Praying Scripture - Remembering

Let all that I am praise the LORD;
      may I never forget the good things he does for me.
                                           Psalm 103:2

Remembering what God has done is important, and asking the Spirit to plant those memories on your heart will help you when hard times come. 

That's why God told the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 4:9 to "watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren."

Pray into God's goodness, and when times get tough, look for His greater good and remember...

Scripture Prayer I

Talking to God in scripture is a huge blessing and takes you right to the heart of God.

On of my favorite prayers is:

The Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need.  (Psalm 23:1, NLT).

As you say the words, speak them to the Lord - YOU are my shepherd.  In YOU I have everything I need.

Stay with the scripture prayer as long as the Spirit guides.  Let yourself rely on Jesus.

Write down how you feel.

As you go throughout your day, go back to that feeling.

Remember that the Lord is leading you, guiding you, and provides all you need.

You are my Shepherd.
I have everything I need.
Amen

Prayer

Lord...for those who mourn, that they would be comforted.
For those who are sick, that they would be healed.
For those who do not know the way, that they would turn to you.
Amen.

Teenage Prayer

Can't you see a full table of teenage boys who just got home from Saturday morning practice...football, swimming, and cross-country running, and they are starved (or they think they are).  As Mom brings the food to the table arms start flying and the battle is on!  They all have to make sure they get their fair share.  


Just before Mom puts the good plates on the table so reminds them..."grace first.  No food until you say grace."  This is the prayer the oldest quickly says:


Lord,
Bless this bunch
As they munch
Their lunch. Amen.

Mom stands there for a minute while she's trying to decide whether she should reprimand her son or tell him to come up with another prayer that is more suitable.  

After just a second, she gets another idea.  She says to her son, "Great prayer, son.  God is touched that you ask for a blessing for your family.  He is also glad you are grateful for the food you eat and that you give Him the credit for the provision.  Great prayer!"

Her son looked at his Mom and said.  "Gee, Mom, I never though about God being glad about my prayers."

Mom smiled. "God is glad whenever you talk to Him, regardless of how you word it.  God sees your heart.  He knows you're hungry and tired.  God appreciates your time."  

 "Awesome, Now can we eat?"  


With that Mom sat the food on the table. Within seconds the boys were scrambling to eat.  As Mom walked away she thanked God that the boys were healthy and that she had the opportunity today to talk with her sons about God's feelings for them.  The prayer gave her the chance to help them understand how much God wants to talk with them...under any circumstances. 

Adolescent Prayers

As we move through the innocence of a child into adolescence, our prayers change as well.

My sons were all fierce eating men when they were growing up (and when it came to pizza, lasagna, and cinnamon rolls my daughter could certainly keep up with them).  They were hungry all the time.  They had to be reminded from time to time "you are not animals without manners"...to which my mr. science guy son would remind, "well, actually Mother we are".  Alright.  I said without manners.

The point is by the time dinner was ready and I called them to the table they were HUNGRY.  So prayer time was often very short and to the point.

Good food,
Good meat,
Good Lord,
Let's eat. Amen.

At first I was a little concerned they were having a little too much fun with the prayer (silly I know - shouldn't prayer be fun?), but later I relaxed some and understood that was exactly where they were coming from.  They wanted to EAT.  They were grateful the meal was good and that we had meat.

The prayer also recognized that God is Good, and it ended with a hearty appreciation of the desire to eat.

All in all, not a bad prayer.

God smiles every time we talk to Him.  Every time.  No matter what we say, or how we say it, God loves it when we talk to Him. 

Great Prayer

Remember this prayer?

God is Great.

God is Good.

Thank you for our food.

AMEN.

Another version (which you may have learned):

God is Grace.

God is Good.

Thank you for our food.

AMEN.

I used to think this prayer was too simple and it had very little meaning, but then I heard one of my grandsons say it and it took on new meaning.  There’s something incredible about seeing a 3 year old fold his hands and partially close his eyes (peeking a little to watch his dad to make sure dad is praying, too) and saying with all sincerity, “God is Great”.  While he said it I thought of all the times when God has been faithful and has taken very bad times and made something good of it.  I also remembered God’s continuous efforts to bring beauty into our lives.

Then the toddler said, “God is GOOD”.  I mean REALLY good.  Goodness we don’t even know or understand.  God is totally and completely good, pure, and perfect in goodness for us.  Hearing a 3 year old say, “God is Good” comes as close as anything on earth as pure.

Then when he says, “thank you for our food”…that’s when he peeks at the food on his plate and he’s probably a little hungry and wants to take a bite because he really likes macaroni.  He doesn’t know that kids all over the world don’t have enough food like he has food.  He just knows he’s a little hungry.  I’m glad he has macaroni and is thankful for it.  We should be thankful for it.

The last part was my favorite because when he got to the end he opened his eyes, looked at his dad and they both loudly said, “AMEN”.  It wasn’t just any old Amen – it was AAAAA-MEN! I chuckled a little to myself because I knew it had become a family tradition for them to end the prayer with great gusto. 

What a great ending!

What a great prayer!

Great theology. 

Teaching a 3 year old that our God is great, good, and that he should be grateful for his food is a God moment.

The only thing that’s better?

God hearing the toddler speak the words to Him.

Written Prayers

Do you have a favorite written prayer?