Something bothered me as I drove home after a prayer time with the young Christian pastor. "His prayers," I wondered. "What is it about his prayers? They're unusually powerful. But I can't put my finger on it. What is it that makes his prayers so strong?"

As I turned into my driveway, it hit me. "It's the Bible!" I exclaimed out loud. "He puts the whole Bible into his prayers!" With this pastor it was just as the writer E. M. Bounds described it—"The Word of God is the basis and the inspiration and the heart of prayer."

A few weeks later, when we got together again, I listened carefully as the pastor prayed. Here's an example of what I heard. . . .

"Father, we're not preaching ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. Thank you for making your light shine in our hearts, and for giving us this treasure in earthen vessels to show that the power is from God, and not from us. We do have some troubles, but we are not crushed, because we are fix our eyes this morning on what is unseen—on you, dear Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. We see you crucified and risen for us, and in you we accept our peace."

Of course I recognised Paul's testimony in 2 Corinthians 4. The pastor's prayer continued with a marvellous interspersion between his own needs and praises, and the words of scripture. It was his own prayer—but at every turn he took the teachings and promises of God's Word, and returned them to God as a gift from the heart.

This is a pattern given in the scripture. When the saved gather around God's throne and express their praise, it is with the words of the psalms and prophets—"Great and marvellous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. . . ." Examine Revelation 15:3, 4 and similar praise prayers in Revelation, and note how much of the scripture—especially the psalms—is in them. At the end, we will praise God joyfully with his own Word. So let's get some practice now!

The pastor's example inspired me. These days I'm attempting to integrate much more of God's Word into my own praying, and I have felt the power of prayer increase.

This is one dynamic of what can be called "scripture praying"—taking the promises and teachings of the Word and reflecting them directly in the language of our prayers.

There is a second, closely related dynamic of scripture praying—and that is taking the privilege of prayer and embedding it in our Bible study. The power of Bible study multiplies when prayer inhabits and drives that study.

Let's take an example. Suppose you are studying Matthew 6:19–24, where Christ taught about money and possessions. Instead of studying the passage academically, then going quickly to another task, take time to pray over every phrase for understanding and personal application. At each step of your study, pray the teaching into your life.

Here's an illustration of how you might pray. . . . "Lord, thanks for the reminder that I have been too busy storing up treasures on earth. My heart has been fixed on those treasures. Now I give my possessions back to you. They are yours, not mine. I want more heavenly treasure, treasure that lasts. Teach me how to make you my greatest desire, with everything else in second place."

It's important to take time over this kind of scripture praying, and not to rush it.

When we practice scripture praying, we find that the distinction between Bible study and prayer diminishes. Our study becomes our praying; our praying becomes our study. The Word comes to life, and so do our prayers—along with our Christian experience and our testimony to Jesus.