Have you ever been in a moment where you wanted to express something deeply meaningful to someone you care about, but you completely ran out of words? You want to say the right thing, but your mind goes totally blank. What do you do? You buy a card written by someone who expressed it better than you ever could, and you think, Yes, that’s exactly what my heart wants to say.
Today, I share about having the perfect words to say. Our worship leader, Karissa, just wrote a fantastic book called Evergreen: Tools to Study Scripture. It is packed with practical ways to engage God's Word, and Technique 10 is one of my absolute favorites: Praying Through Scripture.
Prayer isn't about performing or putting on a show. Because of Jesus’ finished work on the cross, you and I already have free, direct access to our heavenly Father. God is always the active initiator. He loved us first, gave us His Son, promises to hear us, and even gives us the very language to use when we speak to Him!
Using Scripture in prayer has a long history. The apostles in Acts 4 prayed by quoting David’s psalms. Jesus Himself prayed Psalm 22 on the cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" If Jesus prayed Scripture back to the Father in His hour of need, we certainly can too.
In Technique 10, Karissa models this using Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14–21:
"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."
Notice what Paul does here. He isn't trying to earn God’s favor; he’s simply resting in who God is and what He promises to give. He asks the Father to strengthen us, root us in Christ's love, and fill us with His fullness.
As we head into our prayer time today:
Read through a passage like Ephesians 3.
Underline the promises, gifts, or phrases that touch your heart.
Pray them back to God—either using the exact Bible verses or rephrasing them in your own words.
You might pray: "Father, thank You that my life isn't rooted in my own strength today, but grounded in Jesus' endless love. Strengthen my heart by Your Holy Spirit."
When you pray Scripture, the weight isn't on your emotional intensity, your feelings, or finding the perfect words. The weight rests entirely on God’s faithful promises. As verse 20 reminds us, He is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think—by His grace at work within us.
As we step into our individual prayer time, pick a line from Ephesians 3. Speak it out loud to the Father in simple, child-like trust. Carry it with you throughout the day, and notice how His Word keeps you anchored in His love.