Agreeing with you and Jesus

Matthew 18:19-20 – Jesus promised, “If two of you agree on anything they ask, it shall be done for them by My Father in heaven. For wherever only two or three gather in My Name, I Am there in the midst of them.”

Lord, You’ve promised to be with us always, but are You also promising greater power and effectiveness in our prayers when we agree on what we’re asking?

Holy Scriptures often call us, not to sameness, but to unity, as One in You, which becomes a blessing to ourselves and an influence on the whole world. Is this promise meant to be an incentive for siblings in Christ to get along?

Lord, forgive us for our fault-finding, fear, and envy toward one another! Give us Your prayers to pray – for ourselves, one another, and the world – in unity with Your will, in the love and power of Your Name.

Mary Harwell Sayler from book, Kneeling on the Promises of God

 

 

Praying Bible prayers and Bible promises

For several years, the Bible Prayers blog has focused on actual prayers in the Bible – prayers that have been prayer-a-phrased (prayerfully paraphrased) into contemporary language after comparing many of the translations found in my home and also on the Bible Gateway website.

If you’ve followed this blog (thank you very much and God bless you!) you’ve probably noticed long gaps between posts, which I pray will be only temporary.

Meanwhile, I’ve been collecting and paraphrasing Bible prayers for a book, which, Lord willing, will soon be available because I believe so strongly in its importance – first as a means of providing an up-to-date version of actual Bible prayers in one easy-to-read book - and also because praying those prayers means we automatically have prayer partners from the past, present, or future, who agree with us in prayer as two or more of us gather in Jesus’ Name.

In addition to that goal, a thought recently came to remind me that powerful, timeless, and relevant prayers are also available as we appropriately claim God’s promises in the Bible. Lord willing, this blog will soon include those prayers too.

For example, consider Psalm 119:165 in the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible: “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.” Or, according to the Amplified Bible (AMP), “Those who love Your law have great peace; Nothing makes them stumble.” Or, the Contemporary English Version (CEV) says, “You give peace of mind to all who love your Law. Nothing can make them fall.”

With those translations and others in mind, a prayer that claims this biblical promise might go like this:

Oh, Lord, we praise You for Your encouraging Word to us through scripture. Thank You for promising to give us great peace of mind if we take Your will to heart, mind, and spirit. Thank You for showing us Your will in the instructions and commandments You’ve given us in the Bible. Praise You for the guidance of Your Holy Spirit, for the strength of Your Word, and for Jesus Christ, Who keeps us from falling away from You. In His Name we pray, amen.

Mary Sayler, ©2019

…

One Lord, One Praise, One Power

May our God,
Who encourages us
and empowers us to endure,

help you to hold yourselves in harmony
with one another and
with Christ Jesus,

so that you may praise and glorify
the God and Father of our Lord,
Jesus Christ,

with one voice -
always
on-key.

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2018, prayer-a-phrased Romans 15:5-6 after referring to these and other translations on Bible Gateway.

…

Praying with Jesus

Jesus taught us how to pray, saying:

When you’re praying, do not use meaningless phrases as others do when they think they’ll be heard because of their many words. Do not act like that for your Father knows what you need before you ask. Pray then like this:

Our Father in heaven, Holy is Your name.
May Your kingdom come and Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us for intruding on others
as we forgive those who intrude upon us.
And do not bring us into times of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one.
For You have the kingdom,
and You have the power,
and You are the glory forever. Amen.

If you forgive people for wronging you, our heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive their wrongs, how can things be right with you and our Father?

©2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, prayer-a-phrase of today’s Daily Bible Reading in Matthew 6:7-15

Note from Mary:

Most church denominations and most Christians know a traditional version of the Lord's Prayer or Our Father. Although we might not interrupt some scriptures in the same way, this prayer holds us together as One Body of Christ, united, as we pray all around the world in all time zones, day and night, without ceasing in the Name and power of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Our Father Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
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.



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