T he combination of the Word of God and prayer will transform your way of thinking and your daily life. The following Scripture-based prayers can be a guide for you to have an intimate relationship with the Lord. They may be especially appropriate and comforting in uncertain times as you practice discernment and seek guidance, either for yourself or with others in your community.
Not only that, but these prayers will allow others to know that it is possible to change, and you will give hope to those who come to you seeking advice. When you admonish someone with the Word of God, you are offering spiritual guidance, support, and consolation. Once you begin inquiring into God’s Word, you must commit to ordering your conversation correctly.
Note: the suggested prayers are written using first-person language. When praying in a group setting, simply replace “I” and “my” language with “us” and “our.”
Why pray from Scripture?
Psalm 50:23: “Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me; to those who go the right way I will show the salvation of God.”
Be a doer of the Word of God because faith always has a good report. You cannot pray successfully for yourself, for someone else, or about something and then talk negatively about the matter.
Matthew 12:35-37: “The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure. I tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
This is being double-minded, and a double-minded man or woman receives nothing from God.
James 1:6-8: “But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.”
A morning prayer and meditation
Ephesians 3:16-19: “I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, [God] may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Prayer: Most Holy and Eternal God, my Father, I pray according to Ephesians 3:16-19. I ask you to grant each of us, myself, and [additional names or groups], according to the riches of Christ Jesus’s glory, strength through Christ Jesus. I ask that, through faith, Christ may dwell in our hearts, that we become rooted and grounded in love, and may be able to comprehend with our sisters and brothers in the faith, the width and length and depth and height of Christ’s love for us, that we may be filled with all the fullness of you, most Holy and Eternal God, our Father. I thank you that Christ Jesus can do exceedingly above all that I ask or think according to the power that works in us.
To him be the glory and honor in the church and in our lives, forever and ever. Amen!
A mid-day Bible verse and prayer
Isaiah 40:31: “But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
Prayer: Most Holy and Eternal God, my Father, I come to you in the name of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I pray for myself and everyone that I prayed for today, and I ask that you renew our strength, the ones who wait upon you: that we shall mount up with wings like eagles and then run and not be weary, that we will walk and not faint. O Most Holy and Eternal God, our Father, I thank you. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Praying the names of God—an evening prayer
Psalm 103:1: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”
O Most Holy and Eternal God, my Father, holy is your name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless your holy name. I adore you and make known to you my devotion, admiration, and love for you this day.
I bless your name, Elohim, the Creator of heaven and earth, who was in the beginning. It is you who made me, and you have crowned me with glory and honor. You are the God of power and strength.
Holy is your name!
I bless your name, El-Shaddai, the God Almighty of blessings. You are the One who nourishes and supplies my every need. You are all bountiful and the all-sufficient One.
Holy is your name!
I bless your name, Adonai, my Lord and my Guide. You are Jehovah, the Self-Existing One. You are always present and revealed in Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Holy is your name!
I bless your name, Jehovah-Jireh, the One who sees my needs and provides for them.
Holy is your name!
I bless Your name, Jehovah-Rapha, my Healer and the One who makes bitter experiences sweet. You sent your Word and healed me. You forgave all my iniquities, and you healed all my diseases.
Holy is your name!
I bless your name, Jehovah-Nissi, my Victory, my Banner, and my Standard. Your banner over me is love. When the enemy comes in like a flood, you will lift a standard against them.
Holy is your name!
I bless your name, Jehovah-Shalom. You are my Peace—the peace which transcends all understanding, which barracks and mounts up to guard over my heart and mind in Christ Jesus.
Holy is your name!
Hallelujah to Jehovah-Shammah, the One who will never leave or forsake me. You are always there. I take comfort and am encouraged. I confidently and boldly say, the Lord is my helper; I will not be overcome with anxiety or fear.
Holy is your name!
Watch over me as I slumber and sleep. In Jesus’s name I pray, amen!
Scripture-based intercessory prayers
As an intercessor, be united with others in prayer—and unite in praying for others. This is a great weapon God has empowered the body of Christ to use. How marvelous to know that the prayers of the believers are forever in the throne room of God.
Revelation 5:8: “When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”
According to Matthew 18:18: “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Jesus told us that whatever we bind on earth is bound in heaven, and whatever we loose on earth is loosed in heaven. In his name, I bind the will of each person—each psalmist, each speaker, each official, each representative—laborers and co-laborers in Christ, and their emotions to the Holy Spirit.
Scripture to read and pray over others
Colossians 1:9: “For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”
James 1:5: “If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.”
1 Corinthians 11:31: “But if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged.”
2 Corinthians 4:18: “Because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.”
2 Timothy 1:7: “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.”
Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:6: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
Prayer: Most Holy and Eternal God, my Father, I ask that you give me knowledge of your will, give me wisdom and spiritual understanding, and the strength and might of you, to be involved in what you want me to be involved in, and not to be involved in the things you don’t want me to be involved in, according to Colossians 1:9.
Your Word tells us if anyone lacks wisdom, let him/her ask you, and he/she will receive wisdom, according to James 1:5. I ask for wisdom in every decision I must make. Help me to remember that my mind is a judge, according to 1 Corinthians 11:31. And I am always listening to either fear or faith. Fear produces substances of things not hoped for, the evidence of this world’s circumstances: the evidence of things I can hear, see, smell, taste, and touch. These things are temporary, according to 2 Corinthians 4:18. I confess that you, God, did not give me a spirit of fear, according to 2 Timothy 1:1. According to your Word, faith produces substances of things hoped for, the evidence of things we cannot hear, see, smell, touch, or taste, according to Hebrews 11:1. Now these things are eternal. I choose to believe the report of the Lord, according to 2 Timothy 1:12. Let my faith in you, LORD, guided by the Holy Spirit, direct me in all truths and understanding. In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Patricia A. Singletary
The Rev. Dr. Patricia A. Singletary is the first woman pastor of the Elmendorf Reformed Church, the oldest church in the village of Harlem, New York, established in 1660. She earned her M.Div. and D.Min. from New Brunswick Theological Seminary. She is the founder of the PUSH (Pray Until Something Happens) movement and is the founder of Harlem’s African Burial Ground Task Force, through whose work the City of New York is now planning to establish a memorial site, cultural museum, and affordable housing site in that area.
