Bible Verses about Prayer
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Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ~ Philippians 4:6 ESV
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Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ~ Mark 11:24 ESV
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Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 ESV
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Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. ~ Romans 8:26 ESV
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And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ~ Luke 11:9 ESV
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Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. ~ James 5:16 ESV
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Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. ~ Jeremiah 33:3 ESV
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Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ~ Matthew 26:41 ESV
- First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-4 ESV
Prayers from the Bible
Matthew 6:9-15: The Lord’s Prayer
“This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from the evil one.’ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."
Jonah 2:2-9: Jonah’s Prayer for Salvation
He said: “In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry. You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’ The engulfing waters threatened me,the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, LORD my God, brought my life up from the pit. “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them. But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the LORD.”
LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the LORD, and he answers me from his holy mountain. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side. Arise, LORD! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.
2 Corinthians 5:1-5: Awaiting the New Body
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Romans 5:1-11: Peace and Hope
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Stories about Prayer in the Bible
Peter in Prison: After the Christian faith began to take root, the religious Hebrew governor, King Herod Agrippa, arrested Peter and put him in prison. “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” (Acts 12:5)
One night, an angel appeared in Peter’s jail cell and led him out of the prison, through doors and past guards. Peter arrived at Mary’s house, where the church was gathered praying; the servant girl was so surprised, she forgot to let him right in the house. Sometimes, God answers our prayers so quickly, it surprises us!
Hannah Prays for a Son: Hannah was the unfortunate barren second wife, ridiculed and humiliated by the wife who easily bore children. So Hannah pleaded with God for a son, promising to give him back to the Lord: “O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life” (1 Sam. 1:11).
Sure enough, Samuel became the greatest prophet in Israel’s history, who maintained direct communication with God throughout his life. In addition to Samuel, God gave Hannah 3 more sons and 2 daughters. When we are willing to give our best to God, He blesses us with more!
Hezekiah Prays for Jerusalem: The powerful Assyrian king Sennacharib had laid siege to Jerusalem. King Hezekiah, who told his people to keep their faith in God, prayed for delivery from their enemy: “And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: ‘Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God’” (1 Kings 19:20).
That night, the angel of the Lord killed 85,000 Assyrian soldiers, which compelled the rest of the army to return home without a fight. Whenever God’s people follow His plan, He wages war on their behalf!
This article is part of Christianity.com's prayer answers including famous, topical prayers and information about the power of prayer. Find more related articles in the collection of prayers below:
The Serenity Prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Morning Prayers
Prayers for Healing
Thanksgiving Prayers
Advent Prayers
Christmas Prayers
Prayers for Peace
Prayers for Protection
Prayers for Strength
Praying in the Spirit
