Pre-Written Prayers


During a recent evangelism outing, I led a young man to the Lord who might have been Catholic. After he finished praying with me, this guy drew an imaginary cross on himself. Then he insisted on giving me a card that had a prayer from St. Francis of Assisi on there. Here is the full version of that prayer:


Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.


While this prayer promotes godly ideas, I’m not interested in making this a regular recitation. A Christian’s prayers should be done to the Father in Jesus’ name (John 16:23) to be effective. In addition, St. Francis and his followers promoted poverty. My Lord wants His people to live in abundance (John 10:10).


Nevertheless, it had me thinking about the use of pre-written prayers. One of the most popular is the Serenity Prayer often recited by those going through Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step programs. The prayer begins with these lines: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.”


As a young Christian, I used written prayers filled with Scripture. Many of them came from a book by Germaine Copeland called “Prayers That Avail Much.” Prayers like these can help a believer accurately pray for specific needs such as healing, direction, and the salvation of lost loved ones. Some also use the Psalms as prayers. For example, Psalm 91 is a good one for divine protection.


Another set of prayers that can help increase spiritual understanding are the ones the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:16-20 and 3:14-21. In his book “The Believer’s Authority”, Kenneth E. Hagin wrote, “The turning point in my life came when I prayed these prayers for myself more than a thousand times. I started by reading them aloud, beginning with the first chapter. I personalized the prayers by saying “me” wherever Paul said “you”…I began to see things in the Bible I had never seen before. It just began to open up to me. I advanced more in spiritual growth and knowledge of the Word in those six months than I had in 14 years as a minister and in more than 16 years as a Christian.”


However, it’s crucial to be cautious not to use pre-written prayers mindlessly. Doing so can lead to them becoming vain repetitions (Matthew 6:7). That is like a husband repeating the same words to his wife, who knows of his insincerity. I’ve encountered nonbelievers who believe they’ll go to heaven because they can recite the Lord’s Prayer. Merely reciting words doesn’t guarantee answered prayers. Jesus said about the Pharisees in Matthew 15:8, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.” 


For anyone’s prayer to work, they must first know the One they are praying to.


“Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.” - John 9:31

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