Do you ever struggle to know what to say when you pray?

This can happen in a few ways. Maybe it’s your normal time to pray or you just feel like you should be praying, but you can’t really think of anything to pray for. It can also happen when you feel overwhelmed by something. You want to lift it up to God, yet you just can’t find the words to express what you are going through.

Have you ever thought to ask God what you should pray for or how to pray about something?

I know. We tend to think we need to come up with what we are going to pray about, but remember that the Spirit knows you better than you know yourself and God knows what you should ask for better than you do. So, why not ask Him?

Maybe say something like, “God, I don’t know what to pray right now. Please search me, my life, and those around me with Your Spirit and show me what to pray for, and give me the words to pray.” Then pray what the Spirit reveals to you.

Do you ever feel that your prayers have gotten into a rut, of sorts; praying the same basic thing time after time?

One of the great ways we can pray is to pray God’s Word itself. Praying in the Spirit and speaking His Words of truth. Praying the Scriptures not only can add to our ideas of what we can pray, but it can help us take the focus off ourselves and focus us on God. These are His words and His promises.

There are many prayers in the Scriptures that we can pray.

The Psalms, in particular, are full of prayers:

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” – Psalm 51:1-2

And the Psalms have many other types of prayers. However, you don’t have to be limited to only praying the prayers in Scripture. You can use pretty much any Scripture to guide your prayers.

I meet with a group of pastors once a month to share what is going on in our ministries and lives and to pray together. In addition to praying for prayer requests from the pastors, we often allow our prayer time to be guided by a passage of Scripture.

Usually, someone has picked a passage in advance, and we read a verse or few verses and pray about what the passage is talking about. Then, we read another verse or few verses and pray again. We continue that until we finish the passage…or run out of time.

Praying in the Spirit and in Truth:
The main idea of praying in the Spirit and in truth is that we pray according to God’s will and character. We pray in agreement with God and His Word. We pray in agreement with the Holy Spirit.

I’ll close this devotion with an example of praying a passage from the Bible and then ask the Spirit to guide the rest of your prayers.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13

Heavenly Father,

God, please search me, my life, and those around me with Your Spirit and show me what to pray for, and give me the words to pray.

(Wait on the Spirit and pray when you are ready.)

Amen

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.