Sunday, August 14, 2011

Bible Verses Make Excellent Stand-Alone Prayers

Friday's post highlighted Matthew 18:19-20. Today I thought about it off and on. I realized that it was almost a prayer. Then I recalled all the verses I love.

One of my favorites, Isaiah 40:31 is another one that is almost a prayer. When I repeat it, to myself, or in my heart, it is not from me to the Lord, it is from him to me. A promise he made to us.

Prayer is usually accepted as a one-on-one conversation with God. It can either be a petition or words of thanks. I think that when he makes us specific promises, as in Isaiah 40:31, it is his one-on-one conversation with us. So he is asking us to be patient and wait for him to have a chance to work things out for us. For me, that is a comforting thought, indeed.

For those who are not familiar with it, and who do not feel like looking it up, it is, according to the New American Standard version,

"Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with ]wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary."

I just pulled that from my fave site for checking bible verses, Bible Gateway - this wonderful site has many different bible versions, so seekers can easily find their favorites.

In this particular verse, it might not be a stand-alone prayer from me to God, but it serves as a stand-alone promise, a conversation, from him to me through Isaiah, asking me to trust in his timing for all things that worry me.

Dearest Father, thank you for the entire collection of words as found in the Bible, from your mouth and those of your son, as well as those of the prophets and the saints. Help me to always remember exactly what I need to remember, at the precise moment it will be of most use to me.

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