The prayer-song of Miriam

Until the Exodus from Egypt, the only life Moses’ sister Miriam had known was as a slave. Once she and the Hebrew people had safely crossed the Red Sea, Miriam not only burst into a song of prayer and praise, she encouraged God’s innumerable people to do the same.

Exodus 15:21 – a prayer-song of Miriam

Sing ye to the Lord,

for he hath triumphed gloriously;

the horse and his rider

hath he thrown into the sea.

From the Book of KJV Prayers - actual prayers from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV) collected by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019 

Exodus 15:21 – a prayer of Miriam

We sing to You, Lord

for You are to be exalted!

How gloriously You

have triumphed!

From the Book of Bible Prayers – actual prayers of the Bible collected from a variety of translations and paraphrased by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019

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Moses’ prayer of praise

Crossing the Red Sea (or Sea of Reeds), Moses witnessed the power of God as the Lord rescued His people from Pharaoh’s grip and over four-hundred years of slavery in Egypt. In awe and wonder, Moses burst into this praise-filled prayer:

Exodus 15:6, 11, 13, 17-18 – a prayer of Moses

Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power:

thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.

Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods?

who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful

in praises, doing wonders?

Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people

which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them

in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.

Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them

in the mountain of thine inheritance,

in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made

for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord,

which thy hands have established.

The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.

From the Book of KJV Prayers - actual prayers from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV) collected by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019

Exodus 15:6, 11, 13, 17-18 – a prayer of Moses

How glorious and powerful is Your hand, O Lord!

Your right hand holds back the enemy.
 

No god among them is like You, Lord,

for You alone are gloriously pure, 

praise-worthy, and able to perform wonders.

You guide Your people whom You have

redeemed by Your faithful love;
With strength, You lead us to holy places.
 

You bring us to the land You possess

and settle us in the place You prepared

for us to dwell.

Lord, Your hands create a sanctuary,

and You will reign forever and ever!

From the Book of Bible Prayers – actual prayers of the Bible collected from a variety of translations and paraphrased by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019

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Magnificat: Mary’s Magnificent Prayer

Can you imagine the Virgin Mary’s puzzlement and awe when Gabriel, the Angel of God, appeared before her? Then even more puzzling and awesome, the Angel announced that God had chosen her to bear His Son!

Immediately, Mary believed him but, naturally, had questions. Gabriel answered, explaining how the Holy Spirit would come upon her or, as many translations say, “overshadow” her.

As Mary took this all in, Gabriel went on to tell her something only Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah knew: that the elderly couple would soon have their first child.

By then, Elizabeth was only three months away from the birth of a son, who would become known as John the Baptist. But, perhaps because of her age or Zechariah’s temporary muteness as a result of his unbelief or because she didn’t know how people would respond after years of taunting her for being barren – for whatever reason, Elizabeth had kept herself confined for six months. Surely she needed help! And, now with child herself, the young virgin hurried to help.

As soon as Mary arrived, Elizabeth’s unborn baby jumped for joy. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth exclaimed over Mary, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Luke 1:42.)

With unimaginable joy and awe, Mary burst into praise. And that prayer became known as the “Magnificat,” which comes from the first line of the prayer as translated from its original Aramaic language into Latin, “Magnificat anima mea Dominum.” When translated into English, the Magnificat joyously proclaims, “My soul doth magnify the Lord.”

Luke 1:46-50, from the King James Version (KJV) 

And Mary said,

My soul doth magnify the Lord,

And my spirit hath rejoiced

in God my Saviour.

For he hath regarded

the low estate of his handmaiden:

for, behold, from henceforth all

generations shall call me blessed.

For he that is mighty hath done

to me great things;

and holy is his name.

And his mercy is on them

that fear him

from generation to generation.

From the Book of KJV Prayers – actual prayers from God’s Word collected by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019, from the King James Version of the Bible

Luke 1:46-50, in contemporary English

With all my heart, I praise You, Lord!

What favor You have shown!

From now on, every generation 

will call me blessed

because of the great things

You have done for me.

Holy is Your Name!

In every generation,

You give mercy upon mercy

to all who honor You.

From the Book of Bible Prayers – actual prayers of the Bible collected from a variety of translations and paraphrased by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019

May you have a blessed Christmas and 20/20 vision in a joyous new year.

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Bible Prayers: Thanksgiving to God

Thanksgiving reminds us to count our blessings and thank God for our families, friends, church, and country. It’s also an ideal time to pray these Bible prayers, first from the King James Version of the Bible, then these contemporary, paraphrased Bible prayers:

Psalm 75:1 – a prayer of Asaph

Unto thee, O God,

do we give thanks,

unto thee

do we give thanks:

for that thy name is near

thy wondrous works declare.

from the Book of KJV Prayers

Psalm 75:1 – a prayer of Asaph

We give thanks

to You, O Lord.

We give thanks.

For Your Name

is near.

Your Name

holds wondrous

deeds.

from the Book of Bible Prayers

Psalm 100 – a prayer of God’s people

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

Serve the Lord with gladness:

come before his presence with singing.

 Know ye that the Lord he is God:

it is he that hath made us,

and not we ourselves;

we are his people,

and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,

and into his courts with praise:

be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting;

and his truth endureth to all generations.

from the Book of KJV Prayers

Psalm 100 – a prayer of God’s people

Earth, I’m calling on you to make

a joyful noise to the Lord!

We worship You, Lord, with gladness.

We sing our way into Your presence.

We know You are God, and it is You,

Who has made us – we, Your people,

the sheep of Your pastures.

With thanks, we enter Your gates

and come into Your courts with praise.

We’re so grateful to You,

we bless and hallow Your Name.

How good You are, Lord! How faithful!

Your mercy  lasts forever, and Your truth

goes on and on to all generations.

from the Book of Bible Prayers

Psalm 106:47 – a prayer of God’s people

Save us, O Lord our God,

and gather us

from among the heathen,

to give thanks

unto thy holy name,

and to triumph in thy praise.

from the Book of KJV Prayers

Psalm 106:47 – a prayer of God’s people

O Lord, our God, rescue us.

Gather us together,

so we may give thanks

to Your holy Name.

May we glory

in Your praise.

from the Book of Bible Prayers

1 Timothy 2:1-6  – a prayer of Paul

I exhort therefore, that, first of all,

supplications, prayers, intercessions,

and giving of thanks, be made for all…;

For kings, and for all that are in authority;

that we may lead a quiet and peaceable

life in all godliness and honesty.

For this is good and acceptable in the sight

of God our Saviour; Who will have

all to be saved, and to come

unto the knowledge of the truth.

For there is one God, and one mediator

between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Who gave himself a ransom for all,

to be testified in due time.

from the Book of KJV Prayers

1 Timothy 2:1-6  – a prayer of Paul

Remind us, Lord,

to make our requests –

our prayers,

intercession,

and thanksgiving –

for everyone,

including our leaders

and all those in authority,

so we may live

peaceful,

quiet,

godly,

holy lives.

Surely this pleases You,

God our Savior,

for You want everyone

to be saved

and come to know

the truth in You.

You alone are God,

and we have One

mediator between You

and other people –

the One, Christ Jesus,

Who gave Himself

as a ransom for us

and everyone.

from the Book of Bible Prayers

Have a blessed Thanksgiving to God!

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019

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Praising Our Father with The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father,
Our
Father in Heaven,
holy, holy, holy is Your Name.

Oh, how I want
Your Kingdom to come
and Your Will to be done
in my life, in my home,
in my church,
in The Church
on the earth
as it is in Heaven.

Thank You for giving us
Your Word each day –
our bread,
the Bread of Life.

And thank You
for giving us Your forgiveness
and helping us choose
to forgive others
for trespassing against us.

We thank and praise You, Lord,
that we can trust You
to never
lead us into temptation
but always
deliver us from evil
and all kinds of ills.

We praise You, praise You
for Your Kingdom life in us
and Your Holy Spirit power.

May all we are
and all we do
be for Your praise
and glory
forever and ever
in Jesus’ Name,
amen.


©2015, Mary Harwell Sayler

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Prayer of praise to God

Praise You, LORD!

Praise You in every place
Your people find You.

Praise Your infinite embrace
of the universe.

Praise You for Your magnitude,
magnificence, and mighty acts.

Praise You with every instrument
of musicality.

Praise You for creative gifts
of song and dance
and poetry.

May every living being
praise You,
Almighty God,
with singing
and every breath of life.

Praise You, LORD.
Praise You.


© 2014, Mary Harwell Sayler, a poet, writer, and lifelong lover of Christ, the Bible, and the church, researched Psalm 150 from many of the translations on Bible Gateway before prayer-a-phrasing this poem.

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The song of Mary, Mother of Jesus

Magnificat

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord!
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
God favored me, His lowly servant,
and from this day
all generations will call me
blessed.

The Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His Name.

In every generation
God has mercy on those
who awe and honor Him.

With strength of arm that can be seen,
God scatters the pride of the proud.

From high places,
He casts down the mighty
and lifts the lowly
to new heights.

God fills with good things
those who hunger for Him
but sends away those
too filled with themselves
to know they are empty.

God comes to help His people!
He remembers well
the promise of mercy made
to our forefathers and foremothers –

to Abraham and the children
of God
forever.

©2012 Mary Harwell Sayler, prayer-a-phrase of Luke 1:46-55