The Power of Praying Scripture

I think the first book I ever read on praying scripture for myself and others was probably over 30 years ago when The Power of a Praying Wife came out from Stormie Omartian.  It was a transformational book for me and I have given many copies of it over the years to young wives and wives in a troubled marriage.  Omartian went on to produce at least 10 other “The Power of a Praying” volumes.  

There are no doubt countless authors who have written on praying the Bible, but the one who has had the most impact on me is Nancy Guthrie. Her One Year Bible: Praying Through the Bible for Your Kids  is helpful no matter the age of your kids. 

For many years I have sent each of our kids (and now grandchildren with messaging capabilities) a prayer on Monday mornings. I include a scripture and a prayer that goes with it.  I even send one to those who are not yet in Christ.  It has been well-received.

But in 2021, a few months before our daughter-in-law’s diagnosis of Stage 4 colon cancer, Nancy’s book  I’m praying for you: 40 Days of Praying the Bible for Someone Who is Suffering was released.  Nancy takes what I believe is a unique approach she describes in the introduction.  "Instead of praying only for the brokenness to be made whole, we’re going to pray that the glory of God’s character would be on display uniquely through the broken places."

Of course, the power of praying Scripture is that you can be confident that you are praying in God’s will.  Guthrie summarizes the benefit this way, "...when we allow the Bible to shape our prayers, we can actually be sure that our prayers are right-sized and rightly focused."

In "I'm Praying," Nancy not only explains the passage being prayed but also includes a prayer we can pray. The book includes a way to easily send a pre-written prayer based on the verse(s) to someone you are praying for. There is also a place for notes. This is where I record the date and who I prayed this for and sent it to. This book has helped me better minister through prayer and see possible prayers during my regular Bible study.

Having recently finished teaching on Ephesians 1-3, I couldn’t help but challenge the women participating to pray Paul’s prayers in chapters 1 and 3 for themselves and others.  As I contemplated how to help those who might not be familiar with converting scripture stating God’s truth to a request for God to do what He has promised, I decided to write out a few.  

As I planned these out, I thought it might be helpful for you to have something to send to a friend or loved one who needs the prayer AND the encouragement of knowing they are being prayed for.  Or perhaps you need to put the graphic somewhere to remind you to pray it for yourself.

I am praying FOR YOU -  that these prayers will be a blessing to you and others.  You can find these in this post - Praying Paul’s Prayers from Ephesians 1.