Prayer Unfiltered: How Do You Actually Pray Scripture?

If you've ever heard someone say, "Pray Scripture" or "Pray the names of God," but weren't sure what they meant, this episode is for you.

In this episode of Prayer Unfiltered, Elizabeth G. Powell explains how praying Scripture isn't about sounding more spiritual or using religious language—it's about allowing God's Word to shape your conversations with Him.

You'll learn:

*What it really means to pray Scripture
*How to pray the names and character of God
*Why Scripture anchors us when emotions feel overwhelming
*How to pray for yourself, your family, and your children using God's Word

Whether you're new to prayer or have been praying for years, this episode will help you move from fear, striving, and uncertainty into deeper confidence in who God says He is.

If this episode encourages you, be sure to subscribe and share it with someone who wants to grow in prayer.

Transcript

Raw Prayer Over Perfect Words

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It's not about fancy words. It's not about cleaning yourself up before you come to God. It's about coming with the raw emotion that you have and finding the name of God that matches where you are. Fear wants to try to tell you that you're all alone. But scripture is saying he's your refuge, he's a very present help in times of need. He's your provider. He is your hope. He is your healer. He is the God of the impossible. He is the God who sees. And I'm Elizabeth. And this is the Father's Business Podcast, born out of Sylvia Gunter's heart for people to know who God is and who they are in Him.

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So wherever you're listening from today, we pray that you will sense his nearness and know that you are his beloved sons and daughters. We're really glad you're here with us today.

What “Pray Scripture” Really Means

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Well, welcome back to the Father's Business Podcast. Kimberly is not with me today, and I am going to miss her, but I'm going to record a short solo episode for you in our prayer unfiltered series. And today I want to answer a very practical question that has come up because Kimberly and I say this kind of thing a lot. We often encourage you, as we've been talking about prayer, to praise scripture or we talk about praying the names and the character of God. And some of you have written into us and said, What do you actually mean by that? And that is a great question because sometimes our religious language or our church language can sometimes sound clear to the people who're saying it, meaning me. But I may not always have made that as clear as we need to to the people listening. So today I want to slow this down and make it real practical. So when we say pray scripture, we do not mean you have to sound super formal or religious or super spiritual. You don't all of a sudden have to pray in the King James. We don't mean you have to memorize long passages of scripture. We're talking about allowing scripture to give you words. What we mean is we use scripture to help shape the language of our prayers. And we also don't mean that we use scripture to avoid being honest with God. Like when you were in Sunday school as a kid and you felt like you had to give the right answer, you weren't sure what it was, but the guess was always Jesus. You remember those days? So praying scripture simply means letting God's word give us language to help our conversation with him. That's it. We take what God has revealed to us in his word about who he is, about his promises, about his love for us, about what he commands us, what he tells us to be true, and we bring it into our prayers. So it anchors us when our emotions are too loud, and it reminds us of truth when fear is talking. It teaches us how to ask for things that we may have not thought about asking for. So it helps me pray beyond my limited perspective, basically. So sometimes my prayers start out with me in need, and I want to pray, God fix it, God help it, God change the situation, God get me out of this. And those are honest prayers and God receives them. But when I pray scripture, my prayers often get expanded. It goes from fix this to give me wisdom. It goes from change this to open my eyes to your understanding. Or my favorite one, just take it away, goes to restore my soul and show me who you are for me in this place. And that's the gift of praying scripture. It doesn't have to be less honest, it just gets more deeply rooted.

Psalm 23 Turned Into Prayer

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So I want us to use Psalm 23 because it's a familiar passage, right? Let's just use this as an example. Psalm 23 begins, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Okay? You can turn that into a prayer saying, Father, you are my shepherd. I belong to you. You know what I need. I confess that I often live as if everything depends on me. But today I remember that you are the shepherd. I'm not the shepherd. Lead me, provide for me, care for me. I trust you. That's a scripture prayer. You're not making it weird, you're not performing, you're not simply letting the verse do all the praying for you. You're inviting God's word into your conversation. It also says that he makes us lay down in green pastures by still water. So you can pray, Father, lead me into rest, quiet what is anxious in me, slow down where I'm rushing, bring me beside you as still water, and restore every place in me that needs to be restored. Psalm 23 says that he restores our soul, he leads us in the path of righteousness for his namesake. So I can pray, Lord, restore my soul, restore what's weary, restore what has been depleted, restore what feels fractured, lead me in your path, not just the path that seems easiest or most urgent. That's where I like to stay. Lead me in righteousness for your namesake. Show me how I can glorify your name even in this place. So that's one way you can use scripture is to slow it down and to read the scripture, understand who God is saying he is for you in those places, and turn it into

Praying Paul’s Prayers For Others

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prayer. Another easy thing to do when you're trying to praise scripture is look for prayers in the Bible. They're all over the Old Testament and the New Testament. Paul wrote a lot of prayers in the letters that he wrote to the early church. Ephesians 1 is an example. Paul prays that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know the hope of his calling. That's already a prayer. So you can just pray it almost exactly as is. Father of glory, give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of you. Open the eyes of my understanding. Help me know the hope of your calling. Help me know who I am in Christ. Help me know your power, your love, and your nearness. Or you can pray it for someone else in your family. Pray it for your children. Father, give my child a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of you. Open the eyes of their understanding. Let them know the hope of your calling. Let them know your power, your love. Let them know your nearness. It's that simple. Colossians 1 is another example. Paul prays that believers would be filled with the knowledge of God's will and all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that they would walk worthy of the Lord, be fruitful, increase the knowledge of God, and be strengthened with his power. So you can pray, Father, fill me or my children with the knowledge of your will and all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Help us walk in a way that pleases you. Make my life fruitful in every good work, increase my knowledge of you, strengthen me with your power, give me patience, endurance, and joy. Now that's a scripture prayer.

How Scripture Frees Your Parenting Prayers

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So when we talk about scripture prayers, it's not a magic formula. I mean, a question I get a lot here at the Father's Business is my child's not following after Jesus, or my child is making a bad decision, my child, you know, there's something going on with our children, whether they be small or adult children. Because do we ever stop parenting? No, not really. They're always our children. How how can I pray for them? And they're looking for me to give them a very specific, this is how you pray for your child prayer. And my answer is always go to the word. Because I mean, what we just prayed in Ephesians of the Colossians, what a beautiful thing to pray over your kids. Because what it does is it takes your opinion out of it. Sorry, moms and dads, that one may have hurt a little, but it takes your idea of what is God's best out of your prayer life. And it allows them to be prayed for from the truth of God's word, asking for God to open the eyes of their understanding to whatever understanding that is, instead of your definition of understanding or my definition of understanding. So we actually are giving ourselves and other people more freedom when we pray scripture. So that's a simple explanation of what do you mean when you say pray scripture? I mean read your Bible. And as you read your Bible, as God prompts you to use a phrase, a word, a verse in his word as a prayer language for yourself and for others, pray the word back to him. It is obviously in line with God's heart because it's his word. So you can never go wrong praying scripture.

Praying The Names Of God

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But we also talk a lot about praying the names of God. We mention that a lot because we have a lot of resources around the Father's business that are list of who God is and who we are in him. They're in prayer portions, revealing the treasures, he is the I am, who I am in Christ. There's lots of resources. And so when I say pray the names of God, I don't mean just the Hebrew names of God. Those are beautiful and meaningful. Jehovah Jirah, the Lord will provide. Jehovah Rapha, the Lord is my healer. We also mean names and descriptions of God in Scripture that give us language that many of us already know. God is Father, God is shepherd, provider, healer, redeemer. He's our refuge, our comforter. He is king. He is Lord. He is Lord of Lords. He is our Savior. He is the God who sees. He is the God who is near. He's the God of peace. He's the God of hope. And those names are not just religious words. They reveal God's character for you. They tell us who He is. And when we pray the name of God, it's not like we're using magic words. You're not trying to figure out which is the right name of God to unlock the right answer. We are not treating God's names like a formula, but we are remembering who he has already revealed himself to be, and we're praying in agreement with his character because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So for example, Scripture calls God our loving Father. So you can pray. You are not distant or indifferent. You are a loving father. You know what I need before I ask. Teach me to come to you as your child. Help me receive your love, your correction, your provision, your care, all the things that a good father does, and heal the places in me where earthly experiences don't match up with who you are as Father. We've already said Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Very simple. God, you're my shepherd. I belong to you, and you're going to lead me today. So I give you my thoughts,

Provider And Healer In Real Need

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my emotions, my decisions, my relationships. And when I wander away from you, thank you for being the shepherd who slows me down and brings me back. Over and over, God says he's our provider. So when we're in need, we don't spend time listing the needs to God. We just say, God, you are my provider and you are going to provide what I need. It may be financial, but it may be wisdom. It may be peace. It may be goodness. It may be a feeling of his presence. But instead of talking about the need that we have and what we're lacking and focusing so much on the circumstances, we focus on the one who's going to answer us. God, you are my provider and I trust you. I may not understand how you're going to provide in this situation, but you are faithful provider for me. And so you will make a way where there seems to be no way. If you are in need of healing, we could spend a lot of time explaining to God our diagnosis or what's going on with our friend, or we can come to him boldly and say, Lord, you are healer. Now, going back to a podcast we did a couple of weeks ago, that's a declaration prayer I can get behind. Lord, you are healer. And I am asking you to bring healing to what is broken in my spirit, soul, and body, or in my friend or family member's spirit, soul, and body. Bring restoration where there has been pain and bring peace where there has been torment. And give wisdom to my friend or myself, also the doctor, the caregiver, the counselor, whoever's involved in the situation where the healing is needed. We ask for you to bring your wisdom to all of us, that we would have God-sized thoughts because you are the ultimate healer and you know what needs to be healed and how. So it takes a small prayer, God, I'm concerned about this diagnosis, and it expands my view to the bigness of the healer who's behind it. And we say, I'm gonna trust the nearness and grace of God today.

Refuge Peace Hope And The God Who Sees

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Scripture over and over says that God is our refuge. Psalm 46, one says, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble. So when things are not going well, you can pray, God, you are my refuge. I run to you with what feels too big for me. Thank you that you're my shelter. Be my strength today. Scripture calls Jesus our savior and redeemer. So we can pray, Jesus, you're my savior and redeemer, or you're my friend's savior and redeemer. You rescue what I cannot rescue. You redeem what I cannot fix. You bring life where sin and grief and brokenness has done damage. Redeem this story in the only way that you can. God is our peace. He doesn't give peace, he says he is peace. He is the God of peace. So when anxious thoughts are filling our minds, we ask not for God to give us peace, but we declare, God, you are our peace. Same as hope. Romans 15, 13 says, Now the God of hope fill you with joy and peace in all things. So, God of hope, fill me with joy and peace as I trust you. Restore hope where disappointed has worn me down. Let me abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Do you see how it stops us from focusing so much on whatever is coming against us and just expands our mind and our heart and our spirit to the bigness of God? I love when in the story of Hagar, God shows himself to be the God who sees. So, God, you're the God who sees. You see the hidden grief I haven't shared with anyone else. You see the burden I'm carrying that no one else knows about, and you're with me in it. So it's not about fancy words, and it's not about cleaning yourself up before you come to God. It's about coming with the raw emotion that you have and finding the name of God that matches where you are. Because fear wants to try to tell you that you're all alone. But scripture is saying he's your refuge, he's a very present help in times of need, he's your provider, he is your hope, he is your healer, he is the God of the impossible, he is the God who sees, even when other people can't. When weariness tries to say to you, I can't keep doing this, God's word is saying, but God, you are my shepherd, you can restore my soul, show me how to lay down in green pastures by still waters, even in this such, such a hard, depleted place. And I thank you that you see me.

Stop Using Verses As A Lid

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So it's not denying reality, it's not pretending things are easier than they are, it's not pressuring God with his own words, like, well, you've got to show up for me because you said you're provider, but it's bringing our reality into the greater reality of who God is. Praying scripture is not using the Bible to avoid honesty, it's letting God's word lead our honesty into the presence of God. Because sometimes people use scripture like a lid. They put a verse on top of pain instead of bringing that pain to God. Here's my favorite one that we say to ourselves and others, well, you know, all things work together for the good, but they never take the time to stop and say, I'm brokenhearted, I am crushed, and I'm not okay. But I'm just gonna put a lid on top of all that because I don't want to deal with that, and I'm just gonna say, well, God works all things together for the good. It's true he does. But scripture also says that he's our shepherd in times of grief. He's our father when our heart is breaking. He is there for us, our ever-present person in time of need. When he came to Hagar, she was in such a dark place, and that's when he revealed his name, the God who sees. So you come to him today and you don't say, I'm good, God, you know, you're working all things together for the good. No, you come to him with your honest pain and go, and yet I feel scared. I don't know how this is gonna work out, but you are my faithful father and you are my provider. And so I'm gonna trust you. You're my refuge when I feel overwhelmed and exposed, and I can come and hide in you. So if you're praying to a God of peace and you feel anything else other than peace, you can just keep saying it, Lord, you're my peace. Calm the storm inside my heart, just like you spoke to the waves and they were still. Maybe it doesn't work the first time. Maybe you just have to keep saying, Still my heart, you're my God of peace, still my heart, you're my

Keep It Simple And Ask God

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God of peace. So don't overcomplicate it. Start with something simple. Maybe it's Psalm 23. Maybe, maybe it's number six, the Lord bless you and keep you and make his face shine upon you. Maybe it's Ephesians 1 that we just talked about. Maybe it's just coming to him as father or shepherd or provider, maybe the God who sees, and just declare who God is for you. And then sometimes bring what you've got to him, the concern, the worry, whatever, and ask the question, God, who do you want to be for me in this? I don't even know what name to claim right now. And allow God through his word and through his spirit speaking to your spirit to speak to you. I'm your redeemer, I'm your God of hope, I'm the God of peace. I am here for you. And then you take whatever you hear from him, you take whatever you read in scripture, and you turn them into simple prayers. God, I'm lost. I need you to be my shepherd, please lead me. God, I'm scared. Please be my refuge. God, you are my peace. You not give peace, you are my peace. So will you calm my heart right now? God, you are my father and I am your beloved child. And over time, as we pray scripture, it will begin to change and shape the way we pray. We won't be praying out of panic or worry or fear. Instead, we'll be praying what we already see in Scripture is true. So instead of trying to come up with perfect words, we read his word and we allow it to shape our prayers. And so that's why so many of our resources focus on who God is and who we are in him. If you've been around us long enough, you're like, enough with that. You say that phrase all the time. Because it's true. God, this is who you are. Help me know who I am in you because of that.

God Offers Himself Not An Exit

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That is our bottom line prayer around here. So come to him as your beloved, tendered shepherd who knows you, who anticipates your needs. He found the still water and the green pastures before you knew you need to look for them. That's what a good shepherd does. He's thinking three steps ahead. Allow yourself to come to the good shepherd and allow him to hear you say, You see the needs in my family, my work, my relationships, my decisions, my future, big things and small things. Provide what is needed. That may be something practical, or it may be peace, wisdom, enough hope for today. And it may just be God Himself showing up and saying, I'm near. So we call out to him from whatever place of fear, exhaustion, disappointment, pain, uncertainty, wherever we are in our emotions, we're honest with him about it. We don't just try to put a smile on our face and say, Oh, everything's fine. We in the South, we love that word fine. Fine doesn't mean fine, in case you don't know. Fine is what you say when you don't want to tell someone how you really are. So we don't come to God with fine. We come to him with our honest emotions, and then we allow him to give us himself. Not always the solution, not always a way out, as much as I would love, an exit strategy from several things in my life. That's not what he's offering. What he's offering is himself. So I'm praying for you even now that the God of hope would fill you with joy and peace as you trust in him.

Donation And Follow Links

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This podcast is made possible through donations by people like you. To donate, go to www.thefathersbusiness.com. Be sure to follow us at the Father's Biz on Instagram and Facebook.