The Bible contains many verses that encourage us to pray, but there’s no list of rules to follow. Prayer is a method of communicating with God available to everyone. No topic is taboo. Let me share five inspirational Bible verses that invited me to talk to God in prayer and the reasons they inspired me in a time of need.
Reason to Pray #1: The surgery didn’t go as planned.
Inspirational Bible Verse: “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” James 4:8
I sat quietly in the surgery waiting room, thumbing through magazines but not focusing on their content. I’d left my husband in the hands of the surgical staff three hours earlier, and had expected a report from the doctor sooner than this.
When the doctor arrived he pulled me to the side, away from the waiting crowd, to say words I didn’t want to hear. “Your husband’s cancer has spread to his bladder. I decided to sew him back up and recommend radiation treatment to him instead.”
I sat in shock after the doctor left, saddened by this turn of events. “God, where are you?” I prayed. I immediately felt his presence. A feeling of calmness enveloped me and my fear vanished. I didn’t know that six weeks of radiation treatment would be so successful that, sixteen years later, I am still enjoying my husband’s company. What I did know was that, when I needed to feel God’s presence, he was there.
Reason to Pray #2: I was worried.
Inspirational Bible Verse: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6
“Gordon, the car is almost out of gas. How can we fill our tank when we live in a war zone with armed men roaming the streets?”
“Let’s pray,” he said, “and then I’ll drive around to look for an open gas station.”
An hour later he returned to our apartment with Keith, our 6-year old son. “We drove around a while, but all the stations were closed. On the way home, however, we noticed a man sitting by an open garage door. Keith suggested we ask him if we could buy some gas. The man allowed us to purchase his last five gallons. That’s enough gas to get us to the Beirut airport when the time comes.”
So can we pray about anything? Yes, we can!
Reason to Pray #3: My daughter was having difficulty making friends.
Inspirational Bible Verse: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
“Mom, I’m lonely at my new school. I’m the only American in my fifth grade class, and the girls aren’t friendly at all.”
It was difficult enough for any child to change schools . But to move to Papua New Guinea and attend an International School with an Australian curriculum seemed like tough enough challenges for my 10-year old daughter. I had no magic formula for making friends to offer her.
“Let’s pray for friends,” I said. “I know God can help answer that prayer.”
Two days later she came home from school a different person. “The girls were nice to me today. I even made a friend! It’s a good school after all.”
Is it okay to pray for our children’s problems? Of course.
Reason to Pray #4: I was in trouble.
Inspirational Bible Verse: “Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray.” James 5:13
I took the elevator to the lobby then headed to the front door of the apartment building. The apartment manager stood, blocking the door. It’s the first time that ever happened.
“I’m going to the hospital to nurse my infant son,” I said. Then I noticed an ominous silence and a lack of traffic or people on the sidewalks. “Is it safe to drive there this morning?” No people around often meant snipers in the area in this Beirut war zone.
“I’m not sure,” he replied as he kept blocking the door.
I silently prayed, ‘Lord, what should I do?” I felt like a hand was on my shoulder, leading me back to the elevator and up to the seventh floor. Gordon opened the door, surprised to see me back so soon. “I’m getting a message that I shouldn’t go to the hospital this morning. That it isn’t safe.”
The headlines for the newspaper the next morning read, “Armed men stopped traffic, robbed the drivers, and stole the vehicles on Hamra Street yesterday morning.”
I’d been rescued from trouble I didn’t know existed by an answered prayer.
Reason to Pray #5: I didn’t know how to sell our station wagon.
Inspirational Bible Verse: “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” Ephesians 6:18
We’d lived in California for a year, but now it was time to return to Papua New Guinea and we owned a year-old station wagon we needed to sell. “God, we need this vehicle until the day we leave. Please help us find a buyer who can agree to that,” I prayed.
Our marketing plan only involved inserting a small “For Sale” sign in the back window. The next day as I was at filling up the gas tank, a woman stood on the other side of the drive filling her car. When she was finished, she walked up to me and said, “How much are you selling your station wagon for? I need one like this for my business.”
I told her the asking price, and then nervously added the time frame. “I can wait that long,” she said. We set up a payment time and a pick-up date. She paid us in cash, and we had wheels until the day we left for the airport.
Do we have a God who hears our prayers? Yes! Can we pray about anything, any time, any where? Yes! These five inspirational Bible verses tell the truth about prayer.