Make the Bible come Alive in Prayer

by Brenda Johnson
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Making the Bible “come alive in prayer” means praying God’s Word back to Him. It means to speak prophetically over your desires, concerns, needs, issues, and problems. 
It seems easy enough when we simply repeat or quote a scripture, ex., Is 53:5, “…by His stripes I am healed…”  
Often our prayers are for selfish reasons rather than the desires of God.  Yes, He wants us healed, but our innermost motive to quote this verse may be just to get out of an affliction or discomfort. Not realizing that God is using it for greater purposes. His purpose is for the life of your soul.
Going a little deeper into our prayer using this scripture means peeling away what God may be showing us in the way He wants us to be healed. 

• Are you afflicted with and seeking relief from an illness? 
• Tired of the pain of an injury or disease? 
• The burden of sickness seems to be wearing you down? 

Is. 53:5 (NKJV) “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”                      
Redirect your prayer focus differently. 
Start by reflecting upon “the woundedness He suffered for your transgressions.” Think about it!
The center of our affliction might be our transgressions.  Our healing just may come from our sorrowful confessions rather than simply quoting scripture. 
What do I mean? 
For example; to get healing from hypertension headaches, perhaps we may need to pray for forgiveness for dishonoring the temple, our body, by poor eating habits, alcoholism, or something else. Or perhaps  offering in a prayer of confession unforgiveness held toward someone for a hurt, word, or injustice against us.   
His stripes become our stripes (headaches), rather than the enjoyment of peace for unconfessed sin. 
Prayer should be directed to Him not in vain repetition or following traditions, but it should be from the heart.  Contemplate His Word and be reflective of our own words and thoughts.  
By habitual repetition we will quote Matt. 5:9-13, the Lord's Prayer,  Psalm 23, and say “grace” at mealtime.  
We do not wish to negate repeating these scriptures or a heartfelt prayer you have learned. What we want to do here is emphasize making the Bible come alive in our prayers by going deeper in understanding scripture and what we can do and say to bring it to life for our needs. 
Whether recitation, speaking the Word, or delving deeper into your heart during prayer, remember to speak life and enjoy the Word coming alive in you.