Verses about prayer

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites, for they are fond of praying standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the main streets, so that they may be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have received in full their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room and, having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. And when praying, do not babble like the Gentiles, for they think that by their many words they will be heard. So do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

So you pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be sanctified; may your kingdom come; may your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth. Give us today our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors; and do not bring us into temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.’

And it happened, while he was praying in a certain place, that when he stopped, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, may your name be sanctified; may your kingdom come; give us each day our daily bread; and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us; and do not bring us into temptation.”

And he told this parable also to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised the rest: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing, was praying these things to himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of men: robbers, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house declared righteous, rather than that one; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Again, truly I tell you that if two of you agree on earth about any matter that they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them.”

But he would withdraw to the deserted places and pray.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

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. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. And which of you fathers, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? Or if he also asks for an egg, will he give him a scorpion? So if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father who is from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Call to me, and I will answer you, and I will declare to you great things and inaccessible things that you have not known.

Near is YHWH to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold on to the confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tested in every way just as we are, yet without sin. Let us draw near, then, with boldness to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for timely help.

And this is the confidence that we have toward him: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

And if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all generously and without reproaching, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, doubting nothing, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven by the wind and tossed about.

At Gibeon YHWH appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and Elohim said, “Ask what I shall give you.” And Solomon said, “You have shown your servant David my father great loyal love, because he walked before you in truth and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great loyal love and have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, YHWH my Elohim, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, but I am a little boy; I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered or counted for multitude. So give your servant a heart that listens, to judge your people, to discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this people of yours, so great?”

For the director. A psalm of David. How long, YHWH? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long will I put counsels in my soul, sorrow in my heart by day? How long will my enemy rise up over me? Look at me, answer me, YHWH my Elohim; give light to my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him”; my adversaries will be jubilant when I am moved. But I in your loyal love have trusted; my heart will be jubilant in your salvation. I will sing to YHWH, for he has dealt well with me.

A maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer. With my voice to YHWH I cry out; with my voice to YHWH I make supplication. I pour out before him my complaint; my distress before him I declare. When my spirit grows faint within me, you know my pathway; in the path where I walk they have hidden a snare for me.

In my distress I called on YHWH, and to my Elohim I cried for help; he heard from his temple my voice, and my cry before him came into his ears.

I called on your name, YHWH, from the deepest cistern. My voice you heard; do not hide your ear to my relief, to my cry for help. You came near on the day I called on you; you said, “Do not fear.”

Then Jonah prayed to YHWH his Elohim from the inner parts of the fish, and he said, “I called out of my distress to YHWH, and he answered me; from the belly of Sheol I cried for help, and you heard my voice.

She was bitter of soul, and she prayed to YHWH and wept greatly. And she made a vow and said, “YHWH Tsevaot, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant and give your servant offspring of men, then I will give him to YHWH all the days of his life, and a razor shall not come up on his head.” And it happened, as she prayed at length before YHWH, that Eli was watching her mouth. Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips were moving, and her voice was not heard. So Eli took her to be drunk. And Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put away your wine from you.” And Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord; I am a woman troubled in spirit. Wine and intoxicating drink I have not drunk, but I have poured out my soul before YHWH. Do not regard your servant as a wicked woman, for out of the greatness of my complaint and my grief I have spoken until now.” Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace, and may the Elohim of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of him.” And she said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” So the woman went on her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of YHWH, before the new court, and said, “YHWH, Elohim of our fathers, are you not Elohim in the heavens? And you rule over all the kingdoms of the nations; in your hand are power and might, and there is no one able to stand firm against you. Did you not, our Elohim, dispossess the inhabitants of this land from before your people Israel, and give it to the offspring of Abraham, who loved you, forever? They lived in it and built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, ‘If evil comes upon us —sword, judgment, or pestilence or famine— we will stand before this house and before you, for your name is in this house, and we will cry out to you from our distress, and you will hear and save.’ And now, look, the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, among whom you did not let Israel come when they came from the land of Egypt, but they turned aside from them and did not destroy them look, they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of your possession that you gave us to possess. Our Elohim, will you not judge them? For there is no power in us before this great multitude that is coming against us, and we do not know what to do, but on you are our eyes.”

And they come to a place whose name is Gethsemane, and he says to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And he takes Peter and James and John with him, and he began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he says to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.” And going forward a little, he was falling on the ground and praying that if it is possible, the hour might pass from him. And he was saying, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you; take this cup away from me; yet not what I want, but what you want.”

Be anxious about nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

Abraham came near and said, “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Perhaps there are fifty righteous within the city; will you really sweep away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put to death the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare like the wicked! Far be it from you! Shall the Judge of all the earth not do justice?” YHWH said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

But Moses pleaded before YHWH his Elohim and said, “Why, YHWH, does your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the ground’? Turn from the heat of your anger and relent concerning the evil planned against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by yourself and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring like the stars of the heavens, and all this land that I have spoken of I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” And YHWH relented concerning the evil that he had said he would do to his people.

Simon, Simon, look, Satan has demanded to have you, to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

But I do not ask on behalf of these only, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.

So Peter was being kept in the prison; but prayer was being made earnestly by the assembly to God for him. And when Herod was about to bring him out, on that night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards before the door were keeping watch over the prison. And look, an angel of the Lord stood by, and a light shone in the cell; and striking Peter’s side he woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, “Fasten your belt and tie on your sandals.” And he did so. And he says to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.” And going out he was following, and he did not know that what was happening through the angel was real, but he thought he was seeing a vision. And passing a first guard and a second, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and going out they went along one street, and at once the angel left him. And Peter, coming to himself, said, “Now I know truly that the Lord has sent out his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.” And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was called Mark, where many were gathered together and praying.

through every prayer and petition, praying at every time in the Spirit, and to this end keeping alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and for me, that a word may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the good news,

For this reason we also, from the day we heard it, have not stopped praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to the might of his glory for all endurance and patience, with joy giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you for the share of the inheritance of the saints in the light.

I urge, then, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable before God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, it will be forgiven him. So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The supplication of a righteous person is very powerful in its working.

I will call to Elohim, and YHWH will save me. Evening and morning and noon I will complain and moan, and he will hear my voice.

And Daniel, when he knew that the writing had been signed, went into his house; and he had windows open in his upper room toward Jerusalem; and three times a day he was kneeling on his knees and praying and giving thanks before his Elah, just as he had been doing before this.

And he was telling them a parable about the need for them to pray always and not lose heart, saying, “There was a certain judge in a certain city who did not fear God and did not respect man. And there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ And for a while he was not willing; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow causes me trouble, I will grant her justice, so that she does not wear me out by coming continually.’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says. And will God not surely bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay long over them? I tell you that he will bring about justice for them quickly. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he really find faith on the earth?”

in hope, rejoicing; in affliction, enduring; in prayer, persevering;

Continue steadfastly in prayer, keeping watch in it with thanksgiving,

Rejoice always. Pray unceasingly. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in the Messiah Jesus for you.