Scripture Prayers

“God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey.” (Hebrews 4:12 MSG)

When I am in dire need, I have a difficult time formulating the words to pray sincerely. I used to fall back on memorized prayers from my childhood, but these days I have found a more powerful way of communicating with God. I read through Scripture and rewrite the verses in my own words on paper. I turn God’s Word into prayer, directly communicating my concerns. If I am concerned about a certain person, I will insert their name and change the pronouns to fit. Then I use what I have written out, reading and praying my customized prayers, rearranging the words as the Holy Spirit nudges me. Sometimes I may only need a few verses; other times, I paraphrase entire chapters. I like to the use the Message translation of the Bible for this exercise, because it is already written in conversational English.

The practice of using scripture verses as prayer is nothing new; it has been used by many before me. The reason I am writing about this is to share my experience and to encourage anyone reading this to try it for themselves. I will share my paraphrased prayers from Ephesians 1 in the next post.