John Piper, poet and minister, gives us valuable advice regarding prayer. If we are not consulting scripture about what God asks of us in prayer, we may be missing the boat. Please visit John and his inspirational ministry at desiringgod.com for more wonderful expressions of a powerful love of God!
The following snippet and scripture are taken from "How to Pray for the Soul," found this week at oneplace.com.
"...first to pray for the soul from the way the Bible prays for the soul. If we do that, then our prayers will probably be good prayers, and in the process we will also learn about how God acts. Here is the way I pray for my soul. I use these prayers over and over again—for myself and my children and wife and for the staff and the elders and for all the church. This is the meat and potatoes of my prayer life."
36 Incline my heart to Your testimonies And not to dishonest gain. (Psalm 119:36)
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. (Psalm 119:18)
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, (Ephesians 1:18)
11 Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. (Psalm 86:11)
14 O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness, That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. (Psalm 90:14)
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, (Ephesians 3:16)
10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; (Colossians 1:10)
32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32)
"To remember some of these prayers, I use an acronym—IOUS—almost every day in praying for those I love, asking God to give us an inclination to his Word and not to money or fame or power (Psalm 119:36), and to open our eyes to see wonderful things when we read his Word (Psalm 119:18), and to have hearts united in the fear of God rather than fragmented over a dozen concerns (Psalm 86:11), and to be satisfied in his steadfast love (Psalm 90:14)."
Thank you, John Piper, for your invaluable help to the saints who are praying for their own souls and the souls of others!
