Pray the Scripture

Some of the best advice I ever heard about prayer is to pray the Scripture.   There is something powerful in verbalizing the words God has written in His Word. His very words. His thoughts, promises, and instructions. If you don't know how to pray, and most of us don't, pray the Scripture! Find a beautiful verse or passage that means something to you and read it, think about it, and then pray it. Stand on God's Word.

Remember the song, Lean on Me? God wants us to lean on Him when we are not strong. Rely on Him. Trust Him. Lean on Him. One great way to do that is to make His verses your prayers.

Several years ago, I had to go in to the hospital and get an MRI test done. After hearing many people tell me what it was like for them to get this test, I grew afraid. What if I am claustrophobic? What if the power goes out in the hospital and I am stuck in the machine? How can I lay perfectly still for 45 minutes enclosed in this metal nightmare? What will I think about? What if I panic? These thoughts kept racing around and around in my head until I was pretty freaked out about getting this test. Oh yeah, and you can't sleep during the test, and even if you could, you wouldn't because there is a very loud clicking type noise that happens every minute or so and it would keep you awake anyway! So I was also not looking forward to hearing the loud noises.

As the test got closer, I decided I was going to have to have a plan going in that would calm me down or else I would have to cancel the test and tell the doctors to forget it.  Since that really wasn't a good option, I began thinking of ways to occupy my mind with other things and get my mind off the test. It didn't take long until I remembered what my mother always taught us.  Think of verses! When you're scared, anxious, nervous, terrified, think of Bible verses!

I chose two verses about God's peace. I was determined to recite them in my mind and to visualize the giant letters over my head. I saw them as though they were skywriting. Each letter formed slowly, then the word, then the sentence, until I saw the whole verse as if written across the sky!

"Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings as eagles; they will walk and not be weary, they will run and not faint." I said it over and over. I kept my eyes closed and I saw the words mentally as if they were being written just for me! I concentrated on that promise and I even focused on getting the words in their right order.

Then I said the next verse. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." I kept repeating "And the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." "And the peace of God...."

And before I knew it, the test was over. The 45 minutes I had dreaded was finished and I had made it through without panicking! For me, that was a miracle! Thank you mom for the good advice, and thank you Jesus for guarding my heart and mind!