The prayers of the Bible are an amazing gift from God and have much to teach us. They help us understand how Jesus, Job, Moses, David, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Mary, Peter, Paul, and many others talked with God.

These prayers can also help us talk to God. Just as Jesus used several of the David’s prayers in His final moments on the cross (see matt. 27:46 cf. psalm 22:1 and luke 23:46 cf. psalm 31:5), we too can find in the prayers of Scripture, words that can help carry our thoughts and emotions to God.

When we use the prayers from God’s Word humbly and expectantly to encourage us in our own prayers, we open our hearts and lives to deeper faith, renewed strength, fresh blessings, and God’s power.

God invites us closer to Him through the prayers of the Bible. His Spirit “helps us in our weakness” (rom. 8:26). As we pray God’s Word from our hearts, the Holy Spirit breathes new life into our prayers and into us.

James Banks