23 PRAYERS FROM PSALM 119
Prayers From Scripture, For Scripture:
I will meditate on your precepts and think about your ways. (v. 15)
The hardest part of reading your bible and praying is starting.
I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. (v. 16)
Many times, I need to the reminder that of all the things I could remember, this is most important.
Open my eyes that I may contemplate wondrous things from your instruction. (v. 18)
Some days we come to Scripture and our mind is clouded with other things. In that moment, stop and pray. It doesn’t have to be long. Just this sentence.
...your decrees are my delight and my counselors. (v. 24)
Before we run to human counselors (by that Scripture does not mean therapists) or advisors, we need the reminder to turn to God’s Word.
Help me understand the meaning of your precepts so that I can meditate on your wonders. (v. 27)
Some passages are difficult. The understanding is hard. Help me understand, God because I want to meditate on your wonders.
Instruction from your lips is better for me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. (v. 72)
Some days, our hearts need a reminder of the value of God’s Word. Everything else will make more noise for your attention, but this is more valuable.
My eyes pour out streams of tears because people do not follow your instruction. (v. 136)
Before people will care about what God’s word has to say, they have to fall in love with the Word that became flesh.
The entirety of your word is truth, each of your righteous judgments endures forever. (v. 160)
There will be parts of the reading plan that you honestly don’t know what you’re supposed to do with. Give your heart the gentle reminder: the entirety of His word is truth.
Prayers for Obedience and Sanctification
I have treasured your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. (v. 11)
How can we combat our sin – by allowing God to create within us a heart that treasures His Word above what our flesh craves.
Teach me, Lord, the meaning of your statutes and I will always keep them. (v. 33)
Most often, we don’t need to be taught what God says and what it means as far as righteous living is concerned. But there are times, particularly if we’re new to the faith, when we do need that. In those seasons, pray this with all the earnestness and sincerity you have.
Turn my eyes from looking at what is worthless; give me life in your ways. (v. 37)
We need God to remind us that the things we chase in our sin are worthless. We need God to remind us that life and life to the full are found in Him/His ways.
This is my practice: I obey your precepts. (v. 56)
We need a heart that defaults to obedience rather than sin.
Make my steps steady through your promise; don’t let sin dominate me. (v. 133)
The key word here is dominate. It can sometimes feel like sin gets completely on top of us and has us pinned.
I obey your decrees and love them greatly. (v. 167)
Key word here: love. We need God to teach us how to love His commands, not just endure them.
Prayers for Suffering and Affliction
My life is down in the dust, give me life according to your word. (v. 25)
Not life according to the plans and goals I had that I thought I was going to accomplish. Not life according to my shifting and changing emotions. Life according to the Word: Jesus
This is my comfort in my affliction: Your promise has given me life. (v. 50)
The comfort is not going to come from anything else. He has promised us life – life to the full – in one place and one place only: Jesus.
It was good for me to be afflicted so that I could learn your statutes. (v. 71)
I need to know how the pain of life has sanctified me in ways that comfort, ease, and success likely wouldn’t have. I want comfort and ease, but God loves me too much to let me poison my own soul with anything that is lesser than what He has for me. He wants to sanctify me every day until the day I arrive at the gates of heaven. I want my heart to want the same.
May your faithful love comfort me as you promised your servant. (v. 76)
This is a good one to pray in conjunction with verse 71.
2 Corinthians 1 – "He is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our afflictions as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us."
That’s a promise.
Sustain me as you promised, and I will live; do not let me be ashamed of my hope. Sustain me so that I can be safe and always be concerned about your statutes. (v. 116-117)
Let me not be ashamed of my hope that is in you. Let me always be concerned about the gospel and your Word.
Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your practice toward those who love your name. (v. 132)
This is His character. My heart needs the reminder.
Abundant peace belongs to those who love your instruction; nothing makes them stumble. (v. 165)
The peace is not in the circumstances. The peace is in Him and because of Him we can rest confidently in the fact that though it may feel like life in a broken world is knocking us down, we’ll never stumble when we stand upon the Rock.
Let me live and I will praise you… (v. 175)
In my darkest moments, I need the reminder that to live is Christ. I need the reminder that every day in this world, though difficult and weighty and unpleasant (at times) is an opportunity to praise God.
Prayer of Praise
Lord, you have treated your servant well, just as you promised. (v. 65)
He has treated me well. He has not given me snakes when I asked for fish or stones when I asked for bread. That’s not who He is.
Our great confidence is that because of Jesus, our prayers are heard. Our commitment to our goals/reading plans or our church attendance do not change how God feels about us. He loves us because of Jesus, not because of anything we do. He hears us because of Jesus, not because of anything we do. They aren’t just heard, they are answered. When we don’t know what to pray, we can turn to Scripture. When that doesn’t seem to work in our heart, we can let the Holy Spirit intercede on our behalf.