Prayers in the Bible · Part 1
Remember Me
Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!
Who Am I?
Genesis 32:9–12 Then Jacob declared, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, the Lord who told me, ‘Go back to your country and to your kindred, and I will make you prosper,’ I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant. Indeed, with only my staff I came across the Jordan, but now I have become two camps. Please deliver me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid that he may come and attack me and the mothers and children with me. But You have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, too numerous to count.’” Chapter Related 2 Samuel 7:18 Then King David went in, sat before the Lord , and said, “Who am I, O Lord God , and what is my house, that You have brought me this far?” Chapter Related 1 Kings 3:7 And now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in my father David’s place. But I am only a little child, not knowing how to go out or come in. Chapter Related Psalm 8:3–4 When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place—what is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him? Chapter Related
Remember Me
1 Samuel 1:10–11 In her bitter distress, Hannah prayed to the Lord and wept with many tears. And she made a vow, saying, “O Lord of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever touch his head.” Chapter Related Judges 16:28 Then Samson called out to the Lord : “O Lord God , please remember me. Strengthen me, O God, just once more, so that with one vengeful blow I may pay back the Philistines for my two eyes.” Chapter Related 2 Kings 20:2–3 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord , saying, “Please, O Lord , remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Chapter Related Nehemiah 13:31 Remember me, O my God, with favor. Chapter Related Psalm 25:6–7 Remember, O Lord , Your compassion and loving devotion, for they are from age to age. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my rebellious acts; remember me according to Your loving devotion, because of Your goodness, O Lord . Chapter Related Luke 23:42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” Chapter Related
Lord, Save Me!
Genesis 24:12 “O Lord , God of my master Abraham,” he prayed, “please grant me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.” Chapter Related 2 Kings 6:17 Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord , please open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the hills were full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. Chapter Related 1 Chronicles 4:10 And Jabez called out to the God of Israel, “If only You would bless me and enlarge my territory! May Your hand be with me and keep me from harm, so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted the request of Jabez. Chapter Related Matthew 8:2 Suddenly a leper came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Chapter Related Matthew 14:30 But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Chapter Related Mark 10:47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Chapter Related Luke 18:13 But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’ Chapter Related
How Long, O Lord?
Numbers 11:14–15 “I cannot carry all these people by myself; it is too burdensome for me. If this is how You are going to treat me, please kill me right now—if I have found favor in Your eyes—and let me not see my own wretchedness.” Chapter Related 1 Kings 19:4 He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord ,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” Chapter Related Job 10:1–2 “I loathe my own life; I will express my complaint and speak in the bitterness of my soul. I will say to God: Do not condemn me! Let me know why You prosecute me.” Chapter Related Jeremiah 20:7–9 You have deceived me, O Lord , and I was deceived. You have overcome me and prevailed. I am a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me. For whenever I speak, I cry out; I proclaim violence and destruction. For the word of the Lord has become to me a reproach and derision all day long. If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of holding it in, and I cannot prevail. Chapter Related Habakkuk 1:2 How long, O Lord , must I call for help but You do not hear, or cry out to You, “Violence!” but You do not save? Chapter Related Psalm 102:1–2 Hear my prayer, O Lord ; let my cry for help come before You. Do not hide Your face from me in my day of distress. Incline Your ear to me; answer me quickly when I call. Chapter Related Psalm 88:13–14 But to You, O Lord , I cry for help; in the morning my prayer comes before You. Why, O Lord , do You reject me? Why do You hide Your face from me? Chapter Related Psalm 13:5–6 But I have trusted in Your loving devotion; my heart will rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord , for He has been good to me. Chapter Related
Prayers in the Bible
Part 1: Remember Me Part 2: For the Sake of Your Name Part 3: Father, Glorify Your Name
Many of the Bible’s prayers are short, personal, and said under pressure. The boldest askers begin by saying they have no claim. Jacob, afraid of the brother he cheated, says, “I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant,” and then asks anyway, holding God to his own words: “But You have said.” David sits before the Lord and asks, “Who am I?” Solomon calls himself a little child. Again and again the request is simply to be remembered: Hannah weeping at Shiloh, Samson blind in a temple, Hezekiah with his face to the wall, Nehemiah in the last line of his book, a thief on a cross. Some prayers are one breath: “Lord, save me!” “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” A servant asks for success at a well; Elisha asks that his servant’s eyes be opened, and the hills are full of chariots of fire. And the Bible keeps the complaints. Moses tells God that if this is how He will treat him, he would rather die. Elijah says, “I have had enough.” Job will “express my complaint,” Jeremiah says God deceived him and then that the word burns like fire in his bones, and a psalmist asks why God hides His face. None of it is edited out. The same voice that asks “How long, O Lord?” can say a few lines later, “But I have trusted in Your loving devotion.”