The following list of prayers is not exhaustive but will hopefully aid and encourage you to pray Scripture over others. By following Paul's example of how he prayed we learn to pray with boldness, theological precision, and with confidence, convinced that what we pray is in agreement with God’s will as these prayers are God’s Word. I have included with some of these prayers a few verses of context which may not be a specific prayer as much as the motivation and ground for the prayer. After you spend some time using Paul’s prayers consider praying through whole books of the Bible. A few books that may be good to start with would be Colossians or Ephesians. Additionally, the prayers recorded throughout Nehemiah (esp. chapter 1), Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 9, and the Christocentric and Christotelic Prayer Book of The Church, The Psalms, make for incredible prayers to memorize and pray.

May you become a person who can say to others, “I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day” (2 Timothy 1.3b) and that you “struggle in prayer for your people” as Ephaphras did in Colossians 4.12.

Romans 15.5-6 5May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Roamans 15.13 13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Ephesians 1.16-19 15For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Ephesians 3.14-21 14For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Philippians 1.3-11 3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Colossians 1.9-12 9And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

2 Thessalonians 1.11-12 11To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 13.20-21 (I realize Paul’s authorship of this letter is contested but I couldn’t leave this prayer out of the short list.) 20Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Redeemer Church uses four "handles" to describe what it means for us to be worshipers of Jesus. These four handles are not comprehensive but illustrative of what it means for us to be the Church in love with Jesus (because He first loved us). Eat Truth (Learners) We are disciples of Jesus who want to know and obey everything He has commanded. We want to be humble and contrite learners who tremble at God’s Word. We long to dwell in the Word of Christ as we breathe in the Word of God. We listen quickly, speak slowly and by God’s grace, do what the Word tells us to do. We are equipped for every good work as the God-breathed word teaches, reproofs, corrects and trains us in righteousness. We Eat Truth. (Matthew 28:18-20; Isaiah 66.1-2; Colossians 3.16; 2 Timothy 3.14-17; James 1.19)

Live Sent (Missionaries) We are sent by Jesus, just as Jesus was sent by the Father. We are new creations in Christ Jesus, called ambassadors for Christ and given a ministry of reconciliation. We are commissioned by King Jesus to go into the entire would and make disciples of all nations. We are jars of clay carrying the Gospel for God’s glory and the good of His people. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to witness from here to there and everywhere in between. We Live Sent. (John 20.21; 2 Corinthians 5.17-21; Matthew 28.18-20; 2 Corinthians 4.1-18; Acts 1.8)

Do Something (Servants) We serve because Jesus first served us and gave His life as a ransom. We are servants of Jesus and in the name of Jesus. We have been set free from bondage and healed from decay and planted to point to Jesus as we rebuild, renew, and repair our neighborhoods. We believe we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus alone, but that that kind of faith will always produce works. We give what we have because Jesus has given us Himself. We serve our cities with good works so the Father will be glorified and those who don’t love Jesus may learn to worship God. We do whatever we can for whomever we meet with whatever we have because Jesus has given us everything we need. We Do Something (Matthew 20.28; Matthew 25.31-46; Colossians 3.17; Isaiah 61.1-4; James 2.14-17; Matthew 5.13-16; 1 Peter 2.11-12; Philippians 2.1-11)

In Community (Family) We are children of God who belong to each other. We are His sons and daughters, predestined for adoption, heirs to God and fellow heirs with Christ. We are devoted to one another as family because Jesus devoted Himself to us. We share all things with each other because Jesus gave Himself. We are exiles here until we are home with God, and we wait patiently to be with Him in the perfect city that He is building. We Are His. (Galatians 3.23-4.7; Romans 12.3-8; Ephesians 1.3-6; Romans 8.14-17; Acts 2.38-47; Hebrews 11.9-16; John 14.1-3; Revelation 21-22)

"The definition of sin is when you replace God with something or someone, and the result is an addiction of spirit. There is an attraction at the spiritual level every bit as powerful as sexual attraction at the physical level: You cannot produce your own meaning in life, your own worth, your own security. Spiritually speaking, if it’s not God who is the source of your meaning, then you’re in bed with something else." Tim Keller follows his sermon, "Sin As Slavery," with a look at how sin replaces God and results in an addiction of spirit.  Keller looks primarily at three major areas; the dynamics of spiritual attraction, the dynamics of spiritual addiction, and the dynamics of spiritual restoration. We learn in this message how to escape our “lover gods” by personalizing our understanding of sin, remembering grace, and looking at how Jesus transforms us into something beautiful.

“How Sin Makes Us Addicts”

"Why do we sin, even when we know right from wrong? Sin is a power that enslaves us, but we can be freed from its power by encountering God through worship." Tim Keller's sermon on Numbers 11:4-6,10-20 is a powerful message that speaks to the soul shriveling effects of sin while pointing us to the hope that comes from our only Savior Jesus Christ. Keller demonstrates how sin shrinks our emotions, overwhelms our thinking, and dries up our strength. He also draws a powerful connection between the similarities between sin and addiction. Keller powerfully concludes the sermon by showing how God gets us out of sin's slavery through intervention an ultimately through the Incarnation of Jesus.

Listen to the sermon for free here:

"Sin As Slavery"