Praying with Paul

Romans 4:22-25

Dear Father, our Savior,

Thank you for Abraham's example of a faith credited as righteousness. And thank you that these words are written not only for Abraham's sake, but for ours as well - that faith will be credited as righteousness to those who believe in you, the God who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was put to death for our misdeeds and was raised for our justification.

Thank you for so wonderful a salvation, precious God.

In the name of Jesus I ask...

 

Romans 4:17-21

Dear Father, promise keeper,

Thank you that Abraham's faith was held up for us to see. He became the father of us all because you said to him, "I will make you the father of many nations."

You are the God in whom he believed, hope against hope, that he would become the father of many nations, as he had been told, "Your descendants shall be as numerous as the stars, and like grains of sand on the beach."

You are the God who gives life to the dead and calls into...

 

Romans 4:13-16

Dear Father, father of the faithful,

Thank you for the marvelous promise made to Abraham and his seed, that they should inherit the world. Thank you that it depends on faith, so that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only those who are adherents of the law but to everyone who shares the faith of Abraham, who is father of us all.

Praise be to you, beneficent God, that I can be a descendant of Abraham, not by being born in his...

 

Romans 4:6-12

Dear Father,

Thank you that the words your servant David spoke apply to us: "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him" (Psalm 32:1-2).

Thank you that you blessed Abraham before he was circumcised, (while he was a Gentile!) so he could be the father of all who believe. Thank you that he is the father not only of those who are circumcised but of those who follow his...

 

Romans 4:1-5

Dear Father, friend of Abraham,

Thank you for the wonderful relationship you established with Abraham. Through him you have blessed the world. Through that relationship you have blessed me. Thank you, Lord, that through it you will bring even more blessings, now and for ever.

Thank you that Abraham's relationship to you was not something he earned; it came because "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."

To one who works, wages are not a...

 

Romans 3:27-31

Dear Father, just and justifier,

All praise is due you, Father. Our boasting is totally excluded. Our justification is not by our works, but through our faith in you. So we are convinced by Paul that a person is justified by faith and not by works of the law.

You are God not only of the Jews but of all other nations also. You are the one God, the only God, the God of all people everywhere.

On the basis of whether people put their trust in you instead of themselves...

 

Romans 3:21-26

Dear Father, just and justifier,

Thank you that your righteousness has been manifested to us. You made this happen apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, to your righteousness through faith in Christ Jesus for all who trust in him. How just you are in making no distinction between people on this matter, since every person has sinned and falls short of your glory.

Thank you for justifying us by your grace as a gift, through the...

 

Romans 2:25-3:20

Dear Father, holy God,

Allow me to bear the marks of your covenant in my heart and my mind. May I be a spiritual descendant of Abraham. Let my praise be not from men but from you!

Help me understand that all human beings are under the power of sin, as it is written, "None is righteous, no not one!"

I ask forgiveness for all my sins by reason of your perfect expiation put forth in Christ Jesus. Clothe me with his righteousness, not my own. Having nothing to claim...

 

Romans 2:12-24

Dear Father, holy God,

Write the requirements of your will upon my heart. May I live in such a way that my conscience will bear witness that I have striven to live for you, on that day when you judge the secrets of men's heart by Christ Jesus.

Help me to be sincere and to have integrity. If I teach others, let me first teach myself. If I teach against stealing, don't let me take what is not mine.

If I teach against adultery, don't let me lust. If I teach abhorrence...

 

Romans 2:8-11

Dear Father, holy and righteous judge,

I know that you will render to every man according to his works. To those who are factious and obey wickedness instead of the truth, there will be wrath and fury.

You have foretold tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, to the Jew first and also the non-Jew, but glory and honor and peace for every one who does good, to the Jew first and also to the non-Jew. For you show no partiality.

Help me do what is...