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How Scripture Memorization Fuels Our Prayer Life
By Andy Davis
Scripture memorization feeds every area of my Christian life, and that includes my prayer life. Romans 8 tells us that we do not always know what to pray for. We want to pray, but what should we pray for? Scripture teaches that the Holy Spirit has been given to help us in our prayer life.
In that passage, Paul says that the Spirit Himself intercedes for us. He prays on our behalf. Most Christians do not think about that very often. They may think about Jesus praying for them, but the Holy Spirit also intercedes for us. He is also our teacher. He instructs us in how to pray, and Scripture becomes the feeding system for our prayer life.
We see this throughout the book of Psalms and in the epistles. The Apostle Paul explains how he prays for the Ephesians, the Philippians, and the Colossians, and we can pattern our prayers after his. Whatever verses or chapters you are currently memorizing will fill your mind with the beauty and truth of God, causing you to want to speak those truths back to Him.
A good quiet time, then, is one in which the Lord speaks to us through His Word by His Spirit, and we speak back to Him what we are hearing in His Word through the Spirit. Scripture memorization definitely feeds our prayer lives.
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Prayer is one of God’s gracious means for strengthening His people, deepening their fellowship with Him, and conforming them to the image of Christ. Explore more articles devoted to developing a biblical, Christ-centered, and Scripture-shaped prayer life.
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This is a guest article by Andy Davis, adapted from his book How to Memorize Scripture for Life: From One Verse to Entire Books. This article originally appeared on Crossway.org and is used with permission.
Andrew M. Davis (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Durham, North Carolina, and the founder of Two Journeys Ministry. He is also a visiting professor of church history at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, a council member of the Gospel Coalition, and a former trustee of the International Mission Board. He is the author of several books, including The Power of Christian Contentment. He and his wife, Christi, reside in Bahama, North Carolina, and have five children and three grandchildren. For more resources from Andy, visit twojourneys.org.
