body of Christ.
Praying for Relationships was added because at the time their were many couples having
problems in their marriages. When you pray this prayer, you may see a gradual change in
your partner, but the main change is what you see happening to yourself. You will change
first, mostly in your attitude. And there is a certain peace when you can just release your
partner into God's hands, for Him to deal with.
When I wrote Praying for the Children, I actually had my children in mind. I wanted to
cover them in prayer before they go off into the world alone. I wanted them to be able to
make the right decisions and stay away from all that was evil. I then realized that all
children was included in the prayer. If you would like to pray for a specific child, just
replacing the word children will personalize it.
I had one lady write to tell me that her friend was in intensive care, and she would go to
see her and read the healing scriptures to her every day. The friend in intensive care was
healed from hearing the spoken Word. I would even recommend that you make a cassette
recording of the scripture prayers, and get a cassette player that has an auto reverse. Put
headphones on the patient so the spoken Word of God can continually soak into their
mind. I have heard this being done for people that are in a coma.
Scriptures for Needs was written because at the time I was trying to raise money to be a
missionary. I looked up every scripture I could find and wrote them down and prayed
them every day to remind myself that God will supply my needs, and will make a way
where there looks like there is no way. These prayers can build your faith to believe for
all that God has for you, and don't forget to send the angels to cause it to come.
When I compiled the Scriptures for Encouragement it was because I was meeting so
many people that were depressed and discouraged. I actually looked for prayers to
encourage a person, but couldn't find any. These Scriptures will encourage you and build
you up in your faith.
In Conclusion
I would like to tell you other different ways I have heard these scripture prayers being
prayed. Some people just pray each page by itself. Some people pray in the spirit in
between each scripture. Some people enter a praise and worship then begin to pray, and
at the end of the prayer, thanking God for the outcome in advance. Which of course is a
good idea because that's what faith is, believing you receive it, before you can see it.
Some people just use this booklet as a reference, such as being on a prayer request
telephone line, like prayer counselors or prayer warriors, and intercessory prayer . Even if
you are waiting in traffic or sitting on a bench in the park, you can take out this booklet
and pray. Once you see how these scriptures are put together in prayer, you can look for
scriptures yourself about your certain situation and compile a prayer to pray.
Chapter 430
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PRAYER
Who Can Pray So God Will Hear?
To Whom Should We Pray?
430.010.000 Torrey: p408, T:I
Topic 10: Who Can Pray so that God Will Hear?
Habakkuk 1:13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you
cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?
Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more
righteous than themselves?
The Hebrew verb here is the same as that translated "cherish" above. We must
have the same attitude toward sin that He has to be heard of Him. If we cherish sin,
He will not regard us when we pray. Herein lies the very simple explanation why
many of us pray and are not heard.
If we turn our ears away from what God says to us in His law, He will turn His
ears away from what we say to Him in our prayers. We have an illustration in the
following:
Many are saying "The promises of God are not true. God does not hear my
prayers." Has God ever promised to hear your prayers? God very plainly describes
the class whose prayers He hears. Do you belong to that class? Are you listening to
His words? If not, He has distinctly said He will not listen to your prayers, and in
not listening to you, He is simply keeping His word.
If we will not listen to the poor when they cry to us in their need, God will not
listen to us when we cry to Him in our need. The world's maxim is "The Lord helps
those who help themselves." The truth is, The Lord helps those who help others.
The question is often asked, "Shall we get unconverted people to pray?" What do
you mean by unconverted people? If a man is sorry for his sin, and wishes to
forsake it and find mercy, and is willing to humble himself before God and ask for
pardon, he is taking the very steps by which a man turns around, or is "converted."
To tell a man he must not pray under such circumstances, is to tell him that he must
not be converted until he is converted; that he must not turn until he is turned
around. To get him to pray is just the thing to do, "For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13)
But how, someone may ask, can he pray until he has faith? The answer is very
simple. This prayer itself is the first act of faith. The first and most natural and most
proper thing for one who honestly wishes to turn from sin and to believe in Christ
and to be saved to do, is to pray. The Lord Jesus looked on with delight when he
could say to Ananias of the stubborn rebel, Saul of Tarsus, "Behold, he prays."
Acts 9:11 The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on
Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he
is praying.
We should be sure, however, that the sinner really is sorry for sin and really
wishes to forsake it before we tell him to pray for pardon. You can get him on his
knees even before this, and so get him to realize that he is in God's presence, so that
his rebellious heart may be humbled, but do not have him pray until he really does
wish to turn from sin.
Note - The words translated righteous and upright have practically the same
meaning. They both mean primarily "right" or "straight." (The latter may also mean
"level" or "even.")
The word translated "godly" in this passage is so translated three times in the
Authorized Version, four times in the Revised Version. But its primary significance
is "kind" or "merciful." It could be so translated in at least almost every passage
where used. It is frequently translated "saints."
To fear God means to have that reverent regard for God that is due him and that
manifests itself in glad obedience to His will.
Isaiah 11:2-3 [2] The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him --
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel
and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD
-- [3] and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge
by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his
ears;
Psalms 2:11 Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with
trembling.
Psalms 33:18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who
fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
Psalms 118:4 Let those who fear the LORD say: "His love
endures forever."
Here we find one of the greatest secrets of prevailing prayer. If we listen to God's
commandments God will listen to our prayers. If we do as He bids us in His word,
He will do as we ask him in our prayers. If we do what pleases Him, He will do
what pleases us. This is the converse of Point 2 above. The one who turns away his
ear from hearing God's law cannot pray so that God will hear; the one who turns his
ear to listen attentively to God's Word can pray so that God will hear. This explains
why some men's prayers are heard and some men's are not. To keep His
commandments means more than merely yield obedience to them; it means to
guard them as a precious possession, to treasure them. It is the opposite of the spirit
of those "critics" who are trying to pare down the Word of God to the smallest
possible dimensions. The more they can give away of God's Word the more they
seem delighted. They cannot pray so God will hear. If they have so little regard for
God's Word, God will have very little regard for theirs.
This is the other great secret of prevailing prayer. It is closely related to the
preceding. What is it to abide in Christ? It is to continue in living union with Him.
To bear the same relation to Him that the living healthy branch, the continuously
fruit-bearing branch, does to the vine. This branch has no independent life of its
own. Its sap and vigor all come from the vine. Its leaves, buds, blossoms, fruit are
all the product of the life of the vine in it. So we abide in Christ in so far as we have
no independent life of our own. In so far as we do not seek to have any thoughts,
plans, feelings, purposes, works, fruit of our own, but let Christ think his thoughts,
feel His feelings, purpose His purposes, work His works, bear His fruit, in us.
When we do this, and in so far as we do this, we may ask whatsoever we wish and
it shall be done.
What is it to dwell in the shelter of the Most High? The word translated "shelter"
means primarily "a covering", then "hiding-place", "protection." It is translated
"protection" once, and "hiding place" a number of times. To dwell in the shelter of
the Most High, means, then, to put oneself and keep oneself under the protection of
the Most High, to be covered and hid from all harm by Him. It means to leave all
our welfare absolutely to Him, and to look to Him and to trust Him to take care of
it.
To know His name, means to know Him as he has revealed Himself to us. That is
only possible through the study of the Word.
If our delight is in Him, our great prayer will be for Himself, and He is always
willing to give Himself. With Himself He will grant every other desire of our
hearts. If our delight is in Him, it will be His delight to give us what we ask. Do
you delight in the Lord? Remember that "delight" is a very strong word.
Psalms 37:5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and
he will do this:
The word here translated "commit" means literally "roll." To commit our way to
the Lord is to roll it upon Him, leave its direction and protection entirely to Him.
Have you done this? Put the entire guidance and outcome of your life in His hands,
and your way will always be so near His that He can hear your faintest whisper
when you call to Him.
The Revised Version translates the words differently in these two passages. In
Psalms 9:12 it is translated "poor." In Psalms 10:17 the word is translated
"afflicted." The two words so translated are closely related, almost identical, and
are from the same root. According to one reading they are exactly the same. The
thought of the words is "the afflicted" who bear their afflictions with meekness and
humility. This latter thought is especially true of the word used in Psalms 10:17.
See also:
Zephaniah 2:3 Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land,
you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek
humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD's
anger.
Psalms 69:33 The LORD hears the needy and does not
despise his captive people.
The word translated "destitute" is a very strong word, meaning primarily "naked."
Those to whom man does not listen are just the ones to whom God does listen:
Luke 1:53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has
sent the rich away empty.
The poor cannot get a hearing down here, but they can before God. The more a
man has, the more attentively the world listens to him; the more a man needs, the
more attentively God listens to him.
Men often hesitate to pray to God because their afflictions are so many. These
afflictions are a warrant for praying, and a guarantee that God will hear you.
Compare Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all you who are weary
and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Many are saying, "My troubles and sorrows are so many, what shall I do?" Pray.
If any among you are suffering, let him pray.
430.010.170 Torrey: p415, T:I, P:17
POINT 170: The oppressed can pray so that God will hear.
James 5:4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen
who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the
harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.
The oppressed cry for justice down here, but only get greater oppression; but God
will hear if they cry to Him, and will deliver and avenge them. Israel cried to
Pharaoh and were only sent to more bitter bondage, to make bricks without straw.
Israel cried to Jehovah, and He brought them forth with a mighty hand and an
outstretched arm. So will He do again when the oppressed cry to Him and not
human governments.
If we lack human wisdom we can have God's wisdom. If we are full of our own
wisdom we can not have His.
Acts 12:5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was
earnestly praying to God for him.
Much so-called prayer is not to God. There is very little thought of God in it. We
think of the audience; we think, it may be, of our need; but there is not a clear, deep
sense that we have come into the presence of the all holy, almighty, all-loving One,
and are laying hold upon Him for His help. This is one of the most frequent causes
of failure in prayer. We do not really pray to God. The first thing to do when we
pray is to actually come into God's presence, to dismiss from our minds, so far as
possible, all thought of our surroundings and look to the Spirit to present God to
our minds and make Him real to us. It is possible by the Holy Spirit's aid to have
God so really present that it almost seems as if we could see and touch Him.
Indeed, we do see Him with the spirit's eyes, and touch Him with the hand of faith.
Matthew 6:9 [9] This, then, is how you should pray: "Our
Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, [10] your kingdom
come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
Luke 11:13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to
give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father
in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will
guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak
only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
Various modes of address to him are found in the prayers recorded in the Bible:
John 17:1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and
prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your
Son may glorify you."
Acts 4:24 When they heard this, they raised their voices
together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you
made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and
everything in them."
Ephesians 1:17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom
and revelation, so that you may know him better.
Acts 9:9-10, 13-14, 17, 20- 21 [9] For three days he was
blind, and did not eat or drink anything. [10] In Damascus there
was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision,
"Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered. [13] "Lord," Ananias
answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the
harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. [14] And he has
come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who
call on your name." [17] Then Ananias went to the house and
entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the
Lord -- Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were
coming here -- has sent me so that you may see again and be
filled with the Holy Spirit." [20] At once he began to preach in the
synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. [21] All those who heard
him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the man who raised
havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And
hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief
priests?"
One of the most distinctive characteristics of Christians is that they pray to Jesus
Christ. They were spoken of in apostolic days as those who called on the name of
Jesus:
Acts 9:21 14, 21 [14] And he has come here with authority
from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name. [21] All
those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the
man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this
name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the
chief priests?"
ANSWER: There is no recorded prayer in the Bible to the Holy Spirit, but the
communion of the Holy Spirit is spoken of. This may imply prayer, but it may
mean the partaking of the Holy Spirit.
We are dependent upon the Holy Spirit for everything, and so we must look to
Him, which implies prayer. Yet it is the Father and the Son who give the Holy
Spirit.
John 14:16-17 [16] And I will ask the Father, and he will give
you another Counselor to be with you forever -- [17] the Spirit of
truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him
nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be
in you.