Psalm 85:1-8 – a prayer of the family of Korah

What blessings You pour on Your land, O Lord!

You restored the fortunes of Your people
and forgave their guilt. Yes, You covered all
their sins. You withdrew wrath and fierce fury.
Now restore us again, O God of our salvation.
Put aside Your anger toward us. 

Will You be mad at us forever?
Will Your anger affect future generations?
Or will You revive us, so Your people
can again rejoice in You?

Show us Your ongoing love, O Lord.
Grant us Your salvation.

Help us to listen
carefully to what You say,
for You, Lord, speak peace to faithful people.

 

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 Sayler

A Prayer of Comfort

 

In times of need, the prayer of God’s people in Psalm 94 reminds us to seek and confess the comfort God brings. We, the people of now, can find consolation in this same prayer for our nation. Pray for yourself, of course! Then change “my” to “our” and “I” to “we.” Pray, too, for other nations (“their” and “they”) who need God’s comfort.

 

Psalm 94:17-19 – a prayer of God’s people

Unless the Lord had been my help,
my soul had almost dwelt in silence.

When I said, My foot slippeth;
thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.

In the multitude of my thoughts
within me thy comforts delight my soul.

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

 

Psalm 94:17-19 – a prayer of God’s people
in contemporary language

Unless You had been my help, Lord,
my soul would have lived in silence.

When I thought my foot slipped….
When I thought I was falling,
Your steady love,
Your unswerving mercy
held me up.

When I get anxious or
worried or upset,
You comfort my heart.
You console my soul.

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 Sayler

 

 

…

Hope for godly nations

Leviticus 26:3-6, 11-12 – “If you faithfully follow and obey My instructions, I will give you seasonable rains, productive lands, and fruitful trees. Then you will have plenty to eat and will live in safety. I will dwell among you and will not turn away. I will walk with you and be your God.”

 

We want to follow You, Lord. We want to obey. We want to walk closer to You.

Thank You for letting us know what You want, so we don’t have to guess!  Please draw us into reading and remembering what the Bible says, so we can claim Your promises and take Your word to heart, soul, mind, and spirit.  

from the book Kneeling on the Promises of God

Praying before we speak or write!

This prayer of David reminds us to seek God's guidance and inspiration before we say or write a single word! What a blessed way to start the day! 

Poets, writers, pastors, priests, caretakers, and other communicators for Christ might find, as I did, that Psalm 19:14 is especially relevant to our lives and the work God has given us to do.

Psalm 19:14 – a prayer of David

Let the words of my mouth
and the meditations of my heart
be acceptable in Your sight,

O Lord, my strength
and my Redeemer.

Amen!

from the Book of Bible Prayers, researched on Bible Gateway and collected by Mary Sayler

Jesus prays for us

 

As Jesus faced the certainty of the cross, He prayed for us!

John 17:10-19 – a prayer of Jesus

 

Holy Father, all I have belongs to You,

and all You have is mine.

The people You gave Me

have given Me glory.

I won’t be in the world much longer,

but they will be in the world

as I come back to You.

Holy Father, keep them safe

by the power of Your Name –

the Name You gave to Me,  

so their unity may be like Ours.

 

While I’ve been with them, I’ve kept them safe

by the power of Your Name – the Name You

gave to Me. I watched over them, and none,

but one, became lost, showing scripture true.

But now, Father, I’m returning to You, and I

say these things while I’m still in the world,

so they will have the same joy We have.

 

I have given them Your message, but the world

now hates them because, like Me, they don’t fit

into the ways of the world.

I’m not asking You to take them out of the world

but to protect them from the evil one, for they

do not belong to the world any more than I do.

 

Let Your truth make them holy,

for Your words are truth.

I’ve sent them into the world as You sent me.

And so, for their sake, I dedicate Myself – I

consecrate and sanctify Myself – so they, too,

will be sanctified, consecrated, and dedicated

to the truth in You.

from The Book of Bible Prayers

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

 

 

God blesses us with His prayer, His Name

 Numbers 6:23-27 – “Bless My children. Tell them this:  'God blesses you and keeps you. The face of God shines upon you and is gracious to you. God looks upon you with peace.’  In this way, you will put My Name on My children, and I will bless them.”

We claim this blessing, Lord! Thank You for looking favorably upon us. Thank You for Your promise of grace and peace that give our faces such rest, such shine!

Praise You for receiving us and blessing us. Thank You for claiming us as Your children and giving us Your Family Name.

Mary Sayler, from Kneeling on the Promises of God