One of my personal goals is to cultivate a habit of prayer. I’m sharing what I’ve learned over the last month or so in this series. Here is the line-up:

Monday, May 21st: Focusing in Prayer with Prayer Breathing

Tuesday, May 22nd: 10 Thresholds in Prayer (Giveaway Entry)

Thursday, May 24th: Praying the Lord’s Prayer Part 1

Monday, May 28th: Praying the Lord’s Prayer Part 2

Tuesday, May 29th: Praying Scripture: 10 Passages

Thursday, May 31st: Obstacles to Prayer

Friday, June 1st: Book Review: Prayer On Fire by Fred A. Hartley, III (Giveaway Winner Announced)

I will be tweeting using the hashtag #Luke11 (the Lord’s Prayer) during the series. I hope you’ll join in the conversation after you read my posts! As always, you can comment directly on the post or join us on Facebook as well.

Praying Scripture

I’ve always known that praying Scripture is an important aspect of my prayer life. However, I have never really figured out how to do it. I know it sounds really simple. Pray Scripture. But this is what it generally looked like for me:

Read Scripture.
“God, please let that be true in my (or my husband’s, child’s, so and so’s) life. Amen.”

This was better than nothing, but I did not know how to take it deeper. During the prayer retreat, Chip was kind enough to give us a peak into his personal prayer life. He sat before us and prayed through a passage for his family out loud. Many were in tears when he finished. The experience was so intensely personal.

How did he make the prayer so personal using Scripture?

He took the passage and applied it individually to each of his family members’ lives.

Let me demonstrate a bit:

Philippians 1:3 “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,”

Lord, thank you for my husband. I remember when you first brought us together in college. Thank you for the fun we had at football games and barn parties. Thank you for continuing to draw us together towards marriage. I remember the day Michael proposed and how I could not open the Easter egg he had hidden my ring in. Thank you so much for the last 5 years and all you have brought us through with graduate programs, moving, and having our first child. I am so thankful for the many memories you have given Michael and me.

Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ”

Lord, I know that you will continue to work in Michael’s life towards a good work. I ask that you would bless his study time as he prepares for this exam. Help him to remember what he has studied and apply it to his work. We know that this is part of your plan for him, and we trust in you to finish that good work. May we not miss the lessons you have for us in the season.

The theme of my lessons in prayer seem to be about specificity (if that’s even a word!). It’s true with praying Scripture. Take the passage and apply it to something specific in the life of the individual or situation that you are praying over.

10 Passages to Pray

Certainly you can pray any passage that the Holy Spirit leads you to pray. These are simply some passages that were recommended at the retreat (Click to link to the full passage):

1. Philippians 1:2-11
2. Ephesians 1:15-23
3. Ephesians 3:12-21
4. Colossians 1:2-6
5. Colossians 1:9-14
6. 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
7. Romans 15:13
8. 1 Corinthians 1:4-9
9. 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
10. 2 Corinthians 2:14-17

This post is linked with thanks to:

On Your Heart
Soli Deo Gloria
Hip Homeschool Moms
Top {Ten} Tuesday
What I Learned This Week
Titus 2sdays
Teach Me Tuesday
Domestically Divine

Photo Credit 1,2

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