1281 verses about Prayer

But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; but, behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me because I remained there with the kings of Persia.

I will go and return to my place, until they acknowledge their offense, and seek my face. In their affliction they will seek me earnestly.”

Indeed, he struggled with the angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication to him. He found him at Bethel, and there he spoke with us,

Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders, and all the inhabitants of the land, to the house of Yahweh, your God, and cry to Yahweh.

Yahweh, I cry to you, For the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame has burned all the trees of the field.

Let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, “Spare your people, Yahweh, and don’t give your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”

When they finished eating the grass of the land, then I said, “Lord Yahweh, forgive, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small.”

Then I said, “Lord Yahweh, stop, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small.”

Then the mariners were afraid, and every man cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone down into the innermost parts of the ship, and he was laying down, and was fast asleep.

So the ship master came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God! Maybe your God will notice us, so that we won’t perish.”

Therefore they cried to Yahweh, and said, “We beg you, Yahweh, we beg you, don’t let us die for this man’s life, and don’t lay on us innocent blood; for you, Yahweh, have done as it pleased you.”

Then Jonah prayed to Yahweh, his God, out of the fish’s belly.

He said, “I called because of my affliction to Yahweh. He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried. You heard my voice.

For you threw me into the depths, in the heart of the seas. The flood was all around me. All your waves and your billows passed over me.

I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’

The waters surrounded me, even to the soul. The deep was around me. The weeds were wrapped around my head.

I went down to the bottoms of the mountains. The earth barred me in forever: yet have you brought up my life from the pit, Yahweh my God.

“When my soul fainted within me, I remembered Yahweh. My prayer came in to you, into your holy temple.

but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and animal, and let them cry mightily to God. Yes, let them turn everyone from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands.

He prayed to Yahweh, and said, “Please, Yahweh, wasn’t this what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore I hurried to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that you are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm.

Then they will cry to Yahweh, but he will not answer them. Yes, he will hide his face from them at that time, because they made their deeds evil.”

But as for me, I will look to Yahweh. I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.

Yahweh, how long will I cry, and you will not hear? I cry out to you “Violence!” and will you not save?

I will stand at my watch, and set myself on the ramparts, and will look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.

A prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet, set to victorious music.

Yahweh, I have heard of your fame. I stand in awe of your deeds, Yahweh. Renew your work in the middle of the years. In the middle of the years make it known. In wrath, you remember mercy.

Then Yahweh’s angel replied, “O Yahweh of Armies, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which you have had indignation these seventy years?”

The people of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem Melech, and their men, to entreat Yahweh’s favor,

and the inhabitants of one shall go to another, saying, ‘Let us go speedily to entreat the favor of Yahweh, and to seek Yahweh of Armies. I will go also.’

Ask of Yahweh rain in the spring time, Yahweh who makes storm clouds, and he gives rain showers to everyone for the plants in the field.

“Now, please entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With this, will he accept any of you?” says Yahweh of Armies.

I was grieved and wept, and prayed in sorrow, saying,

Remember me, and look at me. Don’t take vengeance on me for my sins and my ignorances, and the sins of my fathers who sinned before you.

Now deal with me according to that which is pleasing in your sight. Command my spirit to be taken from me, that I may be released, and become earth. For it is more profitable for me to die rather than to live, because I have heard false reproaches, and there is much sorrow in me. Command that I be released from my distress, now, and go to the everlasting place. Don’t turn your face away from me.”

Then she prayed by the window, and said, “Blessed are you, O Lord my God, and blessed is your holy and honorable name forever! Let all your works praise you forever!

And now, Lord, I have set my eyes and my face toward you.

Command that I be released from the earth, and that I no longer hear reproach.

The prayer of both was heard before the glory of the great God.

Bless the Lord your God at all times, and ask of him that your ways may be made straight, and that all your paths and counsels may prosper; for every nation has no counsel; but the Lord himself gives all good things, and he humbles whom he will, as he will. And now, my child, remember my commandments, and let them not be blotted out of your mind.

The demon will smell it, and flee away, and never come again any more. But when you go near to her, both of you rise up, and cry to God who is merciful. He will save you, and have mercy on you. Don’t be afraid, for she was prepared for you from the beginning; and you will save her, and she will go with you. And I suppose that you will have children with her.” When Tobias heard these things, he loved her, and his soul was strongly joined to her.

But as he went, he remembered the words of Raphael, and took the ashes of the incense, and put the heart and the liver of the fish on them, and made smoke with them.

But after they were both shut in together, Tobias rose up from the bed, and said, “Sister, arise, and let us pray that the Lord may have mercy on us.”

And now, O Lord, I take not this my sister for lust, but in truth. Command that I may find mercy and grow old with her.”

Blessed are you, because you have had mercy on two that were the only begotten children of their parents. Show them mercy, O Lord. Fulfill their life in health with gladness and mercy.

Good is prayer with fasting, alms, and righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than much with unrighteousness. It is better to give alms than to lay up gold.

And now, when you prayed, and Sarah your daughter-in-law, I brought the memorial of your prayer before the Holy One. When you buried the dead, I was with you likewise.

I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels, which present the prayers of the saints, and go in before the glory of the Holy One.”

And Tobit wrote a prayer for rejoicing, and said, “Blessed is God who lives forever! Blessed is his kingdom!

He was fifty-eight years old when he lost his sight. After eight years, he received it again. He gave alms and he feared the Lord God more and more, and gave thanks to him.

And the children of Israel did as Joakim the high priest had commanded them, as did the senate of all the people of Israel, which lived at Jerusalem.

And every man of Israel cried to God with great earnestness, and with great earnestness they humbled their souls.

Every man and woman of Israel, and the little children, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, fell before the temple, and cast ashes upon their heads, and spread out their sackcloth before the Lord. They put sackcloth around the altar.

They cried to the God of Israel earnestly with one consent, that he would not give their children as prey, their wives as plunder, the cities of their inheritance to destruction, and the sanctuary to being profaned and being made a reproach, for the nations to rejoice at.

The Lord heard their voice, and looked at their affliction. The people continued fasting many days in all Judea and Jerusalem before the sanctuary of the Lord Almighty.

And Joakim the high priest, and all the priests that stood before the Lord, and those who ministered to the Lord, had their loins dressed in sackcloth, and offered the continual burnt offering, the vows, and the free gifts of the people.

They had ashes on their hats. They cried to the Lord with all their power, that he would look upon all the house of Israel for good.

“O Lord God of heaven, behold their arrogance, and pity the low estate of our race. Look upon the face of those who are sanctified to you this day.”

Then Ozias took him out of the assembly into his house, and made a feast for the elders. They called on the God of Israel for help all that night.

The children of Israel cried to the Lord their God, for their spirit fainted; for all their enemies had surrounded them. There was no way to escape out from among them.

And there was great weeping of all with one consent in the midst of the assembly; and they cried to the Lord God with a loud voice.

She made herself a tent upon the roof of her house, and put on sackcloth upon her loins. The garments of her widowhood were upon her.

But don’t you pledge the counsels of the Lord our God! For God is not as man, that he should be threatened; neither as the son of man, that he should be turned by entreaty.

Therefore let’s wait for the salvation that comes from him, and call upon him to help us. He will hear our voice, if it pleases him.

And now pray you for us, because you are a godly woman, and the Lord will send us rain to fill our cisterns, and we will faint no more.”

But Judith fell upon her face, and put ashes upon her head, and uncovered the sackcloth with which she was clothed. The incense of that evening was now being offered at Jerusalem in the house of God, and Judith cried to the Lord with a loud voice, and said,

and gave their wives for a prey, and their daughters to be captives, and all their spoils to be divided among your dear children; which were moved with zeal for you, and abhorred the pollution of their blood, and called upon you for aid. O God, O my God, hear me also who am a widow.

Break their strength in your power, and bring down their force in your wrath; for they intend to profane your sanctuary, and to defile the tabernacle where your glorious name rests, and to destroy the horn of your altar with the sword.

Look at their pride, and send your wrath upon their heads. Give into my hand, which am a widow, the might that I have conceived.

Strike by the deceit of my lips the servant with the prince, and the prince with his servant. Break down their stateliness by the hand of a woman.

Yes, yes, God of my father, and God of the inheritance of Israel, Lord of the heavens and of the earth. Creator of the waters, King of every creature, hear my prayer.

Make my speech and deceit to be their wound and stripe, who intend hard things against your covenant, your hallowed house, the top of Sion, and the house of the possession of your children.

It came to pass, when she had ceased to cry to the God of Israel, and had finished saying all these words,

“May the God of our fathers give you favor, and accomplish your purposes to the glory of the children of Israel, and to the exaltation of Jerusalem.” Then she worshipped God,

For your servant is religious, and serves the God of heaven day and night. Now, my lord, I will stay with you, and your servant will go out by night into the valley. I will pray to God, and he will tell me when they have committed their sins.

and sent to Holofernes, saying, “Let my lord now command that they allow your servant to go out to pray.”

And when she came up, she implored the Lord God of Israel to direct her way to the raising up of the children of his people.

Judith had said to her servant that she should stand outside her bedchamber, and wait for her to come out, as she did daily; for she said she would go out to her prayer. She spoke to Bagoas according to the same words.

All went away from her presence, and none was left in the bedchamber, small or great. Judith, standing by his bed, said in her heart, O Lord God of all power, look in this hour upon the works of my hands for the exaltation of Jerusalem.

She drew near to the bed, took hold of the hair of his head, and said, “Strengthen me, O Lord God of Israel, this day.”

and she put it in her bag of food. They both went out together to prayer, according to their custom. They passed through the camp, circled around that valley, and went up to the mountain of Bethulia, and came to its gates.

And he gave him the copy of the writing that was published in Susa concerning their destruction, to show to Esther; and told him to charge her to go in and entreat the king, and to beg him for the people, remembering, said he , the days of your low estate, how you were nursed by my hand: because Haman who holds the next place to the king has spoken against us for death. Do you call upon the Lord, and speak to the king concerning us, to deliver us from death.

Go and assemble the Jews that are in Susa, and fast you⌃ for me, and eat not and drink not for three days, night and day: and I also and my maidens will fast; and then I will go in to the king contrary to the law, even if I must die.

So Mordecai went and did all that Esther commanded him. [And he implored the Lord, making mention of all the works of the Lord; and he said, Lord God, king ruling over all, for all things are in your power, and there is no one that shall oppose you, in your purpose to save Israel. - For you have made the heaven and the earth and every wonderful thing in the world under heaven. And you are Lord of all, and there is no one who shall resist you Lord. You know all things: you know, Lord, that it is not in insolence, nor haughtiness, nor love of glory, that I have done this, to refuse to bow down to the haughty Haman. For I would gladly have kissed the soles of his feet for the safety of Israel. But I have done this, that I might not set the glory of man above the glory of God: and I will not worship any one except you, my Lord, and I will not do these things in haughtiness. And now, O Lord God, the King, the God of Abraam, spare your people, for our enemies are looking upon us to our destruction, and they have desired to destroy your ancient inheritance. Do not overlook your peculiar people, whom you have redeemed for yourself out of the land of Egypt. Hearken to my prayer, and be propitious to your inheritance, and turn our mourning into gladness, that we may live and sing praise to your name, O Lord; and do not utterly destroy the mouth of them that praise you, O Lord. And all Israel cried with all their might, for death was before their eyes. And queen Esther took refuge in the Lord, being taken as it were in the agony of death. And having taken off her glorious apparel, she put on garments of distress and mourning; and instead of grand perfumes she filled her head with ashes and dung, and she greatly brought down her body, and she filled every place of her glad adorning with the torn curls of her hair. And she implored the Lord God of Israel, and said, O my Lord, you alone are our king: help me who am destitute, and have no helper but you, for my danger is near at hand. I have heard from my birth, in the tribe of my kindred that you, Lord, took Israel out of all the nations, and our fathers out of all their kindred for a perpetual inheritance, and have wrought for them all that you have said. And now we have sinned before you, and you have delivered us into the hands of our enemies, because we honored their gods: you are righteous, O Lord. But now they have not been contented with the bitterness of our slavery, but have laid their hands on the hands of their idols, in order to abolish the decree of your mouth, and utterly to destroy your inheritances, and to stop the mouth of them that praise you, and to extinguish the glory of your house and your alter, and to open the mouth of the Gentiles to speak the praises of vanities, and in order that a mortal king should be admired for ever. O Lord, do not resign your sceptre to them that are not, and let them not laugh at our fall, but turn their counsel, against themselves, and make an example of him who has begun to injure us. Remember us , O Lord, manifest yourself in the time of our affliction, and encourage me, O King of gods, and ruler of all dominion. Put harmonious speech into my mouth before the lion, and turn his heart to hate him that fights against us, to the utter destruction of him that consent with him. But deliver us by your hand, and help me who am destitute, and have none but the, O Lord. You know all things, and know that I hate the glory of transgressors, and that I abhor the couch of the uncircumcised, and of every stranger. You know my necessity, for I abhor the symbol of my proud station, which is upon my head in the days of my splendor: I abhor it as a menstruous cloth, and I wear it not in the days of my tranquility. And your handmaid has not eaten at the table of Haman, and I have not honored the banquet of the king, neither have I drunk wine of libations. Neither has your handmaid rejoiced since the day of my promotion until now, except in you, O Lord God of Abraam. O god, who has power over all, hearken to the voice of the desperate, and deliver us from the hand of them that devise mischief; and deliver me from my fear.]

And it came to pass on the third day, when she had ceased praying, that she put off her mean dress, and put on her glorious apparel. And being splendidly arrayed, and having called upon God the Overseer and Preserver of all things, she took her two maids, and she leaned upon one, as a delicate female, and the other followed bearing her train. And she was blooming in the perfection of her beauty; and her face was cheerful, and it were benevolent, but her heart was straitened for fear. And having passed through all the doors, she stood before the king: and he was sitting upon his royal throne, and he had put on all his glorious apparel, covered all over with gold and precious stones, and was very terrible. And having raised his face resplendent with glory, he looked with intense anger: and the queen fell, and changed her color as she fainted; and she bowed herself upon the head of the maid that went before her . But God changed the spirit of the king gentleness, and in intense feeling he sprang from off his throne, and took her into his arms, until she recovered: and he comforted her with peaceful words, and said to her, What is the matter , Esther? I am your brother; be of good cheer, you shall not die, for our command is openly declared to you , Draw near.

And she said, My request and my petition are :

And she answered and said, If I have found favor in the sight of the king, let my life be granted to my petition, and my people to my request.

And she spoke yet again to the king, and fell at his feet, and implored him to do away the mischief of Haman, and all that he had done against the Jews.

For this cause I prayed, and understanding was given me: I called upon God, and there came to me a spirit of wisdom.

But to me may God give to speak with judgement, And to conceive thoughts worthy of what has been given me; Because himself is one that guideth even wisdom and that correcteth the wise.

But perceiving that I could not otherwise possess wisdom except God gave her me (Yes and to know by whom the grace is given, this too came of understanding), I pleaded with the Lord and implored him, and with my whole heart I said,

Give me wisdom, her that sits by you on your throne; And reject me not from among your servants:

Send her forth out of the holy heavens, And from the throne of your glory bid her come, That being present with me she may toil with me, And that I may learn what is well-pleasing before you.

They thirsted, and they called upon you, And there was given them water out of the flinty rock, And healing of their thirst out of the hard stone.

When he makes his prayer concerning goods and his marriage and children, He is not ashamed to speak to that which has no life;

Therefore at that time also, converting itself into all forms, It ministered to your all-nourishing bounty, According to the desire of those who made supplication;

That it might be known that we must rise before the sun to give you thanks, And must plead with you at the dawning of the light:

For a blameless man hurried to be their champion: Bringing the weapon of his own ministry, Even prayer and the propitiation of incense, He withstood the indignation, and set an end to the calamity, Shewing that he was your servant.

Whoso honors his father will have joy of his children; And in the day of his prayer he will be heard.

For if he curse you in the bitterness of his soul, He that made him will hear his supplication.

Be not faint-hearted in your prayer; And neglect not to give alms.