My 5-year-old loves me to pray for her every night.
“Mom, are you going to pray for me?”
I’ll be honest. Sometimes she’s gotten into so much mischief during the day that by the time bedtime rolls around I don’t always feel like praying. So one night I asked her if she would pray.
“I don’t know how.”
I’ve heard my other children say this before as well.
This year at a women’s retreat we were talking about pouring our hearts out to the Lord in prayer like David did in the Psalms. One woman in our small group expressed her uncertainty about how to pray. She felt like all she should do is thank God in prayer.
So she never told God her doubts and hurts. And so I wonder if perhaps some people don’t pray because they feel like there’s a certain formula they need to follow and they don’t know what that is.
Friends, God wants you to know him.
It’s ok to pour your heart out to him. It’s ok to not know how to pray.
Just tell him what’s on your heart. Start there.
It may feel awkward at first. And that’s ok.
How To Pray the Promises of Scripture
Sure, there are some great models of prayer in the Bible. The Lord’s prayer is one of them. There’s also the ACTS method. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication). These methods help us to grow deeper in our prayer life.
Don’t let your fear of doing it wrong keep you from prayer! Share on X
The Bible says we can approach God’s throne with confidence.
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16
Perhaps you’ve read about praying the promises of scripture and you’re not really sure what that means or how to do it. I want to give you a guide and show you how I pray the scriptures. You may find a different way to pray scriptures, and that’s ok!
How to Pray the Promises of Scripture
First, it helps to know what a promise is.
A promise is a declaration that gives someone the expectation that a certain action will take place.
What are the promises of God? How can you find them?
Some promises are meant for a specific time and person in the Bible, like when God promised Sarah she would have a baby. Other promises are met with a condition that if you take a certain action, then God will do something.
If you draw near to God, He will draw near to you. (James 4:8)
That’s a promise based on an action. Some promises are meant for all believers. He promises to give the gift of the Holy Spirit to all who believe. He promises eternal life. Peace. Comfort. Strength. There are thousands of promises in the Bible!
So where do you start?
Start by searching for some promises. Are you looking for promises that pertain to parenting, marriage, trials, health? Then look up topic words in the concordance of your Bible. Do a google search (Bible promises for children, marriage). Use biblegateway.com and type the topic you want to find a promise for. Study the promise. It’s important to read the entire passage surrounding the verse in order to understand the context and meaning of the verse. Who is the promise meant for? Is there an action that needs to be taken in order to receive the promise?
Write the Scripture down
After you write out the scripture then read it a few times. Pray the scripture back to God. I like writing the prayer down so I can use it later.
Use the ACTS method and write a prayer
Adoration-Thank God for who He is (His attributes) and for the specific promise given in the verse.
Confession- Is there a condition to the promise that you need to work on? Confess how you fall short and your desire to grow in that area.
Thanksgiving-Thank God for already meeting that promise in your life. This shows faith that you believe God will keep the promise He made.
Supplication-Ask God to help you grow in your faith and give you a deeper understanding of how His promise impacts your life.
Go back and insert your name or the name of the loved one you’re praying for.
I did this in the freebie I offer below as a way to pray deeply for others. This is a great way to claim that specific promise for you or your loved one!
Have you ever felt like you didn’t know how to pray? How have you grown in your prayer life? I would love for you to leave a comment below.
You may also like:
How Praying the Promises of God will Strengthen Your Faith
8 Life Changing Prayers to Deepen Your Faith
5 Ways to Remember to Pray for Someone
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Hello there! I'm Valerie, a mom of four and wife of 27 years. My writing inspires others to cultivate courageous faith and find solace in trusting God, especially in moments of fear and uncertainty. Join me on this adventure as we explore the beauty of trusting God when we are afraid. 
I talk to the Lord throughout the day,like I would my best friend. Because that’s what he is to me. I even complain to him. lol! I just go to him as I am. I’m not perfect and I don’t have the perfect prayers. The Holy Spirit is there that understands what I’m trying to say, he goes to the father with groaning on my behalf. The Bible states come as you are, so that’s what I do. This imperfect person going before a perfect loving, merciful,forgiving Lord.
Yes! It doesn’t matter where we are or what time of day it is, we can pour out our hearts to our Savior. He always hears us. Always loves us. Always cares. Our prayers don’t have to have to be perfect. I’m so glad the Holy Spirit intercedes for us when we have no words. Thank you for commenting. Have a blessed day!
Ahh, I am so bad about praying consistently! I used to journal my prayers off and on, though I haven’t done it in while. But your post inspired me to fit some prayer journaling in again! 🙂 I’ve heard of ACTS before, and of praying the promises of Scripture, but I’ve never thought to put them together. I’ll have to try that. Thanks! 🙂
Hi Sarah, I’m glad you enjoy journaling your prayers and that this inspired you to start up again! Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Great post, Valerie. I have been praying scripture for a while now, but I really liked your idea to apply the ACTS method to each promise. I am going to try that out. I am in the midst of reading a very powerful book about prayer called With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray. It was written in the 1800’s and is available on archive.org for free. It has radically changed my perspective on prayer – I highly recommend it. Have a blessed day!
Thank you Margaret. That book sounds great! Thank you for sending the link to it. I can’t wait to check it out!
There is nothing more powerful than praying scripture! I am so excited you are a part of this, Val! Great post! Thank you for hanging out with me at #MomentsofHope and sharing this life-giving hope!
Hugs,
Lori
Thank you for your encouraging words, Lori!
I love inserting my own name into the verses of beautiful promise. When my children were small they each made their own “Promise Book.” What a treasure those are to me today. Thanks for this post! (Nice to “run into you” on the Wholehearted Wednesday link up.)
Awe, that is so sweet Michelle. I love the idea of making a Promise Book. Thank you for visiting.
I love this post, Valerie! Praying scripture is soooooo good for the soul. I’ve been trying to do it more and more and it’s amazing how God speaks to me in those moments.
Thank you, Lauren! Yep, God’s word is good for the soul.
I love this, Valerie. I started praying scripture a few years ago and it is so powerful. I had no idea the peace and power within my spirit that could come by simply repeating the words of the Lord back to Him. Thank you for sharing this! Great tips to get started.
God’s word is powerful! Thank you so much for sharing, Abby!
I liked this “It’s ok to pour your heart out to him. It’s ok to not know how to pray.” If you’re really close to someone, you’re able to do this without worrying.
Thank you!
I think is going to be a fun series, Valerie!
Glad to be partnering in ministry with you and Arabah Joy!
Hope your Monday is sweet~
Happy birthday!
You, too Melanie!
Great post, Valerie! I’m going to get both Prayet Challenges. Praying the promises is so important. By the way, Happy Birthday! God’s richest blessings to you!
Yay! I’m so glad you’re joining!