Bible Verses About Prayer

Prayer is speaking with your Father in heaven, through His Son, by His Spirit. Jesus taught His disciples to begin, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name” (Matthew 6:9).

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What the Bible says

Jesus did not leave prayer a mystery. He taught us to come to God as Father, to seek first His name, His kingdom and His will, and then to ask: “Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:11–12). He also said, “when thou prayest, enter into thy closet” (Matthew 6:6). Prayer is not a show for others but honest speech with the Father who sees in secret.

God invites us to ask. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7). John gives the sure ground: “if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us” (1 John 5:14). Paul says to bring everything: “in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6). The fruit is a peace that keeps the heart and mind through Christ Jesus.

We can come because of Jesus. “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). Our High Priest knows our weakness, so “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). And when we do not know what to say, “the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26).

Jesus Himself prayed, “rising up a great while before day” (Mark 1:35). He taught “that men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1), and Paul says simply, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Prayer is not only for emergencies; it is the steady breath of a child of God. “The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him” (Psalm 145:18), so call on Him today, whatever is on your heart.

14 verses, King James Version

  1. Philippians 4:6–7

    Pray about everything and receive peace

    6Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

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  2. Hebrews 4:16

    Come boldly unto the throne of grace

    16Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

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  3. 1 Thessalonians 5:17

    Pray without ceasing

    17Pray without ceasing.

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  4. Jeremiah 33:3

    Call unto me, and I will answer thee

    3Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

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  5. Matthew 6:9–13

    The pattern Jesus taught

    9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11Give us this day our daily bread. 12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

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  6. Matthew 6:6

    A quiet place with your Father

    6But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

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  7. Matthew 7:7–11

    Keep asking, seeking, knocking

    7Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

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  8. 1 John 5:14–15

    Praying according to His will

    14And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

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  9. Romans 8:26–27

    The Spirit helps when words fail

    26Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

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  10. Psalms 145:18

    He is near to all who call

    18The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

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  11. Luke 18:1

    Always pray, never give up

    1And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

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  12. Colossians 4:2

    Watchful, thankful prayer

    2Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;

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  13. Mark 1:35

    Jesus prayed early and alone

    35And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

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  14. John 15:7

    Abiding and asking

    7If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

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Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (public domain). Read aloud by Anthony.