Old Testament Prayers found in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible are one of the great treasure houses of human prayer. Long before the New Testament was written, men and women were crying out to God in the wilderness, singing praise at the edge of the sea, whispering in anguish in the dark, and discovering — sometimes to their own surprise — that they were heard.
These prayers are raw, honest, and extraordinarily alive. They have endured for thousands of years because they speak to experiences that never go out of date: grief, gratitude, longing, wonder, repentance, and hope.
For Christians, the Old Testament is the soil in which the New Testament grows. Jesus himself prayed the Psalms. The early church was formed by them. Every major Christian tradition — Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Protestant — has kept the Psalms and other Old Testament prayers at the centre of its worship.
When you pick up the Book of Psalms, you are holding what may be the oldest continuously used prayer book on earth.
The Hebrew Bible – Tanakh
It is worth remembering, too, that the Old Testament is not only the Christian Old Testament. These same texts are the Hebrew Bible — the Tanakh — the sacred scriptures of the Jewish people, whose tradition of prayer gave rise to Christianity itself.
What You Will Find Here
The pages gathered under Old Testament Prayers cover the full range of what this tradition has to offer.
A Selection of Old Testament Prayers
Here is a slection of Old Testament Prayers to help you get connected.
The Prayer of Moses — Psalm 90
Traditionally attributed to Moses, Psalm 90 is one of the oldest prayers in the Bible. It opens with the great declaration that God is our dwelling place in every generation, and it holds together human frailty and divine eternity with remarkable poise. “Teach us to number our days,” it asks, “that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” That is a prayer worth carrying into any morning.
Hannah’s Prayer — 1 Samuel 2:1-10
Hannah prayed out of her barrenness and despair, and when her prayer was answered and her son Samuel was born, she sang one of the great songs of thanksgiving in all of scripture. Mary’s Magnificat in the New Testament echoes Hannah’s song — the same joy, the same reversal of fortune, the same God who lifts the lowly. These two prayers, centuries apart, are sisters.
Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication — 1 Kings 8:22-61
When Solomon completed the Temple in Jerusalem and brought the Ark of the Covenant into it, he stood before the altar and offered one of the longest and most expansive prayers in the Old Testament. It is a prayer for the whole people, for strangers and foreigners, for those in exile, for anyone who turns toward God with an honest heart. Its breadth is extraordinary.
The Prayer of Jonah — Jonah 2:2-9
Prayed from inside a great fish, this is perhaps the most unlikely setting for prayer in all of scripture. What Jonah discovered in that darkness — that God is present even there, even in the consequences of our own running away — is something anyone in recovery or in a hard season will recognise immediately. Desperation has a way of clearing the decks.
Daniel’s Prayer — Daniel 9:4-19
Daniel prays on behalf of his people, acknowledging failure honestly and asking not for what they deserve but for God’s mercy. It is a model of intercessory prayer — specific, humble, and rooted in the character of God rather than the merit of the one praying. Intercessory prayer crosses every tradition boundary, and this is one of its finest expressions in scripture.
The Prayer of Jabez — 1 Chronicles 4:10
Brief, almost hidden in a long genealogy, the prayer of Jabez asks simply for blessing, enlarged territory, the hand of God, and protection from harm. It became widely known in recent decades, and while its popularity brought some controversy, the prayer itself is ancient and straightforward. Sometimes a short, direct request is exactly the right prayer.
A Living Tradition
The Old Testament prayers gathered here are offered not as museum pieces but as living resources for your own practice. Many people find that praying daily — even just one or two prayers — becomes an anchor in the rhythm of life.
Spoken word recordings of selected Old Testament prayers are being added to this section. If you find something here that speaks to you, come back — there is more on the way.
Whether you are new to these prayers or returning to them after a long time away, you are welcome here. The door is open.
— Richard
Explore Old Testament Prayer
Explore Christian Prayers
Explore with Richard
- Welcome
- About Richard
- Reconnecting With Spirit.
- Richard's YouTube Channel
- Recordings by Richard
- Merch by Richard
- Shop Amazon
- Intuitive Counselling Services
- Explore My Spiritual Paths.
- Explore My Teachers, Guides, and Mentors.
- Explore My Recommended Reading, Listening, Watching.
- Explore Self-Healing Tools & Techniques.
- Explore Intuition & Divination Systems.
- Explore Health Issues and Info.
- Explore My 365 Daily Inspiration.
- Explore Posts.
- Explore Pages.
"Be practical and expect miracles when you just take the first step forward every day." -Richard Edward Ward
