For many years, I written out my prayers during times of personal devotion. I’ve found that this practice helps me not only see specific answers to prayer, but also to pray more intelligently while focusing on God and his glory.

Instead of writing out a meditation this morning, I’m posting a personal prayer to give you a general idea how this works. Before you read this prayer, please read Psalm 16 . The prayer will have far more meaning if you can make connections from first reading the psalm.

O Lord, you have made the boundary lines fall for me in pleasant places. You are my Lord, and apart from you I have no good thing. You have assigned my portion and my cup of caring for my family and writing for your kingdom. You have made my lot secure, surely I have a delightful inheritance. 

I will praise you for counseling me at night and during the day. You guide the instruction of my heart. Because you are before me and at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Keep me safe, for in you I take refuge. Help me to delight in the saints in the land with whom I come into contact today. Make my heart glad and my tongue rejoice. Help me to rest in you, knowing that just as surely as Christ rose from the dead, you will not abandon me to the grave. Because your Holy One did not see decay, you make known to me the path of life. Help me to see your path for my life through the events of this week.

Fill me with joy in your presence and eternal pleasures at your right hand. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

If you don’t already write out your prayers during times of personal devotions, I encourage you to begin that excellent habit. First read a passage of Scripture and then write out a prayer based on the text. 

It never hurts to repeat God’s words back to him by praying directly from the Bible, but it may be more meaningful for you to process the text by writing out a prayer that applies the text to your particular situation.

I’ve found that different things in a text will strike me in different ways, depending on my circumstances or projects at that particular moment. It’s amazing how often God confirms his teaching on the very subject I’ve been mulling over in my mind.

May God bless your prayer life with renewed meaning during this coming week!