Our Prayer Guide

Our Prayer Guide

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105

PAUL WAS RIGHT ABOUT US NOT KNOWING what to pray for—and about the Holy Spirit being happy to help, interceding for us according to the Father’s will (Romans 8:26-27). But if we want a more tangible, black-and-white (and sometimes red-lettered) guide, we have a wealth of source material in the words the same Holy Spirit inspired. God’s Word gives us plenty of direction for life and decision-making, but it also gives us plenty of direction for prayer. Anything he has promised, any of his revealed purposes, any examples that he has worked through the lives of his people are invitations for us to pray and believe.

We pray powerfully and according to God’s will when we pray his Word back to him. The easiest ways to do that involve the prayers his people have prayed; we’ve looked at some of Paul’s prayers for the Ephesians in particular (Ephesians 1:15-23; 3:14-21). The intercession of Moses (Exodus 32:9-14, 30-34), Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1:4-11), Daniel (Daniel 9:1-19), David (Psalms), and others are powerful examples too, as are the prayers of gratitude from people like Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1-10) and Mary (Luke 1:46-55). We can pray these prayers almost word for word, adapting them to our situations as needed, with confidence. But the prophecies and promises God has given us and the clarity of his purposes are inspired words too, designed not only for the situations in which they were first given but also for us today. Context is important for specific understanding, but it should never obscure God’s character, principles, purposes, and heart, all revealed for general application. God’s words are rarely a one-off experience. They are fulfilled again and again.

Let them be fulfilled again and again in your life too. Use Scripture as a prayer prompt daily, even hourly. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His words are everlasting. Apply them freely, boldly, and creatively to your life, weaving them in and out of your prayers, reaffirming his truth as the basis for your faith. Your life—and your prayers—will be guided well.

I have found in the Bible words for my inmost thoughts, songs for my joy, utterances for my hidden griefs and pleadings for my shame and feebleness.