How to Pray According to the Bible – Learn How to Pray the Scriptures
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Do you feel at times that your prayers just don’t seem to articulate what you want to say? Maybe you are new to prayer and just don’t know WHAT to say. One of the most powerful ways to pray is praying the Word of God. When you learn how to pray according to the Bible and how to pray the scriptures, it can give you the words to pray when you cannot find them yourself.
So let’s dig in and learn how to pray according to the Bible and begin to allow the Holy Spirit to flow through you in prayer through the Word.
What is Prayer According to the Bible
In its simplest terms, prayer in the Bible is speaking to the Lord.
It is how believers speak their needs, thoughts, confessions, praises to Him.
It is HOW we do these things that can look different for different people.
Avraham Greenbaum, in his great classic Under the Table & How to Get Up says:
The essential work of prayer is to become conscious of God’s hand in all the processes of life, and to channel Godly awareness and blessing to ourselves and the world as a whole – all through words. The words of our prayers are the “vessels” through which Godly blessing flows down to us.”
Greenbaum, Avraham – Under the Table & How to Get Up: Jewish Pathways of Spiritual Growth
Words are the vessels through which God allows His blessings to flow and a key way to do that is to pray according to the Bible by praying the words OF the Bible. It is literally praying scripture back to God.
Why would we want to do this?
Well, in short, praying the Word claims our promises from God. It recalls His promises to His children.
It recalls what He has done for others in the past. It serves to remind the enemy of what God has to say about him and our authority over him in Jesus’ Name.
God’s Word is powerful and it is powerful in prayer for these and many more reasons.
I will share more of them with you.
Why is it Important to Learn How to Pray According to the Bible?
Praying is important, but what if you don’t always know what to pray? Having a rich prayer life comes naturally for some people but not for everyone.
You might not know how to articulate what you want to say or how to start your own prayer.
When you feel you don’t know what to pray, it’s easy to shy away from prayer and even give up on it entirely.
The best way to learn the power of prayer is through learning how to pray according to the Bible.
Learning how to pray a passage of scripture will give you the words and phrases that you may struggle with finding on your own.
In fact, Jesus Himself gives us a simple way to pray to the Lord in the Lord’s prayer or the Avinu, also known as the Our Father.
What better way is there to learn to pray than from the Master Himself?
James 5:16 says:
“The effective prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.”
TLV
The word “effective” here is like fervent and active. This is a meaningful kind of prayer that we feel deeply in our spirit and what better way is there than to pray Biblical prayers and allow the power of the Holy Spirit to flow through us as we speak those Bible passages?
What better way is there to learn to pray than from Jesus, the Master Himself? #prayer Share on XWhen to Pray
Praying in the morning is always an ideal because it keeps life from getting in the way and derailing you. But honestly, prayer shouldn’t be a ‘once and done’ thing.
We should speak with the Lord all throughout our day. But I do encourage you to set aside time for daily prayer time where you can pray, sit and be still and listen as well. And this time is when you can pray the scriptures.
As a Messianic Jew, I pray 4 times a day as do non-Messianic observant Jews. I pray the morning prayer or Shacharit. This pray coincides with what was the morning offerings that were offered in the Tabernacle or Temple.
In the afternoon, we pray Mincha, which corresponds to the afternoon offering.
In the evening, we pray Maariv. No sacrifices were offered in the evening in the Temple but Maariv corresponds to when parts of the daily sacrifices which were not burned during the day could be offered at night.
Then there is what is known as the Bedtime Shema. It is the bedtime prayers we say just before we lie down to sleep where we once again say the Shema.
We do this Bedtime Shema because Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says:
“These words, which I am ordering you today, are to be on your heart; and you are to teach them carefully to your children. You are to talk about them when you sit at home, when you are traveling on the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
CJB
Do I do these all EVERY day? No. I am human and life happens. But I enjoy these times as they call me away from the cares of the world and into the presence of God. So I do my best to keep these divine appointments as they mean so much to me.
You can pray whenever you have time to sit and just focus on the Lord and dwell in His presence but you can also pray in your car, while you work out, while you cook dinner…God always wants to hear from His children.
What are Some Things I Should Consider When Learning How to Pray the Scriptures?
As a Jewish believer, praying scripture is a regular part of my daily prayers as they make up a large portion of our Siddur or prayer book. It is our daily prayer guide. But because we do pray these prayers each day, it is important to guard against my mind wandering or the prayers becoming “rote” activities.
It is important that you pray with intention – what is known in Hebrew as kavanah – and really focus on the words you are saying. Don’t just mindlessly read the different scriptures but really think about them, focus on them, meditate upon them hide them in your heart.
It is important that you pray with intention – what is known in Hebrew as kavanah – and really focus on the words you are saying. Don't just mindlessly read the different scriptures but really think about them, focus on them,… Share on XDavid said, in Psalm 119:11:
“I have treasured Your word in my heart, so I might not sin against You.”
TLV
Psalm 19:14 says:
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.”
NASB
We say this at the end of the Jewish prayer, the Amidah or Standing Prayer. It is not just about the words we say but what is in our hearts as we say them otherwise they are empty phrases. God’s Word has great power and we should not take it or the Name of the Lord lightly.
Also, write down those verses that really impact you during prayer time.
For instance, if you are having anxious thoughts and you come across verses that help you to pray about them, write those down and memorize them so that the next time those thoughts creep back in, you have those prayers of the Bible that you hid in your heart to pray right when you need them.
A prayer journal is a great tool for doing this because it will also allow you to record your prayer needs, the needs of others, and the answers to prayer in your own life.
Learning How to Pray According to the Bible Helps You With Your Faith
Matthew 6:5-8 says:
“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Amen, I tell you, they have their reward in full! But you, when you pray, go into your inner room; and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, shall reward you. And when you are praying, do not babble on and on like the pagans; for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”
TLV
When we pray from the Book of Psalms or we pray a part of the Bible that deals with our needs, we have found a beautiful way to pray and release.
We don’t feel the need for platitudes or long, flowery prayers. We pray the words of the text and release it for God to help us in our time of need.
He knows what we have need of, so we can pray a scriptural prayer and know that those powerful prayers that come from the Word are heard and WERE heard even before we uttered them.
Sometimes, when I pray on my own, I feel like I haven’t asked enough.
And I am not speaking of praying without ceasing, because 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says we are to do that…I am speaking of SPEAKING without ceasing.
Sometimes I would ramble on and on because the reality was, I didn’t trust enough that God heard me, and in doing that I was trying to put the power in my own hands.
When I pray for someone’s healing using the words of scripture, I know I need to say no more and that the steadfast love of God has that person in His sight.
Learning how to pray scripture passages will give you the words and phrases that you may struggle with finding on your own.
Praying the Word can be so powerful. It’s like having David there singing the Psalms with us, having Solomon sharing his wisdom with us, having Yeshua speaking directly to us, or having the Gospel writers share their experiences with us.
If all of this sounds intimidating or like too much work for morning devotion time, let us know! We want to help you become comfortable in your prayer life and in communion with the Lord–even when it seems difficult or uncomfortable at first.
Praying the Word can be so powerful. It’s like having David there singing the Psalms with us, having Solomon sharing his wisdom with us, having Yeshua speaking directly to us, or having the Gospel writers share their experiences… Share on XBe sure to get your FREE Prayer Challenge Workbook below as my gift to you!
Tree of Life (TLV) – Scripture taken from the Holy Scriptures, Tree of Life Version*. Copyright © 2014,2016 by the Tree of Life Bible Society. Used by permission of the Tree of Life Bible Society.
CJB – Taken from the Complete Jewish Bible by David H. Stern. Copyright © 1998. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Messianic Jewish Publishers, 6120 Day Long Lane, Clarksville, MD 21029. www.messianicjewish.net.
Greenbaum, Avraham. Under the Table & How to Get Up: Jewish Pathways of Spiritual Growth. Jerusalem: Moznaim Pub Corp , 1991.