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

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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

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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

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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

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The Bible Prayer of Jesus

“Thou art my father, my God,” Psalm 89:26.
Our Father which art in heaven

“The Lord our God is holy,” Psalm 99:9.
Hallowed be Thy name.

“Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,” Psalm 145:13.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done

“I will be exalted in the earth,” Psalm 46:10.
in earth, as it is in heaven.

“And the Lord God humbled you, let you hunger, then fed you with manna….to make you know that we do not live by bread alone, but by every word from the mouth of the Lord,” Deuteronomy 8:3.
Give us this day our daily bread.

“Hear in heaven Your dwelling place and forgive! To those whose hearts You know, let it be according to their ways – for You, Lord, You alone, know the hearts of all,” 1 Kings 8:39.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

“Listen, O Shepherd of Israel, You Who lead us like a flock,” Psalm 80:1.
And lead us not into temptation,

“Fear the Lord your God, and God will deliver you from the hands of all your enemies,” 2 Kings 17:39.
But deliver us from evil

“Yours, O Lord is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty! All that is heaven and earth is Yours! Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted above all,” 1 Chronicles 29:11.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.


Bible verses were prayer-a-phrased by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2017, with scriptures found on Bible Gateway then interwoven with the Lord’s Prayer from the King James Version (KJV) of Matthew 6:9-13.

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Praying for enemies and other meanies

In Matthew 5:43-44, Jesus taught His followers a different way of looking at things and responding to other people. As He told us, You have heard it said, `You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who hate you and pray for those who use you or mistreat you, spitefully.

Thank God, Jesus commanded us to pray for our enemies and love them without demanding something as humanly impossible as liking them!

From a biblical perspective, love has little to do with preferring people to whom we fondly respond. Instead godly love calls for upright actions whereby we act with kindness and consideration for the well-being of others, including unsavory characters and people we dislike.

Wanting to please and obey God would be reason enough for us to love our enemies, but God might have more in mind. For example, loving our adversaries can disarm them, calm them, heal them, and help them to hear what we have to say about our forgiving Father and His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Even though earthly foes might bully or people abuse, our prayers promptly propel our enemies into a spiritual realm protected by the power of Almighty God. Think of it! What blessings, what spiritual awakening, what new hope of reconciliation could our loving prayers bring to the most unlovable people?

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father of All, forgive us for wishing anyone ill! Help us to convey Your love to everyone with whom we have contact. Give us Your words of blessing, especially to our families, other Christians, and church leaders, but also to those who wish us ill or, worse, who malign You. Protect us, Lord. Help us to do what’s best from Your perspective and become excellent examples of Your forgiving love in Jesus’ Name.

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2017, from her new book, What the Bible Says About Love

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The Lord’s Prayer after the resurrection

Our Lord Jesus
Who’s now in Heaven,
Holy is Your Name
in Which we pray.

Let Your Kingdom come!
Let Your will be done
on earth
as happens in Heaven.

Give us this day
Your living Bread,
and forgive us
our trespasses
as we forgive those
who cross
the line with us.

Lead us not into
terrible trials,
but deliver us from evil,
for the Kingdom of God
is Yours!

And the power of God
is Yours.

And the glory
of God is Yours –
now
and forever –

in You,
in us.

May we all be One in Jesus’ Name.

©2014, Mary Harwell Sayler.


The Holy Scriptures for this prayer-a-phrased prayer-poem by Mary Sayler resulted from resources she found on Bible Gateway.

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