Prayer and intercession a bible study

 

            Many times in the bible, in both the Old and New testaments, people do intercede one for one another, as well as for their own personal situations. I am going to highlight some of these prayers in this study. These prayers is done for varying reasons, often depending on what situation people find themselves in, and also the prayers have varying results too. This is a sampling of the prayers, I am aware of there being others around, but I have felt led to include these. The first prayer covered is a face to face intercession by Abraham, for the Lord and His angels visited Abraham, for the inhabitants of Sodom.

(Genesis 18:17)  The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,

 

(Genesis 18:18)  seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

 

(Genesis 18:19)  For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him."

 

(Genesis 18:20)  Then the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,

 

(Genesis 18:21)  I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know."

 

(Genesis 18:22)  So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD.

 

(Genesis 18:23)  Then Abraham drew near and said, "Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

 

(Genesis 18:24)  Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?

 

(Genesis 18:25)  Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?"

 

(Genesis 18:26)  And the LORD said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

 

(Genesis 18:27)  Abraham answered and said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.

 

(Genesis 18:28)  Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?" And he said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there."

 

(Genesis 18:29)  Again he spoke to him and said, "Suppose forty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of forty I will not do it."

 

(Genesis 18:30)  Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there." He answered, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there."

 

(Genesis 18:31)  He said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it."

 

(Genesis 18:32)  Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there." He answered, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it."

 

(Genesis 18:33)  And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

 

Tragically, as Genesis chapter 19 indicates, there were NO righteous people outside of Lot and his family, so then the angels with Lot and his family then removed them out of the way and destroyed Sodom with a rain of fire and brimstone from heaven.

Jacob makes a prayer for deliverance from his brother Esau, just before their meeting, and though he wasn’t delivered from the meeting God ensured it went well for Jacob

(Genesis 32:9)  And Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,'

 

(Genesis 32:10)  I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.

 

(Genesis 32:11)  Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children.

 

(Gen 32:12)  But you said, 'I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.'"

 

Moses on several occasions interceded for the children of Israel, especially after they had gotten across the Red Sea, and was able to stay judgment which could have wiped them out more than once for they continued provoking God by complaining plus also idolatry. The first example is where Moses interceded for his people and God did relent and didn’t destroy them. It was just after they build their golden calf idol, after Moses had been away so long:

(Exodus 32:7)  And the LORD said to Moses, "Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.

 

(Exodus 32:8)  They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'"

 

(Exodus 32:9)  And the LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.

 

(Exodus 32:10)  Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you."

 

(Exodus 32:11)  But Moses implored the LORD his God and said, "O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?

 

(Exodus 32:12)  Why should the Egyptians say, 'With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people.

 

(Exodus 32:13)  Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, 'I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.'"

 

(Exodus 32:14)  And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

 

Moses then saw for himself what had happened and the golden calf and was so angry he broke the tablets of the commandments, as well as destroying the golden calf idol, putting it in the water, and making the offenders drink it. He then tried to intercede for the people to forgive them of this idol making but the Lord still punished the guilty with a plague.

(Exodus 32:31)  So Moses returned to the LORD and said, "Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold.

 

(Exodus 32:32)  But now, if you will forgive their sin--but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written."

 

(Exodus 32:33)  But the LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.

 

(Exodus 32:34)  But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them."

 

(Exodus 32:35)  Then the LORD sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.

 

Here is an instance where Moses intervened to slow and stop God’s judgment on complainers:

(Numbers 11:1)  And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp.

 

(Numbers 11:2)  Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down.

 

(Numbers 11:3)  So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the LORD burned among them.

 

The third and last example to be used is after Korah and his rebellious company were swallowed by the earth, Moses and Aaron would then intervene and stop a plague on Israel who had accused Moses and Aaron themselves of causing the doom that befell Korah when it was God’s judgment:

(Numbers 16:41)  But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, "You have killed the people of the LORD."

 

(Numbers 16:42)  And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.

 

(Numbers 16:43)  And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting,

 

(Numbers 16:44)  and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

 

(Numbers 16:45)  "Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment." And they fell on their faces.

 

(Numbers 16:46)  And Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the LORD; the plague has begun."

 

(Numbers 16:47)  So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people.

 

(Numbers 16:48)  And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped.

 

Moses had to intervene on other occasions too to save them which he did. Moses could very well have let God make him a new nation but he kept with the original group despite their stiff necked nature, showing mercy to people who often did not deserve it, a really God like trait. Here is a prayer of blessing the Lord asked them to put on Israel as a Nation, which comes down to us:

(Numbers 6:22)  The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

 

(Numbers 6:23)  "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

 

(Numbers 6:24)  The LORD bless you and keep you;

 

(Numbers 6:25)  the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

 

(Numbers 6:26)  the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

 

(Numbers 6:27)  "So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them."

 

Hannah had a two verse prayer here, she was barren and sought a son.:

(1 Samuel 1:11)  And she vowed a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head."

 

(1 Samuel 1:12)  As she continued praying before the LORD, Eli observed her mouth.

 

The Lord heard her prayer and Samuel was the result of her intercession, Samuel becoming the last judge of Israel before the kings, also he was a prophet during Saul’s reighn

Jabez made a short and simple prayer too:

(1 Chronicles 4:10)  Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!" And God granted what he asked.

 

Later on, David would pray for Solomon here in 1 Chronicles 29

(1 Chronicles 29:10)  Therefore David blessed the LORD in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: "Blessed are you, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever.

 

(1Chronicles 29:11)  Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.

 

(1 Chronicles 29:12)  Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.

 

(1 Chronicles 29:13)  And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

 

(1 Chronicles 29:14)  "But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.

 

(1 Chronicles 29:15)  For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding.

 

(1 Chronicles 29:16)  O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own.

 

(1 Chronicles 29:17)  I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you.

 

(1 Chronicles 29:18)  O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you.

 

(1 Chronicles 29:19)  Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may build the palace for which I have made provision."

 

Here is the section where Solomon prayed for wisdom, interacting with the Lord via a dream:

(1 Ki 3:5)  At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, "Ask what I shall give you."

 

(1Ki 3:6)  And Solomon said, "You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day.

 

(1Ki 3:7)  And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in.

 

(1Ki 3:8)  And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude.

 

(1Ki 3:9)  Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?"

 

(1Ki 3:10)  It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.

 

(1Ki 3:11)  And God said to him, "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right,

 

(1Ki 3:12)  behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.

 

(1Ki 3:13)  I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days.

 

(1Ki 3:14)  And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days."

 

(1Ki 3:15)  And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.

 

Here Solomon made a beautiful and long prayer when the temple was opened and consecrated:

(1 Kings 8:22)  Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven,

 

(1 Kings 8:23)  and said, "O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart,

 

(1 Kings 8:24)  who have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day.

 

(1 Kings 8:25)  Now therefore, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, 'You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.'

 

(1 Kings 8:26)  Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

 

(1 Kings 8:27)  "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!

 

(1 Kings 8:28)  Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O LORD my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day,

 

(1 Kings 8:29)  that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, 'My name shall be there,' that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place.

 

(1 Kings 8:30)  And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

 

(1 Kings 8:31)  "If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house,

 

(1 Kings 8:32)  then hear in heaven and act and judge your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.

 

(1 Kings 8:33)  "When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house,

 

(1 Kings 8:34)  then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers.

 

(1 Kings 8:35)  "When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them,

 

(1 Kings 8:36)  then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

 

(1 Kings 8:37)  "If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is,

 

(1 Kings 8:38)  whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house,

 

(1 Kings 8:39)  then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind),

 

(1 Kings 8:40)  that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers.

 

(1 Kings 8:41)  "Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name's sake

 

(1 Kings 8:42)  (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house,

 

(1 Kings 8:43)  hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.

 

(1 Kings 8:44)  "If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to the LORD toward the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name,

 

(1 Kings 8:45)  then hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.

 

(1 Kings 8:46)  "If they sin against you--for there is no one who does not sin--and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near,

 

(1 Kings 8:47)  yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, 'We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,'

 

(1 Kings 8:48)  if they repent with all their mind and with all their heart in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name,

 

(1 Kings 8:49)  then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause

 

(1 Kings 8:50)  and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them

 

(1 Kings 8:51)  (for they are your people, and your heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace).

 

(1 Kings 8:52)  Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you.

 

(1 Kings 8:53)  For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD."

 

In 2 Chronicles 20 is a story of how prayer and intercession set they way for God to intervene and a huge invasion force was destroyed.

(2 Chronicles 20:1)  After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle.

 

(2 Chronicles 20:2)  Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, "A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar" (that is, Engedi).

 

(2 Chronicles 20:3)  Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

 

(2 Chronicles 20:4)  And Judah assembled to seek help from the LORD; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.

 

(2 Chronicles 20:5)  And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,

 

(2 Chronicles 20:6)  and said, "O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.

 

(2 Chronicles 20:7)  Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?

 

(2 Chronicles 20:8)  And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying,

 

(2 Chronicles 20:9)  'If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you--for your name is in this house--and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.'

 

(2 Chronicles 20:10)  And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy--

 

(2 Chronicles 20:11)  behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit.

 

(2 Chronicles 20:12)  O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you."

 

(2 Chronicles 20:13)  Meanwhile all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

 

(2 Chronicles 20:14)  And the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly.

 

(2 Chronicles 20:15)  And he said, "Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you, 'Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's.

 

(2 Chronicles 20:16)  Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel.

 

(2 Chronicles 20:17)  You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you."

 

(2 Chronicles 20:18)  Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD.

 

(2 Chronicles 20:19)  And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

 

(2 Chronicles 20:20)  And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed."

 

(2 Chronicles 20:21)  And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, "Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever."

 

(2 Chronicles 20:22)  And when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.

 

(2 Chronicles 20:23)  For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.

 

(2 Chronicles 20:24)  When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the horde, and behold, there were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped.

 

In the book of Nehemiah there is this repentant prayer, confessing the sins of Israel which had put them in exile:

(Nehemiah 1:5)  And I said, "O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,

 

(Nehemiah 1:6)  let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned.

 

(Nehemiah 1:7)  We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.

 

(Nehemiah 1:8)  Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples,

 

(Nehemiah 1:9)  but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.'

 

(Nehemiah 1:10)  They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.

 

(Nehemiah 1:11)  O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man." Now I was cupbearer to the king.

 

Daniel, sensing the time was near for Jerusalem’s exile to end, made prayer and confession with fasting as follows and also received answer:

(Daniel 9:3)  Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

 

(Daniel 9:4)  I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, "O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,

 

(Daniel 9:5)  we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules.

 

(Daniel 9:6)  We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

 

(Daniel 9:7)  To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you.

 

(Daniel 9:8)  To us, O LORD, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you.

 

(Daniel 9:9)  To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him

 

(Daniel 9:10)  and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

 

(Daniel 9:11)  All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him.

 

(Daniel 9:12)  He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem.

 

(Daniel 9:13)  As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the LORD our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth.

 

(Daniel 9:14)  Therefore the LORD has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice.

 

(Daniel 9:15)  And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

 

(Daniel 9:16)  "O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us.

 

(Daniel 9:17)  Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate.

 

(Daniel 9:18)  O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.

 

(Daniel 9:19)  O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name."

 

(Daniel 9:20)  While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the LORD my God for the holy hill of my God,

 

(Daniel 9:21)  while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice.

 

(Daniel 9:22)  He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, "O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding.

 

(Daniel 9:23)  At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision.

 

(Daniel 9:24)  "Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.

 

(Daniel 9:25)  Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time.

 

(Daniel 9:26)  And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.

 

(Daniel 9:27)  And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator."

 

Habakkuk chapter 3 has a good prayer that also contains praise and worship:

(Habakkuk 3:1)  A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.

 

(Habakkuk 3:2)  O LORD, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O LORD, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.

 

(Habakkuk 3:3)  God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. His splendor covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. Selah

 

(Habakkuk 3:4)  His brightness was like the light; rays flashed from his hand; and there he veiled his power.

 

(Habakkuk 3:5)  Before him went pestilence, and plague followed at his heels.

 

(Habakkuk 3:6)  He stood and measured the earth; he looked and shook the nations; then the eternal mountains were scattered; the everlasting hills sank low. His were the everlasting ways.

 

(Habakkuk 3:7)  I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.

 

(Habakkuk 3:8)  Was your wrath against the rivers, O LORD? Was your anger against the rivers, or your indignation against the sea, when you rode on your horses, on your chariot of salvation?

 

(Habakkuk 3:9)  You stripped the sheath from your bow, calling for many arrows. Selah You split the earth with rivers.

 

(Habakkuk 3:10)  The mountains saw you and writhed; the raging waters swept on; the deep gave forth its voice; it lifted its hands on high.

 

(Habakkuk 3:11)  The sun and moon stood still in their place at the light of your arrows as they sped, at the flash of your glittering spear.

 

(Habakkuk 3:12)  You marched through the earth in fury; you threshed the nations in anger.

 

(Habakkuk 3:13)  You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked, laying him bare from thigh to neck. Selah

 

(Habakkuk 3:14)  You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors, who came like a whirlwind to scatter me, rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.

 

(Habakkuk 3:15)  You trampled the sea with your horses, the surging of mighty waters.

 

(Habakkuk 3:16)  I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us.

 

(Habakkuk 3:17)  Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,

 

(Habakkuk 3:18)  yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

 

(Habakkuk 3:19)  GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.

 

Here are three prayer Psalms first is 40 a combination of worship and a plea for deliverance from enemies:

(Psalm 40:1)  To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.

 

(Psalm 40:2)  He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.

 

(Psalm 40:3)  He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.

 

(Psalm 40:4)  Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!

 

(Psalm 40:5)  You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.

 

(Psalm 40:6)  In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.

 

(Psalm 40:7)  Then I said, "Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me:

 

(Psalm 40:8)  I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."

 

(Psalm 40:9)  I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD.

 

(Psalm 40:10)  I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.

 

(Psalm 40:11)  As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!

 

(Psalm 40:12)  For evils have encompassed me beyond number; my iniquities have overtaken me, and I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head; my heart fails me.

 

(Psalm 40:13)  Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me!

 

(Psalm 40:14)  Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether who seek to snatch away my life; let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt!

 

(Psalm 40:15)  Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, "Aha, Aha!"

 

(Psalm 40:16)  But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, "Great is the LORD!"

 

(Psalm 40:17)  As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!

 

Here is Psalm 86 a prayer Psalm:

(Psalm 86:1)  A Prayer of David. Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.

 

(Psalm 86:2)  Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you--you are my God.

 

(Psalm 86:3)  Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day.

 

(Psalm 86:4)  Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

 

(Psalm 86:5)  For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

 

(Psalm 86:6)  Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace.

 

(Psalm 86:7)  In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.

 

(Psalm 86:8)  There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours.

 

(Psalm 86:9)  All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.

 

(Psalm 86:10)  For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.

 

(Psalm 86:11)  Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.

 

(Psalm 86:12)  I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.

 

(Psalm 86:13)  For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

 

(Psalm 86:14)  O God, insolent men have risen up against me; a band of ruthless men seeks my life, and they do not set you before them.

 

(Psalm 86:15)  But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

 

(Psalm 86:16)  Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant, and save the son of your maidservant.

 

(Psalm 86:17)  Show me a sign of your favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

 

Psalm 90, a prayer by Moses:

(Psalm 90:1)  A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

 

(Psalm 90:2)  Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

 

(Psalm 90:3)  You return man to dust and say, "Return, O children of man!"

 

(Psalm 90:4)  For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.

 

(Psalm 90:5)  You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning:

 

(Psalm 90:6)  in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.

 

(Psalm 90:7)  For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed.

 

(Psalm 90:8)  You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

 

(Psalm 90:9)  For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh.

 

(Psalm 90:10)  The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.

 

(Psalm 90:11)  Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?

 

(Psalm 90:12)  So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

 

(Psalm 90:13)  Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants!

 

(Psalm 90:14)  Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

 

(Psalm 90:15)  Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil.

 

(Psalm 90:16)  Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.

 

(Psalm 90:17)  Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!

 

In Matthew 6, the Lord teaches people to pray and reminds them to forgive any offenses as they pray too:

(Matthew 6:5)  "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

 

(Matthew 6:6)  But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

 

(Matthew 6:7)  "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.

 

(Matthew 6:8)  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

 

(Matthew 6:9)  Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

 

(Matthew 6:10)  Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

 

(Matthew 6:11)  Give us this day our daily bread,

 

(Matthew 6:12)  and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

 

(Matthew 6:13)  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

 

(Matthew 6:14)  For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,

 

(Matthew 6:15)  but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

 

And also the Lord’s prayer is in Luke 11:

(Luke 11:1)  Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."

 

(Luke 11:2)  And he said to them, "When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.

 

(Luke 11:3)  Give us each day our daily bread,

 

(Luke 11:4)  and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation."

 

Here in John 17 is Jesus’ powerful prayer for His disciples to His Father in Heaven:

(John 17:1)  When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,

 

(John 17:2)  since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.

 

(John 17:3)  And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

 

(John 17:4)  I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.

 

(John 17:5)  And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

 

(John 17:6)  "I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.

 

(John 17:7)  Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.

 

(John 17:8)  For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.

 

(John 17:9)  I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.

 

(John 17:10)  All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.

 

(John 17:11)  And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.

 

(John 17:12)  While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

 

(John 17:13)  But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

 

(John 17:14)  I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

 

(John 17:15)  I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.

 

(John 17:16)  They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

 

(John 17:17)  Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

 

(John 17:18)  As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.

 

(John 17:19)  And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

 

(John 17:20)  "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,

 

(John 17:21)  that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

 

(John 17:22)  The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,

 

(John 17:23)  I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

 

(John 17:24)  Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

 

(John 17:25)  O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.

 

(John 17:26)  I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."

 

In Acts, there is the Apostles’ prayer after they were told by the Pharisees in the temple in Jerusalem to stop preaching in the Name of Jesus:

(Acts 4:24)  And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, "Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,

 

(Acts 4:25)  who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, "'Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?

 

(Acts 4:26)  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed'--

 

(Acts 4:27)  for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

 

(Acts 4:28)  to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

 

(Acts 4:29)  And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,

 

(Acts 4:30)  while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus."

 

(Acts 4:31)  And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

 

The Apostle Paul had three prayers – two for the Ephesians one in chapter 1 of Colossians, all for some form of wisdom or knowledge, enlightenment  and favor in the sight of God.

(Ephesians 1:15)  For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints,

 

(Ephesians 1:16)  I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,

 

(Ephesians 1:17)  that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,

 

(Ephesians 1:18)  having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

 

(Ephesians 1:19)  and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might

 

(Ephesians 1:20)  that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,

 

(Ephesians 1:21)  far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

 

(Ephesians 1:22)  And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,

 

(Ephesians 1:23)  which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

 

The next is in Ephesians 3

(Ephesians 3:11)  This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,

 

(Ephesians 3:12)  in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

 

(Ephesians 3:13)  So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

 

(Ephesians 3:14)  For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,

 

(Ephesians 3:15)  from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,

 

(Ephesians 3:16)  that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

 

(Ephesians 3:17)  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

 

(Ephesians 3:18)  may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

 

(Ephesians 3:19)  and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

 

And in Colossians 1

(Colossians1:3)  We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

 

(Colossians 1:4)  since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,

 

(Colossians 1:5)  because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,

 

(Colossians 1:6)  which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing--as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth,

 

(Colossians 1:7)  just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf

 

(Colossians 1:8)  and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

 

(Colossians 1:9)  And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

 

(Colossians 1:10)  so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

 

(Colossians 1:11)  May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy,

 

(Colossians 1:12)  giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

 

It is a powerful thing to do is to pray to God, with thanks. God loves us and has the mercy to answer all our prayers, and patience to deal with us. He also loves us so, and wants that special relationship with each and every one of us. I am concluding this study with a prayer for people’s salvation, which you can pray with me to start a relationship with Jesus or even to come back to Him, if you have drifted away. Please pray this with me:

Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness. I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin. You said in Your Holy Word, Romans 10:9 that if we confess the Lord our God and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we shall be saved. Right now I confess Jesus as the Lord of my soul. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved. Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace which has saved me from my sins. I thank you Jesus that your grace never leads to license, but rather it always leads to repentance. Therefore Lord Jesus transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you alone and not to myself. Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me eternal life.

Amen.

God bless you and yours