What Are the "Great Prayers" of the Bible?

by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson

I have selected 12 great prayers for my study. But two other authors who have written studies entitled Great Prayers of the Bible selected other prayers. In only two cases have all three of us selected the same prayers. What this says is that there are plenty of great prayers in the Bible to go around. Here are some of them:

 

Wilson

Plueddeman

Jenkins

Moses' Prayer for Israel in the Wilderness (Exodus 32:9-14)

x

 

x

Moses' Prayer for God's Presence (Exodus 33:9-13)

 

 

x

Moses' Prayer of Despondency (Numbers 11:4-17)

 

 

x

Joshua: A Prayer God Could Not Answer (Joshua 7:7-9)

 

 

x

Joshua: A Prayer that Produced a Miracle (Joshua 10:12-15)

 

 

x

Abraham's Prayer for Sodom (Genesis 18:16-33)

x

x

 

Hannah: A Cry and a Song (1 Samuel 1:1-20; 2:1-10)

 

x

 

Gideon's Prayer for a Sign (Judges 6:36-40)

 

 

 

David: A Prayer for God's Glory (Psalm 24)

 

 

x

David: A Prayer Acknowledging Personal Sin (Psalm 32)

 

 

x

David: A Prayer Answered (Psalm 40)

 

 

x

David's Prayer of Confession and Repentance (Psalm 51; 1 Samuel 11-12).

x

 

 

David's Praise-Prayers in the Psalms (Psalm 65 and others)

 

 

 

David's Prayer of Surrender to the Searcher (Psalm 139)

 

 

 

David: A Prayer at the End of Life (1 Chronicles 29:1-30)

x

x

 

Solomon: A Prayer for Wisdom (1 Kings 3:5-9)

 

 

x

Solomon: Hear and Forgive (2 Chronicles 6:1-7:4)

 

x

x

Elijah: A Prayer of Persistence (1 Kings 18:41-46)

 

 

x

Elijah: A Prayer of Futility (1 Kings 19:1-18)

 

 

x

Isaiah: A Prayer Admitting Sin (Isaiah 6:1-13)

 

 

x

Isaiah: A Prayer for Peace (Isaiah 26:3-12, 20-21)

 

 

x

Hezekiah's Prayers for the Israel's Defense (2 Kings 19:15-19) and for Extension of Life (2 Kings 20:1-7)

x

 

 

Job: Trusting God for Who He Is (Job 38:1-18; 40:1-5; 42:1-16)

 

x

 

Daniel: A Prayer for Understanding (Daniel 2:14-23)

 

 

x

Daniel's Confession on Behalf of His People (Daniel 9:4-19)

x

x

x

Jonah: A Prayer Out of Hell (Jonah 2:1-9)

 

 

x

Jonah: A Prayer from a Pouting Prophet (Jonah 4:2-3)

 

 

x

Habakkuk: Praying with God's Perspective (Habakkuk 3:1-19)

x

x

 

Nehemiah's Prayer for Success (Nehemiah 1)

x

 

 

The Levites: A prayer of Corporate Confession (Nehemiah 9:1-38)

 

x

 

Mary: A Prayer of Joy (Luke 1:26-56)

 

x

 

The Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:5-15)

x

x

x

Jesus: A Farewell Prayer (John 17)

 

x

x

Jesus: A Prayer of Agony (Matthew 26:36-46)

x

 

x

Early Church: A Prayer of Preparation (Acts 1:4, 14)

 

 

x

Stephen: A Prayer of a Martyr (Acts 7:54-60)

 

 

x

Early Church: A Prayer for a Prisoner (Acts 12:1-17)

 

 

x

Paul: A Prayer of Conversion (Acts 9:1-6, 11)

 

 

x

Paul: A Prayer for Deliverance (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

 

 

x

Paul's Prayer for the Ephesian Church (Ephesians 1:15-23)

 

 

 

Paul's Prayer for Comprehension of Christ's Love (Ephesians 3:14-21)

x

x

x

James: A Prayer for Wisdom (James 1:5-8, 17)

 

 

x

James: Unanswered Prayers (James 4:2-3)

 

 

x

James: Prevailing Prayer (James 5:13-18)

 

 

x

Revelation: A Prayer of Praise to the Lamb (Revelation 5:9-10)

 

 

x

Revelation: A Prayer of the Glorified Saints (Revelation 19:1-10)

 

 

x

Revelation: A prayer of Consummation (Revelation 22:17, 20)

 

 

x

Ralph F. Wilson, Great Prayers of the Bible (JesusWalk Bible Study Series, 2005)

Carol Plueddemann, Great Prayers of the Bible: 12 Studies for Individuals or Groups (Shaw/WaterBrook Press, 1991, 1994), 75 pages, paperback, ISBN 0877883343.

David L. Jenkins, Great Prayers of the Bible: A Guide for Individual or Group Study (Broadman Press, 1990), 170 pages, paperback, ISBN 0805415432.

Copyright © 2025, Ralph F. Wilson. <pastor@joyfulheart.com> All rights reserved. A single copy of this article is free. Do not put this on a website. See legal, copyright, and reprint information.

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Old Testament

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Topical

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  2. Grace: Favor for the Undeserving
  3. Great Prayers of the Bible
  4. Holy Spirit, Disciple's Guide
  5. Humility
  6. JesusWalk: Beginning the Journey
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  8. Listening for God's Voice
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  10. Names and Titles of God
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