Prayers of the Bible at a Glance

People in the Bible prayed in all kinds of ways. They ask why, plead for mercy, confess appalling failures, pray through grief, sit in silence, praise God when they understand very little and sometimes have no idea what to say next.

Prayers of the Bible at a Glance gathers those moments into one accessible guide. Moving from Genesis to Revelation, it introduces prayers from figures including Abraham, Moses, Hannah, David, Elijah, Job, Daniel, Mary, Jesus, Paul and the early church. Each entry gives the biblical passage, enough context to understand what is happening and a short reflection on what that prayer can teach us about speaking with God.

There is Hannah pouring out anguish, Hezekiah laying a threat before God, Jehoshaphat admitting that he has no idea what to do, David praying through betrayal and guilt, Jesus submitting to the Father in Gethsemane, and the early church asking for courage. Together they show that biblical prayer is for all emotions - for praise, bewilderment, confession, dependence, longing and protest.

This resource includes:

• prayers from across the Old and New Testaments
• concise background to each biblical situation
• references showing where to read the prayer in full
• examples of answered, unanswered and unresolved prayer
• a prayer list at the back for your own requests

Use it as a reference when you do not know how to pray, or work through it gradually and allow the prayers of Scripture to broaden the vocabulary of your own.

A shared invitation 

Our Daily Bread Ministries wants to help you pray with an open Bible in front of you, learning from the people whose prayers Scripture has preserved for us. We provide resources like this freely so that anyone can deepen their life with God. If you choose to donate, your support helps us continue creating and sharing Bible teaching without putting cost in the way.