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How can a pastor benefit from an article defining prayer? In a sense, pastors are professional pray-ers, responsible for leading the corporate prayer life of the church and providing an example to their people. They’ve seen God answer prayer, in miraculous ways. They take Paul’s admonition to Timothy seriously, “that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people.” (1 Timothy 2:1, NIV) They’ve led prayer retreats and taught children the prayer hand.
And yet. . .and yet. . .every now and then the words don’t come. Faced with overwhelming burdens, feeling heaven is closed, or maybe just too tired or busy to pray as they want to.
The Bible talks more about people praying than teaching readers “how to.” It is the breath that moves the action forward in a wide variety of circumstances. As you meditate on the listed practices and subjects of prayer, your prayer life will be transformed.
The Practice of Prayer
• Draw near to God. (Deuteronomy 4:7)
• Rejoice in the Lord (1 Samuel 2:1), with song. (Psalm 42:8)
• Prayer can be both spoken and unspoken. (1 Samuel 1:12)
• Expect and recognize God’s answers. (1 Samuel 1:27, Mark 11:24)
• Receive an answer before you’ve prayed. (Genesis 24:15)
• Approach God with humility of spirit and body. (1 Kings 8:54)
• Trust in God. (1 Chronicles 5:20)
• Action accompanies prayer. (Nehemiah 4:9)
• Seek God while he may be found. (Psalm 32:6)
• Persist in prayer, in the face of opposition. (Luke 18:1, Daniel 6:10)
Praise and Thanksgiving
• Rejoice in the Lord, in song. (1 Samuel 2:1)
• Experience wondrous joy at God’s call. (2 Samuel 7:18)
• Plead for mercy. (1 Kings 8:28)
• Glorify God, (1 Kings 18:36)
• Ask for God to open your eyes. (2 Kings 6:17)
• Praise the eternal, Creator God. (1 Chronicles 29:10)
• Thank God for his love that gave us salvation. (Psalm 69:13)
• Count on God’s faithfulness and righteousness. (Psalm 143:1)
• Tell of the kindness of the Lord. (Isiaiah 63:7)
• Recognize God’s holiness. (Matthew 6:9)
Confession
• Humble yourself before God. (2 Kings 7:14)
• Confess sin and repent. (1 Kings 8:35 )
• Forgive others before seeking forgiveness for yourself. (Mark 11:25)
Pray for Self
• Ask for success in new endeavors. (Genesis 24:12)
• Trust God for renewed strength. (Judges 16:28)
• Bring your grief to God. (1 Samuel 1:10)
• Come to God with your depression. (1 Kings 19:4)
• Plead for God’s protection, for yourself and others. (Genesis 32:11)
• Remember God in bleak circumstances. (Jonah 2:1)
• Take your anger to God. (Jonah 4:2)
• Ask for your daily needs (and those of others.) (Matthew 6:11)
• Seek defense from and during temptation. (Matthew 6:13)
• Prayer transforms. (Luke 9:29)
• Ask God to receive your spirit at death. (Acts 7:59)
Pray for Family and Friends
• Bring your family’s deepest needs to God. (Genesis 25:21)
• Desire wisdom in raising children.(Judges 13:8)
• Give your children to the Lord. (1 Samuel 1:28)
• Ask God for and on behalf of your child. (1 Samuel 1:28)
Pray for Ministry
• Prayer is the duty of Christian leaders. (Acts 6:4)
• Commit to pray for your community. (1 Samuel 12:23)
• Petition for churches in disrepair. (Daniel 9:17)
• Seek the advance of God’s kingdom. (Matthew 6:10)
• Worship in prayer with the gathered church. (Matthew 21:13)
• Seek guidance in choosing leaders. (Acts 1:24)
• Ask for open doors of ministry (Romans 1:10)
• Prepare those resistant to the gospel for salvation. (Romans 10:1
• Intercede for strangers when they bring you their problems. (1 Kings 13)
Pray for enemies
• Bring your quarrels to God for resolution. (1 Samuel 8:6)
• Intercede with God for those who have mistreated, harmed, or abused you. (Psalm 35:12-14, Luke 6:28)
• Talk to God about your persecutors. (Matthew 5:44)
• Pray to God on behalf of your rivals. (Deuteronomy 9:20)
Pray for your Nation and World.
• Come before God for healing of friends, family, and foes. (Genesis 20:17)
• Ask for mercy and protection during natural (and supernatural) disasters. (Exodus 9:28-29)
• Seek God’s choice in national leadership. (1Samuel 8:6)
• Come to God in times of war. (1 Kings 8:44)
• Prayer is for all nations and all people. (2 Chronicles 6:32)
• Ask for the well-being of your national leaders. (Ezra 6:10; Isaiah 56:7)
• Bring the poor and needy before God. (Psalm 86:1)
• Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. (Psalm 122:6)
• Ask for the peace and prosperity of the country where you live. (Jeremiah 29:7)
• Ask God on behalf of remnants and refugees. (Isaiah 37:4)
• Join with your brothers and sisters in Christ during their time of need. (Matthew 26:36)
• Petition God for those who are persecuted. (Luke 22:32)
• Pray for people you’ve never met. (John 17:20)
The next time your prayers seem stagnant and you don’t know how to pray, learn from the prayers in the Bible.
Written by Darlene Franklin