Sometimes it seems hard to pray. . . you simply don’t have the right words for God.
The Bible contains prayers written by other people that can help you talk to God. Many verses in the Bible, the Lord’s Prayer, the Prayer of Jabez, The Benediction, and the Prayer for Peace all provide models of prayers that can be used in our conversations with God. There are times when it may seem hard to pray or you simply don’t have the right words for what you want to say to God.
One passage of Scripture to remember during those times is Romans 8:26–27:
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes on behalf of the saints according to God’s will.”
The Holy Spirit speaks for us in harmony with the purpose and plans of God! He provides constant, continuous, unchanging access and fellowship with himself, the Creator of the universe, available to every believer all the time. When you don’t have the words, rely on the Holy Spirit to be praying for you! There are also ways that you can use the words of others to help you as you pray.
Here are some thoughts and ideas:
Use Scripture!
You can always pray Scripture! Praying Scripture directly not only will give you the words you need, but it will also encourage and bless you as well! Use the Psalms to praise God. Even if you don’t know them well, just open up your Bible to that book. It won’t take you long to find a praise or petition passage. You may find this spiritual discipline so helpful that you will start to use it on a regular basis!
You can also use other passages of Scripture in this way. Choose a passage of scripture and insert your own name (or a pronoun) or the name of a family member or friend into the passage in the appropriate places. You can simply do this as you read or write it into your personal notebook or journal.
“For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of all patience and steadfastness, joyfully giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves.” —Colossians 1:9–13
Here is an adaptation of this passage using a friend named Mary:
“For this reason, since the day I heard about Mary, I have not stopped praying for her. I continually ask You, God, to fill Mary with the knowledge of Your will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so the she may live a life worthy of You and please You in every way: bearing fruit in every good work growing the knowledge of You, being strengthened with all power according to Your glorious might so that she may have great endurance and patience, giving joyful thanks to You who has qualified her to share in the inheritance of Your holy people in the kingdom of light. For You, God, have rescued both of us from the dominion of darkness and brought us all into the kingdom of Your Son!”
Here is a prayer using the keywords and phrases from the same Colossians passage:
“Lord, fill my friend Mary with the knowledge of Your will.
Give her wisdom and understanding that comes from the Holy Spirit.
Lord, help her live a life worthy of You.
Give her a desire to please You in every way.
May her life bear fruit in all that she does.
Give her the strength and power that only comes from You.
May she experience the incredible endurance and patience that only comes from You.
Help to give joyful thanks to for all things in her life.
Remind her daily that she is part of the kingdom of light.
Here are some other verses that you can use in the same way: Praying the Scriptures directly not only will give you the words you need, but it will also encourage and bless you as well!
“And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” —Philippians 1:9–11
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in him, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” —Romans 15:13
“I do not cease to give thanks for you when I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, will give you spiritual wisdom and revelation in your growing knowledge of him—since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened—so that you can know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints.” —Ephesians 1:16–18
Q. Have you ever used the words of the Bible in your prayers? How might this benefit you as you talk to God?
The Lord’s Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer is one of the best-loved and most spoken prayers on the planet. It is used in church services, schools, in small groups, and in many individual private times with God. The traditional Lord’s Prayer is based on the King James versions of the Bible of the 1600s. All the versions base the text on Matthew 6:9–11:
“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.”
Q. Where have you heard The Lord’s Prayer?
Q. When has The Lord's Prayer been most meaningful to you?
The Prayer of Jabez
1 Chronicles 4:10 is a remarkable example of a prayer that God answered!
“Jabez called out to the God of Israel, ‘If only you would greatly bless me and expand my territory! May your hand be with me! Keep me from harm so I might not endure pain!’ God answered his prayer.”
Q. What were the five requests of Jabez?
Pastor Bruce Wilkenson wrote a book on this passage that sold millions of copies! It is a prayer you can pray for yourself, asking God to enlarge your “territory”—whatever they may be!
Q. Is there anything about this Prayer of Jabez that seems frightening to you?
Q. Why do you think Bruce Wilkenson’s book was so appealing to so many people?
Q. As you think about God answering your prayer for blessing, how do you feel? Do you think He will really answer you? Why or why not?
The Benediction
In Numbers 6 the Lord instructed Moses to have Aaron and his sons bless the children of Israel with this special prayer. This blessing is also known as “The Benediction.” This prayer is often said at the close of a church service to pronounce a blessing upon the congregation, or in a wedding ceremony to bless the bride and groom. You can use it to bless anyone in your life!
“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
Q. Have you heard this benediction before? Where?
Q. What words in this benediction encourage you?
Prayer for Peace
(by St. Francis of Assisi [1181-1226])
There are many prayers that have been written and passed down. The Prayer for Peace was first used primarily in catholic traditions but has become widely known. It is a great example of a prayer that you can use word for word as you talk to God.
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
Application
You will be blessed in special ways by using scripture and the words of prayers written and shared by others to communicate with God. Use your own words and enhance your conversation with God with the words of others!
Choose one of the prayers/scripture passages included in this lesson and pray it for the next week.