Prayer without borders

 

Oppressed during the time of Jesus, the people of Jerusalem held Roman soldiers in fear and/or contempt. Yet Jesus marveled over the faith of a Roman officer who came to Him on behalf of a servant who was ill.

 

Not only did the centurion ask a Jewish man for healing, this leader understood that God’s power extended far beyond the tassels bordering the hem of Jesus’ garment.

 

Matthew 8:8 – a prayer of a Roman officer
paraphrased into contemporary English

Lord, I am not worthy
to have You come under my roof, 

but speak only a word,
and healing will happen!

From the Book of Bible Prayers – actual prayers of the Bible collected from a variety of translations researched on Bible Gateway then paraphrased into everyday English by Mary Harwell Sayler

 

Matthew 8:8 – a prayer of a Roman officer
from the King James Version of the Bible

The centurion answered and said, 

Lord, I am not worthy
that thou shouldest come
under my roof:
but speak the word only,
and my servant shall be healed.

From the Book of KJV Prayers - actual prayers from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV) collected by Mary Harwell Sayler

 

Lord Jesus, help us to know Your healing power extends to us even now from heaven to earth. In Your Name we pray.

 

©2021, Mary Sayler

 

…

 

Praying for boldness

 

As the early church faced persecution, Jesus’ followers could have asked to be spared suffering or harm to themselves, but they did not. Instead, this Bible prayer from Acts shows the first Christian asking for boldness to speak God’s Word and bring the good news of Christ the Savior to people everywhere. May we, too, pray to be bold in ministering healing and making peace in Jesus' Name.

 

Acts 4:29-30 – a prayer of Jesus’ followers

from the King James Version

 

And now, Lord,

behold their threatenings:

and grant unto thy servants,

that with all boldness

they may speak thy word,

By stretching forth thine hand

to heal; and that signs

and wonders may be done

by the name of thy holy child Jesus.

 

From the Book of KJV Prayers - actual prayers from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV) collected by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019 
 

 

Acts 4:29-30 – a prayer of Jesus’ followers

in contemporary English

 

Lord, can You hear how

they’re threatening us?

 

Please help us to speak Your word

with courage, Lord.

 

Show Your power!

 

Bring healing!

 

Perform miracles for us!

 

Amaze everyone with the authority

found in Jesus’ Name.

 

From the Book of Bible Prayers – actual prayers of the Bible collected from a variety of translations researched on Bible Gateway then paraphrased into everyday English by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019.

…

Bible Prayer to Prepare the Way for Christ

In this prayer from the Bible, the Jewish priest Zechariah praised God and prophesied over his son John, who was to prepare the way for the coming of Christ.

May this season of Advent help us to do the same as we make more and more room in our lives for the Lord Jesus.

Luke 1:68-70, 76, 77 – a prayer of Zechariah

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;

for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

And hath raised up an horn of salvation

for us in the house of his servant David;

As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets,

which have been since the world began:

And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet

of the Highest: for thou shalt go before

the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

To give knowledge of salvation unto his people

by the remission of their sins.

From the Book of KJV Prayers – actual prayers from God’s Word collected by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019, from the King James Version of the Bible

…

Luke 1:68-70, 76, 77 – a prayer of Zechariah

Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel!

You have visited us and provided

redemption for Your people!

You have raised up a mighty Savior

from the house of David,

just as You promised ages ago

through the holy prophets.

And, now my child will be

a prophet of the Most High

to go before the Lord

and prepare the way

for You to give people

good news of salvation

as You forgive our sins.

From the Book of Bible Prayers – actual prayers of the Bible collected from a variety of English translations and paraphrased by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019

…

A Bible prayer to begin Advent

This year, Advent began on the first day of December and will continue to Christmas week. The timing is appropriate since the very word “Advent” comes from a Latin root, which means “come” or “coming.” Therefore, this special season of the church calls on Christians from every part of the Body of Christ to prepare the way for the Lord in our individual and corporate lives. May Paul's prayer help us to get started in this year’s adventure into Advent:

1 Thessalonians 5:23–24, 28 – a prayer of Paul

Dear God,

sanctify us through and through –

through You –

our God of peace.

May our whole bodies,

souls, and spirits

be free of blame

at the coming

of our Lord Jesus Christ,

for You are faithful

and can do anything!

May the grace

of our Lord Jesus Christ

be with us all.

from the Book of Bible Prayers – actual prayers collected from the Bible and paraphrased by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019

For those who prefer the King James Version of the Bible, here’s the same prayer, directly quoted from KJV.

1 Thessalonians 5:23–24, 28 – a prayer of Paul

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly;

and I pray God your whole spirit and soul

and body be preserved blameless unto

the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Amen.

From the Book of KJV Prayers – actual prayers collected by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019, from the King James Version of the Bible

…

Bible Prayers: forgive us

Almost every church family prays the Matthew 6 version of the “Lord’s Prayer” aka “Our Father” with regularity, unity and only one notable difference. i.e., When we get to verse 12, some say, “Forgive us our sins,” while others pray, “Forgive us our trespasses” – a word that doesn’t appear in the prayer itself but in the next two verses.

I like that word choice, however, because, from childhood on, I’ve seen “No Trespassing” signs and understood what they meant. Conversely, the idea of a debt wasn’t clear until much later, and, even now, “sin” is an abstract word that’s hard to envision, difficult to clarify, and open to interpretation.

As prayers for the Book of Bible Prayers came together, they remained in the order they appear in most translations. Then, each of those prayers was paraphrased into every day language with one exception – the Matthew 6 version of Jesus’ prayer as recorded in the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible:

Matthew 6:9-13 – a prayer of Jesus

“Our Father which art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done in earth,

as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory,

for ever. Amen.”   

In King James' day, a "debt" may have been a particularly big deal as people sometimes wound up in debtors prison! 

Besides the beautifully poetic and powerful lines in Matthew 6, a lesser known version of the Lord’s Prayer has been paraphrased below as it appears in the prayer book but can be easily found in your favorite translation of the Gospel of Luke:

Luke 11:2-4 – a prayer of Jesus

Father in heaven,

may Your Name

be kept holy among us.

Bring us into Your kingdom.

Give us bread for the day.

Forgive us

as we forgive those who

have wronged us.

Keep us from temptation.

Deliver us

from a time of hard trials.

Amen!

MarySayler, ©2019

…

The Passover in Exodus prefigures the Passover Lamb of Christ

Background and foreground: God and Moses came to an agreement that, yes, he would lead the people out of slavery in Egypt, and, yes, Aaron would help. The two brothers from the Tribe of Levi then told the Hebrew people how God would rescue them, and they believed it, but Pharaoh did not. He said, “Who is God that I should obey? I do not know the LORD,” Exodus 5:2.

So instead of letting the people go as hoped, Pharaoh increased the workload, making brickmaking impossible to do in the time given! When the Hebrews cried out to Moses, Moses cried out to God.

“And Moses said, ‘O Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You even send me? Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done nothing but harm everyone, and You have not delivered Your people at all,” Exodus 5:22-23.

Harsh words! But then it was a cruel time as Pharaoh continued to use a strong hand to force the people into harsh labor. And so God said, “Now you will see what I will do to put Pharaoh under My strong hand until he is forced to let My people go!” Exodus 6:1.

The next few chapters bring on The Plagues! These were not just pesky critters aimlessly getting in Pharaoh’s face though. Each plague battled one of the many gods in which Pharaoh (and, perhaps, the Hebrew people) believed. So this was spiritual warfare! This was combat in heavenly places – combat that had never before been seen with such power and passion as would not be seen again with such strength until the Passion of Christ.

For each skirmish with the gods of Pharaoh, God told Moses and Aaron exactly what to expect and what to do, and they obeyed. During the plagues, Pharaoh repented and asked Moses to intercede for him in prayer, which Moses did, but the Egyptian ruler still did not let the people go!

The Egyptian people, however, were more than ready for the Hebrews to leave! So just as God said would happen, they gave the Israelites more than enough clothing, gold, and other supplies to hurry them along in their travels.

Before the last plague showed God’s power over life and death, the LORD told Moses and Aaron to prepare a Passover lamb with bitter herbs and unleavened bread to eat in haste. They were also to use blood drained from the lamb to paint the frames of their doors.

And God said, “This is the LORD’S Passover for I will go through the land of Egypt and strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments for I am the LORD. And the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live, and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you or destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. And this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD. Throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as an ordinance forever,” Exodus 12:11-15.

Questions: But, what about today? Does this ordinance remain in effect? Did Jesus celebrate Passover? Do we?

“And on the first day of the (seven-day) Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Where do you want us to make preparations for You to eat the Passover?’ ” Matthew 26:17.

Jesus told the disciples exactly what to expect and what to do, and they found everything just as he said.

“And as they were eating the Passover meal, Jesus took the unleavened bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to His disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat. This is my body.’ Then He took a cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is My blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for the forgiveness of sins,” Matthew 26:26-28.

Jesus became the bread and wine for the Passover Feast that Christians celebrate as the Lord’s Supper.

Jesus became the sacrificial Passover Lamb whose blood covers the doorframe.

Jesus the Christ became the Door through which we safely go, between life and death, between heaven and earth.


Prayer: Praise You Heavenly Father for loving us so much you gave Your Firstborn Son as our Passover Lamb. Praise You, God, for Your power, forgiveness, strength, and love forever.

~~

© 2012, Mary Sayler, all rights reserved. If you share this with your church, synagogue, or Bible study group, please let everyone know where to find the site. Thanks, and may God bless our Passover Feast each day of this Holy Week.

~~