Let the Bible Transform Your Prayer Life

Is it just me or do your prayers sound the same?

It’s easy to get into ruts and find yourself praying the same things for the same people. Bless my family. Be with my kids in school. Heal my sick friends. Blah, blah, blah. My prayers sound superficial to me. And if I think that about my own prayers, I can only wonder what God thinks about them. Maybe I’m praying wrong or asking God for the wrong things? All I know is that prayer can be a lot harder than it looks.

But it doesn’t have to be difficult. There’s an easy(ish) way to put variety into your prayer life, be confident your prayers will be answered, and replace superficiality with authenticity.

Pray scripture.

Okay, I get that’s not the sexiest answer, but stick with me. I think you’re going to love it.

“I Don’t Know What to Pray For”

We are creatures of habit. We sit in the same spot at church, order the same thing from Chipotle, and pray for the same things repeatedly. It’s not that what you’re praying for is bad. It’s just that, if you’re like me, your prayers stay narrow. And that’s the primary reason they start sounding the same.

Praying through a passage of scripture helps escape predictable patterns.

Let me show you what I mean from the first two verses of Psalm 103.

Psalm 103:1 Praise the Lord, my soul;
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

My Prayer: Lord, you are worthy of praise, but my soul is sleepy and distracted by work and busyness. Oh, my soul, wake up! Praise the Lord for he is good, all powerful, and holy.

Psalm 103:2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits—

My Prayer: I praise you, Lord, because you have been exceedingly good to me. Soul, don’t forget all the ways the Lord’s blessed you. Thank you, Jesus, that you saved me, forgave me, and now live in me.

You can pray through a whole psalm this way. Sometimes you will want to stop and pray after every verse. Sometimes you might read a few verses before pausing and praying. There’s no right (or wrong) way to do it. But because you’re praying scripture, you will find yourself praying for a wider variety of things.

Most importantly, you’re going to be praying for things on God’s prayer list.

“I Don’t Know if I’m Praying for the Right Things”

How do you know if you’re asking God for the right things? I know that we can bring everything to God, but remember, in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed, “Thy will be done.”

How do I know if healing Aunt Edna’s broken hip is in God’s will? How do I know if it’s God’s will that I pass my test or have a great vacation or find a parking spot? How do I know if any of my prayers are in God’s will?

These verses in 1 John allowed me to pray more confidently.

1 John 5:14-15 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

The logic is clear. If we ask for anything according to God’s will, we can have confidence that he will give it to us. That’s quite the deal! All I have to do is pray according to his will.

But once you think about it, you realize the problem. How am I supposed to know God’s will? My prayers are usually me asking God for what I want. I don’t pretend to know what he wants.

The closest I can come to knowing God’s will is by reading the Bible. The apostle Paul tells us that all scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16), which means it expresses his will for us. I hope you’re beginning to connect the dots.

Dot #1: I don’t know if I’m praying for the right things. So many of my prayers aren’t answered like I hoped they’d be.

Dot #2: God answers prayers that align with his will.

Dot #3: I find God’s will in the Bible.

Therefore, I need to learn how to pray scripture so that I’m confident that I’m praying for things in God’s will.

Authentic vs. Superficial Prayers

The Psalms were Jesus’s prayer book. Think about that for a second. When Jesus wanted to pray, he opened the Psalms and let them guide him.

Inside the Psalms you find almost every human emotion. Fear, anxiety, joy, peace, anger, lament, thankfulness, and grief are all prominent in the book. When I pray through the Psalms, they help me bring every part of my heart, every part of my life, to God.

Maybe some examples will help.

Psalm 6:3 My soul is in deep anguish.
    How long, Lord, how long?

Psalm 56:3-4 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
  In God, whose word I praise—
in God I trust and am not afraid.
    What can mere mortals do to me?

Psalm 42:5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
    Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
    for I will yet praise him,
    my Savior and my God.

Psalm 30:11 You turned my wailing into dancing;
    you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.

Psalm 118:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.

When we pray scripture, we bring different parts of our hearts before God. Our prayers transform from laundry lists of things we want God to do or provide into an honest relationship with the God who loves us.

Praying scripture sounds intimidating the first time you hear about it. But it’s simpler to let God's word guide your prayers than trying to figure it out on your own. And, unsurprisingly, when you follow God’s guidance, you end up with a far more satisfying prayer life.

Join The Crossing in praying scripture this fall with Simple Prayers from Philippians. This short book contains guided prayers to help you pray along with the new fall sermon series on Philippians. Pick up your free copy at The Crossing starting Sunday, September 15.