Praying Scripture will boost your prayer life. Most people recommend praying the Psalms, and they are the best place to start. But what about other parts of the Bible? Personally, I have found praying the Proverbs to be very helpful in my walk with God.
Why Pray Proverbs?
Proverbs is often overlooked as rich source material for prayer. Quick verses for wise living? Sure. Manageable chapters for quick devos? Maybe. Fertile soil in which to deeply sink the roots of my prayer life? Not so much. So why would we want to pray over Proverbs?
Proverbs is Scripture
The book of Proverbs is unique among the books of the Bible. It contains concise sayings of wisdom, maxims that generally hold true in life. It rarely presents a sustained argument and has no plotline (though it would certainly be fun to construct one based on the characters in Proverbs). However, Proverbs is still God’s holy, inspired Word. Proverbs is just as much God’s Word as Genesis or Psalms or Romans, and as such, it is beneficial for our spiritual growth (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Thus, we need to make sure Proverbs is part of our spiritual life in some way. Why not through prayer?
Proverbs is a Guide to Wisdom
Proverbs is part of the Bible’s wisdom literature, and God graciously gave it to us in order to show us how to live wisely in his created order. The book opens by stating this purpose:
The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
For learning wisdom and discipline;
for understanding insightful sayings;
for receiving prudent instruction
in righteousness, justice, and integrity;
for teaching shrewdness to the inexperienced,
knowledge and discretion to a young man.
—Proverbs 1:1 – 4
If we want God’s wisdom for life, we need to make Proverbs a part of our spiritual life. Why not through prayer?
Praying Helps Us Meditate
Sometimes proverbs are easy to understand; the meaning sits on the surface. Other times, unlocking the meaning takes careful thought, study, and attention. We have to dig into the mine shafts to excavate these riches. At all times, we need to meditate on Proverbs so that our soul is marinated in this wisdom from above. Personally, I’ve found prayer to be one of the best aids to meditation, not just on Proverbs, but on any part of the Bible. Not only does prayer make me ponder the meaning of a passage as I talk about it with God, but prayer also engages my heart and helps me remember that this is part of my relationship with God. We need to take time to meditate on Proverbs. Why not through prayer?
How do You Pray through Proverbs?
There is no set format for praying through Proverbs. However, ACTS is a common outline for prayer that I’ve found helpful. The acronym stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. These are the four “sections” of your prayer. You begin by adoring and praising God for his character. Then you confess your sin. After that, you give thanks to God. Finally, you close with supplication, asking God for the things you need.
This method is beneficial because it helps you pray longer and stronger. Too often our prayers are simply asking God for things. While this is part of prayer, prayer needs to be more than this. If you examine the prayers of the Bible, all four elements of the ACTS method are found in them. And we must remember that prayer is part of our relationship with God. If all we ever do is ask God for things, and we never spend time praising him for who he is, thanking him for what he’s given us, and confessing the sin that gets between us and him, our “relationship” with him is self-focused.
The ACTS outline also applies well to Proverbs. Since all the treasures of wisdom are hidden in Christ (Col. 2:2-3), we can praise God as we see his wise character reflected in the proverbs. We, however, are not perfect in wisdom, and we often need to confess sin that Proverbs points out. Proverbs teaches us how to live in God’s world. We can thank God that he has created the universe this way, that he himself acts wisely, and that he has graciously revealed this wisdom to us. Lastly, we always need more wisdom, so we can ask God to help us grow in the wisdom principles on which we are meditating. Thankfully, God has promised to give wisdom generously to those who ask him in faith (James 1:5-8).
That’s why I use the ACTS method and believe it’s a good model for prayer. However, like I said, there is no set format you have to follow. Here are some other good models:
- CATS: Confession, Adoration, Thanksgiving, Supplication
- PRAY: Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield
- CPR: Confess, Praise, Request
What would This Look Like?
Let’s look at an example of what it would look like to pray through a section of Proverbs using the ACTS method. Below is one of my favorite passages from Proverbs.
All the days of the oppressed are miserable,
but a cheerful heart has a continual feast.
Better a little with the fear of the Lord
than great treasure with turmoil.
Better a meal of vegetables where there is love
than a fattened ox with hatred.
—Proverbs 15:15 – 17
Here’s what an ACTS prayer might look like from this passage, with the bracketed letter indicating the beginning of the section that starts with that letter:
“[A] Heavenly Father, I praise you that you are the all-wise God. How wonderful you are that fearing you is better than any earthly treasure, and truly you are the joy that can cheer our hearts in evil days, the continual feast that satisfies our souls in days of affliction. [C] Please forgive me for the times when I am not content, as these verses say I should be. So often I complain and seek after more than you wisely see fit to give me. Please turn my eyes away from earthly treasures toward the infinitely greater things you have given me in your Son. [T] I do thank you, though, for the good gifts you’ve given us to enjoy. Thank you that you teach us to be content in Christ, and thank you that we can be content in you no matter what our circumstances. [S] Please teach me this contentment so that even if my days are evil and all I have to eat is a handful of vegetables, I would be joyful and content in you. I pray that you would fill my family with these traits: joy, fear of you, and love. May they characterize our home. I pray these things through Jesus and for your glory. Amen.”
Pursuing Truth, Cultivating Virtue, Creating Beauty 