Originally posted 2/28/20
Using the Bible when we pray is a great way to supercharge your prayer life. There are three ways I like to use the Bible when praying. First, I will find a verse that applies to my situation. Secondly, I love to use a passage of scripture as an outline of what to pray. Lastly, I will take a passage of scripture and rewrite it as a prayer. Let’s take a look at how to do each of these techniques in a practical way.
We all have faulty mindsets from time to time. Times when our thoughts and feelings simply don’t align with God’s word. What do you do in these times? You pray scripture over your life and your circumstances. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV) says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” By proclaiming scripture, you are taking the very breath of God and placing it into your situation. You will then be able to teach your mind how to think like God thinks. You will be able to correct your faulty thinking and train your brain to have a proper mindset.
Is there a test to find out if your mindset is in alignment with God? Absolutely! In Phillipians 4:8 (ESV) it says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Do your thoughts match what is listed here? If not, you do not have the proper mindset. So pray this verse over your mind and the breath of God will fill your thoughts so that they match His.
One of the areas of my life that I have learned to change my thinking is the way I view myself. You see, I once viewed myself as unworthy and not valuable to both God and others in my life. Some would say I had low self esteem. Regardless of the label you choose to put on it, I viewed myself in a way that was contrary to how God sees me. God has used scripture to change my thinking. I started reading the verses in the Bible that describe who I am as a daughter of God, and it changed the way I see myself. Who does God say I am? In 2 Corinthians 5:17 he says I am a new creation, I am righteousness according to 2 Corinthians 5:21, and in Ephesians 1:3-4 he says I am blessed, chosen, holy, and blameless. Those are just a few of the many, many good things God has to say about me and you! So if God thinks I am worthy of these gifts, why not agree with Him? To believe anything contrary to that is to believe a lie, and we know that doesn’t come from God. Once I started agreeing with what the Bible says about me, I was able to be confident and secure in who my authentic self is. It takes time and repetition to train your brain to agree with what God says. Be patient with yourself and declare truth over yourself, regardless of what your feelings may be telling you.
We can also use the prayers written in scripture as a guide or outline of what to pray for. For example, Paul prays an amazing prayer for the Ephesian church in
Ephesians 3:14-21(ESV) “from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
You can use this prayer as a way to strengthen the faith of both yourself and others. In verses 17-19 Paul prays that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith. He prays that they would be rooted and grounded in love, and would have the strength to comprehend the breadth, length, height, and depth of his love. He prays that they would know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, and that they would be filled with all the fullness of God. We can pray those words when we pray over our lives and the lives of our friends and family. How amazing would it be to understand the length, height, and depth of God’s love and to be filled with the fullness of God? That sounds pretty life changing to me! An easy way to pray these types of prayers is to insert your name or the person you are praying for in the place of the pronouns. You are then saying that you are filled with the fullness of God, and that you will understand the breadth, length, height, and depth of his love.
You can also rewrite verses in the Bible as prayers to God. This takes a bit more time and effort, and is a great way to really understand portions of the Bible. When you can restate what you are being taught, you are able to make it personal and relevant to your life. It becomes more than information. It becomes wisdom. Here is an example of a time when I rewrote Psalm 46 in my prayer time. First I will give you the actual verses, then I’ll write my prayer:
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” Psalm 46 (ESV)
My prayer:
“God, you are my safe place. You are my strength and there for me when I need you. Because of that, I choose to not be afraid, even when my world is shaking and falling apart all around me.
Where God is, there flows gladness and holiness. God is with me, and I will not be moved. God is my support every morning. Though the world proclaims their “truth” loudly, when God speaks, these “truths” can’t stand and melt away. The same God of Jacob is the same God who is my security. He is secure and my place of retreat.
Look at all the great works the Lord had done. He appoints destruction in the earth. He causes peace to fill the whole world. There is no need for weapons, and God breaks them in two. “Stop trying and let me be God. Relax, I’ve got everything under control,” says the Lord. The Lord will be set on high among the nations. The Lord will be over all the earth. The Lord of all – all armies, all spiritual beings, all creation – is with me. He is my security and my place of retreat.”
I encourage you to try each of these methods out in your prayer life. Find a verse that speaks to your situation and pray it over yourself. This will change your mindset so that you can see that this problem isn’t what defines you. Instead you will learn to think on the things that God thinks about. It will change the way you view all situations-good and bad. Then you can find a prayer in the Bible and insert whoever you are praying for in it and pray those blessings over them. After that you can rewrite those verses so that they can penetrate your life. You will not just understand them on an intellectual level, but on a heart and life changing level. I promise your life will forever change when you start to use the Bible in your prayer life.
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