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Praying the Bible: Using Scripture in Prayer

Scripture has always functioned as both the content and the language of Christian prayer. The Psalter, in particular, provided Israel and the early church with a vocabulary for addressing God—petitions like "Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my petitions" [6] and "Let my supplication come before you. Deliver me according to your word" [5] demonstrate how biblical prayer is itself Scripture praying Scripture. This practice of using the words of the text as the substance of one's own address to God has deep roots in the devotional life of the church.

The Biblical Foundation

Prayer is defined as "converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him" [1]. Scripture describes this address in vivid physical and spiritual terms: "bowing the knees" (Ephesians 3:14), "lifting up the soul" (Psalm 25:1), "pouring out the heart" (Psalm 62:8), and "calling upon the name of the Lord" (Genesis 12:8; Psalm 116:4; Acts 22:16) [1, 2]. These descriptions are themselves drawn from the biblical text, showing that even the language about prayer comes from Scripture.

The Psalms model this practice most explicitly. Psalm 119:170 pleads, "Let my supplication come before you. Deliver me according to your word" [5], anchoring the petition in God's revealed promises. Psalm 141:1 cries, "Yahweh, I have called on you. Come to me quickly! Listen to my voice when I call to you" [8]. These texts do not merely describe prayer; they are prayers, given by inspiration to be used by subsequent generations of believers.

Christ's Use of Scripture in Prayer

Jesus himself sanctioned the Scriptures by appealing to them [3], and he taught from them (Luke 24:27) [3]. The Lord's Prayer, given in Matthew 6:9 and following, serves as a corrective to the corruptions that had entered Jewish prayer practice. Matthew Henry notes that "so many were the corruptions that had crept into this duty of prayer among the Jews, that Christ saw it needful to give a new directory for prayer, to show his disciples what must ordinarily be the matter and method of their prayer" [10]. The prayer itself is saturated with scriptural themes—the hallowing of God's name, the coming of his kingdom, the provision of daily bread (echoing manna), the forgiveness of debts, and deliverance from evil—all drawn from the Old Testament narrative and prophetic expectation.

The Sanctifying Function of Scripture in Prayer

Paul's instruction in 1 Timothy 4:5 reveals that thanksgiving prayer sanctifies the creature "by the word of God and prayer" [12]. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown explains that thanksgiving "set[s] apart as holy for the use of believing men: separated from 'the creature,' which is under the bondage of vanity and corruption" [12]. The Word of God functions not merely as a source of content but as an active agent in the prayer itself, transferring created things "from their naturally alien position in relation to the spiritual world" to "their true relation to the new life" [12]. This principle extends beyond table blessings to every use of the creature, suggesting that Scripture-saturated prayer reorients the believer's relationship to the entire created order.

Prayer Under Affliction

The Psalms provide extensive models for praying Scripture in times of distress. Torrey's Topical Textbook catalogs petitions for God to "consider our trouble" (2 Kings 19:16; Nehemiah 9:32; Psalm 9:13; Lamentations 5:1), for "the presence and support of God" (Psalm 10:1; 102:2), for "divine comfort" (Psalm 4:6; 119:76), and for "deliverance" (Psalm 25:17, 22; 39:10; Isaiah 64:9-12; Jeremiah 17:14) [9]. These are not abstract categories but specific biblical texts that believers are directed to use in their own prayers. The practice assumes that the inspired words of Scripture are adequate—indeed, uniquely suited—to express the full range of human need before God.

Jacob's prayer in Genesis 32:9 is identified as "the first recorded example of prayer in the Bible" [11]. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown observes that it is "short, earnest, and bearing directly on the occasion," that "the appeal is made to God, as standing in a covenant relation to his family," and that it "pleads the special promise made to him of a safe return" [11]. Jacob prays the promises—he uses God's own words as the basis for his petition. This pattern recurs throughout Scripture: believers address God by reminding him of what he has said, not as if he has forgotten, but as an act of faith that takes him at his word.

The Scope of Scriptural Prayer

Scripture is to be prayed to God (Psalm 5:2; Matthew 4:10), to Christ (Luke 23:42; Acts 7:59), and to the Holy Spirit (2 Thessalonians 3:5), and it is offered "through Christ" (Ephesians 2:18; Hebrews 10:19) [2]. This Trinitarian structure reflects the full scope of biblical revelation and guards against reductionistic approaches that would limit prayer to a single mode or address. The Word of God is called "the Word of Christ" (Colossians 3:16) and "the Word of truth" (James 1:18) [3], indicating that praying Scripture is praying Christ's own words back to him.

The practice also addresses the problem of human ignorance. Because "we know not what to pray for as we ought," Christ "helps our infirmities, by putting words into our mouths" [10]. The Scriptures function as a divine provision for the inadequacy of human language and understanding. They supply not only the content of prayer—what to ask for—but also the very words with which to ask.

Historical and Confessional Practice

The Geneva Bible's rendering of Psalm 16:7, "I wil prayse the Lord, who hath giuen me counsell: my reines also teach me in the nightes" [4], reflects the Reformation emphasis on Scripture as the source of divine counsel. Praying the Bible was not an innovation but a recovery of ancient practice, rooted in the liturgical use of the Psalter and the lectio divina tradition. The Reformers insisted that prayer be grounded in the revealed Word rather than in human invention or ecclesiastical tradition detached from Scripture.

Psalm 69:13 in the Geneva translation reads, "But Lord, I make my praier vnto thee in an acceptable time, euen in the multitude of thy mercie: O God, heare me in the trueth of thy saluation" [7]. The phrase "in the trueth of thy saluation" anchors the petition in God's revealed character and redemptive work, not in the subjective feelings or worthiness of the petitioner.

Sources

  1. Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Prayer — Is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or formal. It is a "beseeching the Lord" (Ex. 32:11); "pouring out the soul before the Lord" (1 Sam. 1:15); "praying and crying to heaven" (2 Chr. 32:20); "seeking unto God and making supplication" (Job 8:5); "drawing near to God" (Ps. 73:28); "bowing the knees" (Eph. 3:14). Prayer presupposes a belief in the personality of God, his ability and willingness to hold inter”
  2. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Prayer — Commanded -- Isa 55:6; Mt 7:7; Php 4:6. To be offered To God. -- Ps 5:2; Mt 4:10. To Christ. -- Lu 23:42; Ac 7:59. To the Holy Spirit. -- 2Th 3:5. Through Christ. -- Eph 2:18; Heb 10:19. God hears -- Ps 10:17; 65:2. God answers -- Ps 99:6; Isa 58:9. Is described as Bowing the knees. -- Eph 3:14. Looking up. -- Ps 5:3. Lifting up the soul. -- Ps 25:1. Lifting up the heart. -- La 3:41. Pouring out the heart. -- Ps 62:8. Pouring out the soul. -- 1Sa 1:15. Calling upon the name of the Lord. -- Ge 12:8; Ps 116:4; Ac 22:16. Crying to God. -- Ps 27:7; 34:6. Drawing”
  3. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Scriptures, The — Given by inspiration of God -- 2Ti 3:16. Given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit -- Ac 1:16; Heb 3:7; 2Pe 1:21. Christ sanctioned, by appealing to them -- Mt 4:4; Mr 12:10; Joh 7:42. Christ taught out of -- Lu 24:27. Are called the Word. -- Jas 1:21-23; 1Pe 2:2. Word of God. -- Lu 11:28; Heb 4:12. Word of Christ. -- Col 3:16. Word of truth. -- Jas 1:18. Holy Scriptures. -- Ro 1:2; 2Ti 3:15. Scripture of truth. -- Da 10:21. Book. -- Ps 40:7; Re 22:19. Book of the Lord. -- Isa 34:16. Book of the law. -- Ne 8:3; Ga 3:10. Law of the Lord. -- Ps 1:2; Isa”
  4. Psalms “Psalms 16:7 (Geneva1599) — I wil prayse the Lord, who hath giuen me counsell: my reines also teach me in the nightes.”
  5. Psalms “Let my supplication come before you. Deliver me according to your word. -- Psalms 119:170”
  6. Psalms “Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my petitions. -- Psalms 130:2”
  7. Psalms “Psalms 69:13 (Geneva1599) — But Lord, I make my praier vnto thee in an acceptable time, euen in the multitude of thy mercie: O God, heare me in the trueth of thy saluation.”
  8. Psalms “Yahweh, I have called on you. Come to me quickly! Listen to my voice when I call to you. -- Psalms 141:1”
  9. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Affliction, Prayer Under — Exhortation to -- Jas 5:13. That God would consider our trouble -- 2Ki 19:16; Ne 9:32; Ps 9:13; La 5:1. For the presence and support of God -- Ps 10:1; 102:2. That the Holy Spirit may not be withdrawn -- Ps 51:11. For divine comfort -- Ps 4:6; 119:76. For mitigation of troubles -- Ps 39:12,13. For deliverance -- Ps 25:17,22; 39:10; Isa 64:9-12; Jer 17:14. For pardon and deliverance from sin -- Ps 39:8; 51:1; 79:8. That we may be turned to God -- Ps 80:7; 85:4-6; Jer 31:18. For divine teaching and direction -- Job 34:32; Ps 27:11; 143:10. Fo”
  10. Matthew (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Matthew 6:9: When Christ had condemned what was amiss, he directs to do better; for his are reproofs of instruction. Because we know not what to pray for as we ought, he here helps our infirmities, by putting words into our mouths; after this manner therefore pray ye, Mat 6:9. So many were the corruptions that had crept into this duty of prayer among the Jews, that Christ saw it needful to give a new directory for prayer, to show his disciples what must ordinarily be the matter and method of their prayer, which he gives in words that may very well be used as a form; as the sum”
  11. Genesis (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Genesis 32:9: Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham--In this great emergency, he had recourse to prayer. This is the first recorded example of prayer in the Bible. It is short, earnest, and bearing directly on the occasion. The appeal is made to God, as standing in a covenant relation to his family, just as we ought to put our hopes of acceptance with God in Christ. It pleads the special promise made to him of a safe return; and after a most humble and affecting confession of unworthiness, it breathes an earnest desire for deliverance from the impending danger. It”
  12. 1 Timothy (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 Timothy 4:5: sanctified--"hallowed"; set apart as holy for the use of believing men: separated from "the creature," which is under the bondage of vanity and corruption (Rom 8:19, &c.). Just as in the Lord's Supper, the thanksgiving prayer sanctifies the elements, separating them from their naturally alien position in relation to the spiritual world, and transferring them to their true relation to the new life. So in every use of the creature, thanksgiving prayer has the same effect, and ought always to be used (Co1 10:30-31). by the word of God and prayer--that”
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