Praying Scripture Back to God

When you don't have words, borrow His. Praying Scripture back to God is one of the oldest and simplest devotional practices, and it's rescued more dry seasons than any technique I've tried.

Jesus prayed the Psalms

This isn't a modern trick. It is how Jesus Himself prayed at the most painful moment of His life. On the cross, He cried out the opening line of Psalm 22:

"About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?' which means, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?'" (Matthew 27:46, BSB)

And with His final breath He prayed Psalm 31:5, adding one word of His own at the front:

"Then Jesus called out in a loud voice, 'Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit.'" (Luke 23:46, BSB)

If the Son of God reached for the psalms when words were hardest, we can too. Scripture was given to shape our prayers, not just our beliefs. Paul told the early Christians to let the word of Christ dwell in them richly as they sang "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God" (Colossians 3:16, BSB).

Why it works

Most of us pray the same few sentences about the same few concerns, day after day. It isn't that we don't care. It's that our minds run in grooves. Donald S. Whitney, a professor of biblical spirituality who wrote the short book Praying the Bible, argues that the problem isn't that we pray about the same things. It's that we pray about them in the same words, until prayer feels like a script.

His answer is simple: open the Bible and pray through a passage, line by line, talking to God about whatever each line brings to mind. Because the text keeps changing, your prayers keep changing too. And because the words are God's, your prayers slowly start to sound more like His heart.

Whitney has a lovely way of putting the reason the Psalms work so well: "God gave the Psalms to us so that we would give the Psalms back to God." They are the only book of the Bible written to be prayed and sung to God, and they cover every emotion a believer will ever feel.

How to do it

Take a Psalm. Read it slowly, out loud, as if you wrote it. Where it says 'I,' mean it. Where it says 'my soul,' mean yours. You're not reciting. You're borrowing language for something true in you that you couldn't have articulated on your own.

Here is what that might sound like with the first lines of Psalm 23.

"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want." (Psalm 23:1, BSB)

Lord, thank You that You are my shepherd. Right now I feel like I want a lot: a clearer answer about work, peace in my home. Teach me that with You I have what I need.

"He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters." (Psalm 23:2, BSB)

I haven't rested in weeks. Lead me somewhere quiet. Show me where to stop.

"He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name." (Psalm 23:3, BSB)

My soul needs restoring. And I have a decision to make this week. Guide me on the right path, for Your name, not mine.

That's it. If a line doesn't prompt anything, move to the next one. If one line opens up a long conversation, stay there. You can't do it wrong.

When prayer is hard

This works especially well with the Psalms of lament, which give permission to bring frustration, confusion, and even anger to God without pretending everything is fine first.

It also helps on the days you have no words at all. Paul admits that "we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words" (Romans 8:26, BSB). Praying Scripture is one of the ways the Spirit gives us words when our own run out.

A simple daily plan

Whitney suggests what he calls the Psalms of the Day. Take today's date and add 30 four times to get five psalms. On the 1st of the month that gives Psalms 1, 31, 61, 91 and 121. On the 15th, Psalms 15, 45, 75, 105 and 135. Skim all five, choose the one that speaks to you, and pray through it. In a month you will have met all 150.

A few other passages are wonderful to pray:

• Psalm 51, when you need to confess: "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10, BSB).
• The Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), slowly, phrase by phrase.
• Ephesians 3:14-21, praying Paul's prayer over your children or friends by name.

New to lament? Read our full guide, The Psalms of Lament: How to Pray When It Hurts, for a complete list of the lament psalms and a simple way to pray them.