Praying scripture

June 10, 2013

For about a year now I have been learning to pray God’s Word.  I take what I read in my time with God and pray the words from scripture.  I have found it to be very powerful.  Using God’s words to praise Him, confess and repent, and ask Him to do His work and will has changed my prayer life.  When I pray His words I know it is His will.  I draw near to Him and long to be all His Word wants us to be.  I have shared this with a few people and they often ask me how I do this.  It isn’t a science it is just speaking to my Father.  I pray the words or phrases that God has spoken to me through His word.  I pray the prayer that Daniel prayed.  I confess the sins of the churches in Paul’s day for our church today.  I praise God with the words in the Psalms.  Just start reading and praying.

Today I was in Exodus 20 – the 10 commandments – and prayed through them.  Actually, I confessed and repented through them.  It is very sad how easily we have forgotten, followed the world, and sinned against God.  I decided to share my prayer because it is not just for me but for all of us as a church. 

Holy God, Your commands are not optional.  We must obey.  We have failed to read them, remember, and obey.  I have sinned.  Your church is falling short of your desire for us.  We have taken some, ignored some, forgotten, become lazy and complacent, we’ve obeyed our culture instead of You…we have sinned against You.  May we repent and turn back to You!  We are Your children and want to behave like it.

Forgive us.  We have put other gods before You.  Making idols in the form of money, sports, people, our things, self…and we worship them.  We choose meaningless things and put them before You – the Lord of Lords.  Our time, our trust, our desire, our whole selves must be 100% for You.  Nothing must come in the way the number one spot in my life – it belongs to You alone.   It is clear that You punish those who hate You and bless those who love and obey You – for generations!  May we choose Your blessings.

Forgive us for misusing Your name.  We have allowed the world to dishonor and casually use our Lord’s name.  Your name is holy!  Those who misuse Your name are held guilty.  It is serious.  May we honor and praise Your name alone.

Forgive us for not keeping the Sabbath day holy.  We have not kept it a Sabbath to the Lord our God.  You say we should not work but our culture tells us it’s ok or we must so we have.  And we have caused others to have to work by the things we choose to do on the Lord’s day.  May we obey all of Your Word and stand up for it against the culture.  May we keep Your day holy, rest, and not work.

Forgive us for not honoring our parents.  Often our culture has made a joke of parents and we dishonor them in our talk, attitude, and disobedience.  You have promised long life to all who obey.

Forgive us for murder.  Weather in anger in our hearts, with our hands, or through our allowing murder to happen to the unborn, persecuted and their injustice we have murdered.  It is awful.  Cause us to repent and stand up for truth, defend, and protect life.  May we love instead of kill. 

Forgive us Father for the adultery we’ve committed.  Our minds need to be purified.  We have allowed sin into our thoughts and You hate it.  Your church has accepted divorce and remarriage which you say is adultery.  Remove the lust Jesus.  May we be holy and think, watch, listen to what is good, pure, trustworthy…so we also may be.

Forgive us for stealing.  We so easily rationalize and make excuses.  We take what isn’t ours thinking we deserve it.  Small or big call it what it is stealing is a sin.  Make us trustworthy God.

Forgive us Lord for all the lies.  We have made lying normal and acceptable.  We exaggerate stories, keep ourselves from getting in trouble, and tell “little white lies” claiming it to be innocent.  God may our yes be yes and our no be no.  Our tongues are a small part of the body we need to put under Your control.

Forgive us when we desire things others have.  We have looked at those around us and longed for more.  We pay for things we must have with money we don’t have.  We want to be better, look better, have more fun…we are selfish.  You have given us all we need Lord.  We are not in need – we are so blessed!  Yet we sin by wanting more.  The world knows true need – hunger, nakedness, sickness, homelessness while we live in wealth.  May we live in thankfulness and generosity.

God you love us.  By Your grace we are rescued from our sin.  May we know Your word to us and live in obedience.  So that we may glorify Your name and be Your witness to the world.