Prayer: Praying Scripture

Saturday, March 13th, 2010 | Lent Meditations, Spiritual Disciplines

As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
-Isaiah 55:10-11

Praying God’s word is powerful. His word always accomplishes what He desires, and it will accomplish His work in us, too!

The apostle Paul prayed the following prayer for people at a church in the city of Ephesus (which is in modern-day Turkey). Some of the pronouns (his, your) have been changed to make the prayer a personal conversation between you and God; the unchanged version can be found here. If you would like to pray this prayer for other people, simply click the link above and replace “your” in the passage with a person’s name.

For this reason I kneel before You, the Father, from whom Your whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of Your glorious riches You may strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith. And I pray that I, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that I may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to You, who are able to do immeasurably more than all I ask or imagine, according to Your power that is at work within me, to You be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Tags: Lent 2010, Prayer