Pray It: Unlocking the Power of Scripture in Your Prayer Life
Following on from last week's message by Steve Ball on engaging with God through meditation on Scripture, this Sunday Martin O’Brien took us deeper into one specific and powerful step of that journey: praying Scripture.
“When you don’t know what to pray… pray the Word.”
This might sound simple, but it’s life-changing.
The Power of Praying Scripture
Martin reminded us that many of us have moments when we don’t know how to pray or what to say to God. But that should never stop us—because Scripture gives us the words.
Read it.
Write it.
Then pray it.
There is always something to pray. Just open your Bible.
Practical Ways to Strengthen Your Prayer Life
Martin gave us a few practical tools to begin developing a rich and consistent prayer life, rooted in Scripture:
🔹 Prayer Lists – Keep a running list of people and situations you want to pray for. Don’t overthink it—just be faithful to lift them up daily.
🔹 Prayer Study – Do a deep dive into the Bible, marking every time you see the words pray or prayed. Write those verses out, study them, and let them guide your prayer life.
🔹 Praying the Psalms – Inspired by Thomas Merton’s book Praying the Psalms, Martin showed us how to pray a psalm aloud, slowly and reflectively. Psalms were never meant to just be read quietly—they were meant to be spoken and sung, shaping our emotions and focus toward God.
Psalm 34: A Template for Prayer
We focused on Psalm 34:1-11, a beautiful passage filled with praise, honesty, trust, and testimony. Here’s a glimpse of how Martin encouraged us to interact with it:
Read it aloud – Let the rhythm and emotion of the psalm stir your heart.
Personalise it – Pray it in your own words. Turn David’s declarations into your own.
Speak it to God – “Lord, I will praise You at all times. Even now, I choose to speak Your praises... I know You hear me. I know You surround and defend me…”
Then, as a church family, we went around the room sharing which verses stood out and what God was highlighting to each of us. It was beautiful to hear how the same passage spoke to different people in different ways, and yet always drew us closer to Jesus.
Why This Matters
“Sometimes prayer is the hardest thing to do… and that’s exactly why the enemy wants to keep us from doing it.”
When we stop praying, we stop inviting God into our battles. But when we pray Scripture, we align our prayers with God’s heart and powerfully declare His truth over our lives.
Your Challenge This Week: Pray a Psalm
Choose a short psalm (Psalm 34 is a great place to start).
Read it slowly.
Write down any verse that jumps out.
Speak it out loud.
Turn it into a prayer that flows from your life right now.
And remember: Prayer isn’t just about saying the right words. It’s about being with the God who hears and responds.
“Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” – Psalm 34:8
Let Scripture guide your prayers—and discover just how good and faithful God truly is.
