How to Pray the Scriptures (Even If You Don’t Know Any)

N.T. Wright, in his gorgeous overview Paul: A Biography, writes of the apostle, “He gives every impression of having swallowed the Bible whole.”

That’s how I felt when I first started praying with Bob.

One of his most strategic recommendations for prayer is: pray the scriptures.

But what if you aren’t like Bob or the Apostle Paul, and don’t know any scriptures to pray?

This is where our friend The Google comes in.

When I’m stumped, I look up a word that sounds reasonable: “hope, scripture,” “strategy, Bible verse,” or “justice, scripture,” and read through some of the options.

On our prayer calls, people pray from what they’ve been reading or thinking about, both during the ten minutes of praise at the start, and during the twenty minutes of prayer after that.

We end with a blessing. If you’re going to spend some of your valuable time on this earth on a prayer call, we want you to leave with a gift.

Here is a Bob blessing for you today.

In Ephesians 3:16, Paul prays, “that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.”

Lord, I pray for each of us to be strengthened today. Give us the gift of endurance and perseverance. May we be secure in our identity, and overflowing with love and compassion. Lord, may you give us the grace to listen well, and lead well, and guide well. May we be men and women of faith and love and peace. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and King Jesus the Lord,

Amy Joy

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