Jesus, the Living Word, offered a prayer according to God's plan. Studying the Bible guides our prayer life as well. Have you ever heard skilled pastors quote scriptures from the pulpit? They spend hours pouring through bible verses and can mentally retrieve them on the spot. Similarly, laypeople can utilize Scripture to intercede within the will of God. Such powerful prayers penetrate the heavens.
John 5:14-15 states, "If we ask anything according to his [God's] will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him" (NIV). The Lord's Prayer provides clues on how we can pray in God's will. Here Jesus reveals that the Father desires to forgive us of our sins as we forgive others. Thus, if we pray "God, help me to forgive this person," He will hear and answer our prayer.
Like Jesus, Paul understood praying to advance the kingdom. He prays for the Holy Spirit to increase the Philippians' spiritual knowledge, so that eventually they will stand before God blameless in Christ (Phil.1:8-11). He intercedes for them from a Roman prison unsure whether the emperor would kill him or not. If death awaited him, he desperately wanted the Spirit of God to empower this fledgling church to overcome temptation without Paul's physical presence.
Jesus also wants us to petition the Holy Spirit to transform our life as we pray through bible verses from our hearts. An in depth study of the text instills this ability in us. We probably should write down Scriptures on note cards, memorize them, and use them while we pray. It's not a hopeless cause if we choose not to, because we can always pray with our Bibles open. Both Jesus' and Paul's prayer unlock only a few examples of how the Scriptures can equip us to pray. Bible study awaits!
Like Jesus, Paul understood praying to advance the kingdom. He prays for the Holy Spirit to increase the Philippians' spiritual knowledge, so that eventually they will stand before God blameless in Christ (Phil.1:8-11). He intercedes for them from a Roman prison unsure whether the emperor would kill him or not. If death awaited him, he desperately wanted the Spirit of God to empower this fledgling church to overcome temptation without Paul's physical presence.
Jesus also wants us to petition the Holy Spirit to transform our life as we pray through bible verses from our hearts. An in depth study of the text instills this ability in us. We probably should write down Scriptures on note cards, memorize them, and use them while we pray. It's not a hopeless cause if we choose not to, because we can always pray with our Bibles open. Both Jesus' and Paul's prayer unlock only a few examples of how the Scriptures can equip us to pray. Bible study awaits!
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