Bible Prayers

In Psalm 31:5 (Psalm 31:6 in the New American Bible, Revised Edition , NABRE), we find this prophetic Bible prayer of faith: “Into Your hand I commit* My spirit, and You have redeemed Me, LORD God of truth.” In Luke 23:46 Jesus quotes that Bible prayer in Psalms but pluralizes God’s “hand.” “And with a loud voice, Jesus called out, `Father, into Your hands I commit* My Spirit,' and having said this, He breathed forth the Spirit with His very last breath.” *Commit or Commend? In KJV, NABRE, and other translations, the word “commend” is used, rather than “commit.” As Jesus Christ the Son of God hung on the cross, He surely committed Himself wholly to the Father. However, “commend” is even more awesome (in the truest sense) as the word indicates approval, praise, and applause! © 2015, Mary Harwell Sayler prayer-a-phrased today’s readings from many of the translations found on Bible Gateway. …

As Christians and Jews enter Holy Week leading to Passover and Easter, the conversations between God and Moses in Exodus give us some of our best and blessed examples of Bible prayers – especially conversational prayer. In Exodus 3, God initiates prayer-talks that continue throughout this second book of the Torah. Instead of posting those pages, I’ll summarize highlights found in chapters 3 and 4 but encourage you to read all of Exodus this week to see what you notice too: Exodus 3: • God gets Moses attention with a Burning Bush. • Moses takes the time to stop and see what's happening. • God calls Moses by name. • Moses immediately responds. • God establishes a relationship with Moses by identifying with his forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. • Moses expresses fear. • God immediately lets Moses know that the LORD is aware of the suffering of the Hebrew people and has called Moses to lead them. • Moses does not ask who God is, but asks, “Who am I to lead?” (Exodus 3