Category
VERSES ABOUT PRAYER
Think about what you need and ask God for it. Like any good parent, He knows what His children need. Prayer should absolutely include asking for things, because when you ask God for something, you're acknowledging your own limitations. Whatever your situation, bring your needs to the Lord – whether it's provision, protection, healing, or guidance – and just ask for His help.
Psalm 139:41 says, "Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely." Prayer unlocks the treasures of God's Kingdom. It's a key the Creator has placed right in your hand, and He wants you to use it.
It would be so easy for Him to just give you everything you need; everything belongs to Him, and the whole universe is under His command. He could easily provide for you without you ever having to ask. But that's not how He designed it. God loves you, and His greatest desire is to have a close relationship with you. Prayer is the channel through which His provision flows into your life.
In the morning You hear my voice, O Lord; in the morning I prepare [a prayer, a sacrifice] for You and watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart].
I anticipated the dawning of the morning and cried [in childlike prayer]; I hoped in Your word.
O GOD, You are my God, earnestly will I seek You; my inner self thirsts for You, my flesh longs and is faint for You, in a dry and weary land where no water is.
I am looking and waiting for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, I say, more than watchmen for the morning.
I have [earnestly] remembered Your name, O Lord, in the night, and I have observed Your law.
My soul yearns for You [O Lord] in the night, yes, my spirit within me seeks You earnestly; for [only] when Your judgments are in the earth will the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God).
I spread forth my hands to You; my soul thirsts after You like a thirsty land [for water]. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
Evening and morning and at noon will I utter my complaint and moan and sigh, and He will hear my voice.
ANSWER ME when I call, O God of my righteousness (uprightness, justice, and right standing with You)! You have freed me when I was hemmed in and enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me and hear my prayer.
O satisfy us with Your mercy and loving-kindness in the morning [now, before we are older], that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
But when you pray, go into your [most] private room, and, closing the door, pray to your Father, Who is in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open.
AS THE hart pants and longs for the water brooks, so I pant and long for You, O God.As with a sword [crushing] in my bones, my enemies taunt and reproach me, while they say continually to me, Where is your God?Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the help of my countenance, and my God.My inner self thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? [John 7:37; I Thess. 1:9, 10.]
With my whole heart have I sought You, inquiring for and of You and yearning for You; Oh, let me not wander or step aside [either in ignorance or willfully] from Your commandments. [II Chron. 15:15.]
It is because of the Lord's mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not. [Mal. 3:6.]They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness. [Isa. 33:2.]
Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].
Guide me in Your truth and faithfulness and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You [You only and altogether] do I wait [expectantly] all the day long.
I love those who love me, and those who seek me early and diligently shall find me. [I Sam. 2:30; Ps. 91:14; John 14:21; James 1:5.]
I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O Lord; I will keep Your statutes [I will hear, receive, love, and obey them].I cried to You; save me, that I may keep Your testimonies [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying them].
You put away and count as dross all the wicked of the earth [for there is no true metal in them]; therefore I love Your testimonies.
Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.And God's peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.
My whole being shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lipsWhen I remember You upon my bed and meditate on You in the night watches.
[The Servant of God says] The Lord God has given Me the tongue of a disciple and of one who is taught, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He wakens Me morning by morning, He wakens My ear to hear as a disciple [as one who is taught].
In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You, Lord, alone make me dwell in safety and confident trust.
And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.
I entreated Your favor with my whole heart; be merciful and gracious to me according to Your promise.
PRAISE THE Lord! (Hallelujah!) Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who fears (reveres and worships) the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments. [Deut. 10:12.]
Then shall my enemies turn back in the day that I cry out; this I know, for God is for me. [Rom. 8:31.]
How shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed and keeping watch [on himself] according to Your word [conforming his life to it].
In the multitude of my [anxious] thoughts within me, Your comforts cheer and delight my soul!
Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, extend to the skies, and Your faithfulness to the clouds.
For You, O Lord, are good, and ready to forgive [our trespasses, sending them away, letting them go completely and forever]; and You are abundant in mercy and loving-kindness to all those who call upon You.
But I trusted in, relied on, and was confident in You, O Lord; I said, You are my God.My times are in Your hands; deliver me from the hands of my foes and those who pursue me and persecute me.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, Here I am. If you take away from your midst yokes of oppression [wherever you find them], the finger pointed in scorn [toward the oppressed or the godly], and every form of false, harsh, unjust, and wicked speaking, [Exod. 3:14.]
Let my heart be sound (sincere and wholehearted and blameless) in Your statutes, that I may not be put to shame.
Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you.
Trouble and anguish have found and taken hold on me, yet Your commandments are my delight.
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, hateful and exceedingly offensive to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight! [Isa. 1:11; Jer. 6:20; Amos 5:22.]
Rejoice and exult in hope; be steadfast and patient in suffering and tribulation; be constant in prayer.
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him sincerely and in truth.
My eyes fail, watching for [the fulfillment of] Your promise. I say, When will You comfort me?
But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God and made Him my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works.
Fear not [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My [victorious] right hand of rightness and justice. [Acts 18:10.]
You have said, Seek My face [inquire for and require My presence as your vital need]. My heart says to You, Your face (Your presence), Lord, will I seek, inquire for, and require [of necessity and on the authority of Your Word].
Your testimonies have I taken as a heritage forever, for they are the rejoicing of my heart. [Deut. 33:4.]
Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. [Ps. 55:22.]
And they who know Your name [who have experience and acquaintance with Your mercy] will lean on and confidently put their trust in You, for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek (inquire of and for) You [on the authority of God's Word and the right of their necessity]. [Ps. 42:1.]
Let Your tender mercy and loving-kindness come to me that I may live, for Your law is my delight!
Remove from me the way of falsehood and unfaithfulness [to You], and graciously impart Your law to me.
O Lord, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me.Even there shall Your hand lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me and the night shall be [the only] light about me,Even the darkness hides nothing from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You. [Dan. 2:22.]For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother's womb.I will confess and praise You for You are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are Your works, and that my inner self knows right well.My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought [as if embroidered with various colors] in the depths of the earth [a region of darkness and mystery].Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them.How precious and weighty also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! [Ps. 40:5.]If I could count them, they would be more in number than the sand. When I awoke, [could I count to the end] I would still be with You.If You would [only] slay the wicked, O God, and the men of blood depart from me–[Isa. 11:4.]You know my downsitting and my uprising; You understand my thought afar off. [Matt. 9:4; John 2:24, 25.]
For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].
I wait for the Lord, I expectantly wait, and in His word do I hope.I am looking and waiting for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, I say, more than watchmen for the morning.
What time I am afraid, I will have confidence in and put my trust and reliance in You.By [the help of] God I will praise His word; on God I lean, rely, and confidently put my trust; I will not fear. What can man, who is flesh, do to me?
Let my mournful cry and supplication come [near] before You, O Lord; give me understanding (discernment and comprehension) according to Your word [of assurance and promise].
Teach me good judgment, wise and right discernment, and knowledge, for I have believed (trusted, relied on, and clung to) Your commandments.
The reverent fear and worship of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom and skill [the preceding and the first essential, the prerequisite and the alphabet]; a good understanding, wisdom, and meaning have all those who do [the will of the Lord]. Their praise of Him endures forever. [Job. 28:28; Prov. 1:7; Matt. 22:37, 38; Rev. 14:7.]
You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.So trust in the Lord (commit yourself to Him, lean on Him, hope confidently in Him) forever; for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages].
When I remember You upon my bed and meditate on You in the night watches.For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings will I rejoice.
For You, Lord, will bless the [uncompromisingly] righteous [him who is upright and in right standing with You]; as with a shield You will surround him with goodwill (pleasure and favor).
Yet the Lord will command His loving-kindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
My soul yearns, yes, even pines and is homesick for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out and sing for joy to the living God.
I hate the thoughts of undecided [in religion], double-minded people, but Your law do I love.
Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.
Blessed and fortunate and happy and spiritually prosperous (in that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God), for they shall be completely satisfied! [Isa. 55:1, 2.]
But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired. [Heb. 12:1-3.]
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and abounding in mercy and loving-kindness.
Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.
LISTEN TO my words, O Lord, give heed to my sighing and groaning.Hold them guilty, O God; let them fall by their own designs and counsels; cast them out because of the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against You.But let all those who take refuge and put their trust in You rejoice; let them ever sing and shout for joy, because You make a covering over them and defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You and be in high spirits.For You, Lord, will bless the [uncompromisingly] righteous [him who is upright and in right standing with You]; as with a shield You will surround him with goodwill (pleasure and favor).Hear the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to You do I pray.
Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are they who keep His testimonies, and who seek, inquire for and of Him and crave Him with the whole heart.
The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the [consistently] righteous (the upright, in right standing with Him).
Cause me to hear Your loving-kindness in the morning, for on You do I lean and in You do I trust. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, for I lift up my inner self to You.
Be angry [or stand in awe] and sin not; commune with your own hearts upon your beds and be silent (sorry for the things you say in your hearts). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! [Eph. 4:26.]
But You are holy, O You Who dwell in [the holy place where] the praises of Israel [are offered].
I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O Lord; I will keep Your statutes [I will hear, receive, love, and obey them].
For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion on you.
Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your law is truth. [Ps. 19:9; John 17:17.]
Out of my distress I called upon the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free and in a large place.
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. [Jer. 6:16.]And asked Him, Are You the One Who was to come, or should we keep on expecting a different one? [Gen. 49:10; Num. 24:17.]For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good–not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne.
How precious is Your steadfast love, O God! The children of men take refuge and put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.They relish and feast on the abundance of Your house; and You cause them to drink of the stream of Your pleasures.For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light do we see light. [John 4:10, 14.]
HE WHO dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].
For His anger is but for a moment, but His favor is for a lifetime or in His favor is life. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. [II Cor. 4:17.]
Behold, God, my salvation! I will trust and not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and song; yes, He has become my salvation.
In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.
Blessed be God, Who has not rejected my prayer nor removed His mercy and loving-kindness from being [as it always is] with me.
I have observed Your precepts and Your testimonies, for all my ways are [fully known] before You.
And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]! [John 14:3, 27; II Cor. 12:9; Heb. 12:2; I John 3:16; Rev. 3:5.]
Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.
Blessed be the Lord, Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day, even the God Who is our salvation! Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
Happy (blessed, fortunate, enviable) is he who has the God of [special revelation to] Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God, [Gen. 32:30.]
[The Lord] raises the poor out of the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap and the dung hill,
Therefore, brethren, since we have full freedom and confidence to enter into the [Holy of] Holies [by the power and virtue] in the blood of Jesus,For if it were otherwise, would [these sacrifices] not have stopped being offered? Since the worshipers had once for all been cleansed, they would no longer have any guilt or consciousness of sin.By this fresh (new) and living way which He initiated and dedicated and opened for us through the separating curtain (veil of the Holy of Holies), that is, through His flesh,And since we have [such] a great and wonderful and noble Priest [Who rules] over the house of God,Let us all come forward and draw near with true (honest and sincere) hearts in unqualified assurance and absolute conviction engendered by faith (by that leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), having our hearts sprinkled and purified from a guilty (evil) conscience and our bodies cleansed with pure water.
O GIVE thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever.
I WILL lift up my eyes to the hills [around Jerusalem, to sacred Mount Zion and Mount Moriah]–From whence shall my help come? [Jer. 3:23.]My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
Yes, in the path of Your judgments, O Lord, we wait [expectantly] for You; our heartfelt desire is for Your name and for the remembrance of You.
The young lions lack food and suffer hunger, but they who seek (inquire of and require) the Lord [by right of their need and on the authority of His Word], none of them shall lack any beneficial thing.
Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness–trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].
What then shall we say to [all] this? If God is for us, who [can be] against us? [Who can be our foe, if God is on our side?] [Ps. 118:6.]
My inner self thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? [John 7:37; I Thess. 1:9, 10.]
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my [firm, impenetrable] Rock and my Redeemer.
But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord. At an acceptable and opportune time, O God, in the multitude of Your mercy and the abundance of Your loving-kindness hear me, and in the truth and faithfulness of Your salvation answer me.
I WILL cry to God with my voice, even to God with my voice, and He will give ear and hearken to me.And I say, This [apparent desertion of Israel by God] is my appointed lot and trial, but I will recall the years of the right hand of the Most High [in loving-kindness extended toward us], for this is my grief, that the right hand of the Most High changes.I will [earnestly] recall the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will [earnestly] remember the wonders [You performed for our fathers] of old.I will meditate also upon all Your works and consider all Your [mighty] deeds.Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary [in holiness, away from sin and guilt]. Who is a great God like our God?You are the God Who does wonders; You have demonstrated Your power among the peoples.You have with Your [mighty] arm redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!When the waters [at the Red Sea and the Jordan] saw You, O God, they were afraid; the deep shuddered also, for [all] the waters saw You.The clouds poured down water, the skies sent out a sound [of rumbling thunder]; Your arrows went forth [in forked lightning].The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind, the lightnings illumined the world; the earth trembled and shook.Your way [in delivering Your people] was through the sea, and Your paths through the great waters, yet Your footsteps were not traceable, but were obliterated.In the day of my trouble I seek (inquire of and desperately require) the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out [in prayer] without slacking up; I refuse to be comforted.
Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, extend to the skies, and Your faithfulness to the clouds.Your righteousness is like the mountains of God, Your judgments are like the great deep. O Lord, You preserve man and beast.
And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.
[No one] for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. The same Lord is Lord over all [of us] and He generously bestows His riches upon all who call upon Him [in faith].
And it shall be that before they call I will answer; and while they are yet speaking I will hear. [Isa. 30:19; 58:9; Matt. 6:8.]
Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down, but an encouraging word makes it glad. [Ps. 50:4; Prov. 15:13.]
But let all those who take refuge and put their trust in You rejoice; let them ever sing and shout for joy, because You make a covering over them and defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You and be in high spirits.