God hears when we turn our voice to Him, whether it’s the simple request by a child, our deepest groans, the eloquent words of the seminarian or the vernacular of the street. God hears the heart. But we can also find a rich connection and power in praying scripture.
Sometimes we pray the scriptures because we are immersed in them throughout the day and the Spirit brings the text to mind. This is a beautiful synergy of conversing with God. But we can also intentionally bring God’s words back to Him in prayer by reading through or speaking passages as we talk to Him.
Jesus instructs His disciples to pray with what we now call the Lord’s prayer. It is a series of statements from the Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament) as well as their well-known daily prayer rituals. The words of Jesus on the cross as He cried out to God are also found in passages of the Old Testament. Mary, His mother, sang the Magnificat, drawn largely from scriptural writings and so did Hannah, with some similar praises. Even Steven, as he was being martyred, echoed the words of Jesus from the cross.
There are seasons that I pray through the Psalms, making each one my own conversation with God. Prayer becomes more interactive with the God who loves me as I do this. But I also desire to have my prayer life reflect His word as I converse with Him throughout the day. Being in His Word makes this more likely. The Spirit will use what we commit to Him.
His words bring us Truth, encouragement, and a reminder of His promises and character. If Jesus prayed the scripture, how much more should I.
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19
