Bible verses about prayer
Scripture treats prayer as ordinary and constant rather than formal. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says pray without ceasing; Matthew 6:9-13 gives a short model prayer after warning against long repetitive ones; and Romans 8:26 says that when you do not know what to pray, the Spirit intercedes with groanings that cannot be uttered.
12 verses about prayer
16 Rejoice evermore. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (KJV) →6 But 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. 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Matthew 6:6-13 (KJV) →26 Likewise 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.
Romans 8:26 (KJV) →6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 (KJV) →16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
James 5:16 (KJV) →14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
1 John 5:14-15 (KJV) →8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.
Psalms 62:8 (KJV) →1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Luke 18:1 (KJV) →3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
Jeremiah 33:3 (KJV) →35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
Mark 1:35 (KJV) →7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Matthew 7:7-8 (KJV) →18 The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
Psalms 145:18 (KJV) →
When you do not know what to say
Romans 8:26 addresses this directly and is probably the most freeing verse on prayer in the New Testament: 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. The inability is assumed, not treated as a problem to fix first. Psalm 62:8 gives the simplest possible instruction — pour out your heart before him — which requires no structure at all.
The model prayer is short
Matthew 6:9-13 is preceded by a warning against vain repetitions and the idea that being heard depends on length. The prayer that follows is around sixty words. It covers reverence, provision for one day, forgiveness given and received, and protection — in that order. Verse 6 adds the setting: a private room with the door shut, which rules out prayer as performance.
Persistence
Luke 18:1 introduces a parable told specifically so that people ought always to pray and not to faint. Matthew 7:7 uses three continuous verbs — ask, seek, knock — all of which imply repetition rather than a single attempt. 1 John 5:14 adds the condition that is easy to skip: if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us. Persistence in Scripture is not about wearing God down; it is about staying in the conversation.
Scripture quoted from the King James Version, which is in the public domain. Esther reads the ESV, NIV and NLT in the app.