You
Desire to Learn How to Pray
2 Chronicles
6:13-42
13 Now he had made a
bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, and
had placed it in the center of the outer court. He stood on the platform and
then knelt down before the whole assembly of
"O LORD, God of Israel, there is no
God like you in heaven or on earth—you who keep your covenant of love with your
servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. 15 You have kept your promise to your servant
David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have
fulfilled it—as it is today.
16 "Now LORD, God of Israel,
keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you
said, 'You shall never fail to have a man to sit before me on the throne of
Israel, if only your sons are careful in all they do to walk before me
according to my law, as you have done.' 17
And now, O LORD, God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant
David come true.
18 "But will God really
dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain
you. How much less this temple I have built! 19 Yet give attention to your servant's prayer
and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your
servant is praying in your presence. 20
May your eyes be open toward this temple day and
night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear
the prayer your servant prays toward this place. 21 Hear the supplications of your servant and of
your people
22 "When a man
wrongs his neighbor and is required to take an oath and he comes and swears the
oath before your altar in this temple, 23
then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, repaying the guilty
by bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare the innocent not
guilty and so establish his innocence.
24 "When your people Israel
have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you and when
they turn back and confess your name, praying and making supplication before
you in this temple, 25 then
hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back
to the land you gave to them and their fathers.
26 "When the heavens are
shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and
when they pray toward this place and confess your name and turn from their sin
because you have afflicted them, 27
then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel.
Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your
people for an inheritance.
28 "When famine or plague
comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when
enemies besiege them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may
come, 29 and when a prayer
or plea is made by any of your people Israel—each one aware of his afflictions
and pains, and spreading out his hands toward this temple- 30 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place.
Forgive, and deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his
heart (for you alone know the hearts of men), 31 so that they will fear you and walk in your
ways all the time they live in the land you gave our fathers.
32 "As for the foreigner who
does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because
of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when he comes
and prays toward this temple, 33
then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks
of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you,
as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears
your Name.
34 "When your people go to
war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to you
toward this city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, 35 then hear from heaven their
prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.
36 "When they sin against
you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and
give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near;
37 and if they have a
change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead
with you in the land of their captivity and say, 'We have sinned, we have done
wrong and acted wickedly'; 38
and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their
captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you gave their
fathers, toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for
your Name; 39 then from
heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold
their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you.
40 "Now, my God, may your
eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
41 "Now arise, O LORD God,
and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. May your
priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, may your saints rejoice in your
goodness.
42 O LORD God, do not reject your
anointed one. Remember the great love promised to David your servant."
2 Chronicles
20:5-12
5 Then Jehoshaphat
stood up in the assembly of
"O LORD, God of our fathers, are you
not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations.
Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. 7 O our God, did you not drive
out the inhabitants of this land before your people
10 "But now here are men
from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to
invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not
destroy them. 11 See how they
are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an
inheritance. 12 O our God,
will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is
attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you."
Mathew 6:5-15
5"And when you pray, do not
be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on
the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth,
they have received their reward in full. 6But
when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who
is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in
secret, will reward you. 7And
when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be
heard because of their many words. 8Do
not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9"This, then, is how you
should pray: " 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be
your name, 10your kingdom come, your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give
us today our daily bread. 12Forgive
us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' 14For if you forgive men when they sin against
you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your
Father will not forgive your sins.
Mark 11:22-25
22"Have faith in God," Jesus
answered. 23"I tell
you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the
sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will
happen, it will be done for him. 24Therefore
I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it,
and it will be yours. 25And
when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so
that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."
Luke 18:9-14
9To some who were confident of
their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this
parable: 10"Two men
went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and
prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers,
evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I
get.'
13"But the tax collector
stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast
and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
14"I tell you that this man,
rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts
himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Philippians 4:4-7
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it
again: Rejoice! 5Let your
gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in
everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to
God. 7And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus.