Sunday, Prayer

One of the things I am learning more about in my daily walk is prayer. Besides the normal giving thanks and making requests for people I know and love, I'm learning to pray the Word of God, especially the Psalms, and other verses I love from the Old and the New Testaments.

I'm only just beginning, but I believe this new way of prayer, in addition to the old, brings added power and connection to God.

Here are a few examples of prayers from Scripture which I love:

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well. . . .
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
(Psalm 139:14, 23-24)


The Lord is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also will hear their cry and save them. . . .
My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh shall bless His holy name
Forever and ever. (Psalm 145:17-19, 21)

And finally a prayer I love for those who want to invite Christ--the living, trnasforming Christ-- into their lives. A person can't sincerely say it and mean it too many times:

Lord Jesus, you claim to be the way, the truth, and the life. Grant that I might come to know You in a living way and not just through another dead religion. Grant that I be undaunted by the cost of following you, as I consider reasons for doing so. Help me to understand that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. If what you claim is true, please guide me, teach me and open me to the living and hopeful reality of who you are. Give me an understanding of you that is coherent, convincing, and that leads to the life you promise.
Amen.

(Thanks to Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City, for this prayer.)