Have you ever written an acrostic prayer?

This method is quickly becoming my favorite way to write out my prayers. An acrostic is a literary composition where the first letter of each line either spells out a word or the alphabet. A popular acrostic that early Christians used was ICTHUS, which means “fish” in Greek:

Acrostics in the Bible

The Bible also contains several acrostics, some of which can be found in Psalms 9, 10, 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, and 145.

Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, is also an acrostic prayer! This psalm is divided into 22 stanzas for the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In those 22 stanzas, each line begins with that same letter. Many Bibles show where each stanza begins and ends by writing out the Hebrew letter for each section.

In my Bible, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet (Aleph) is the first word of Psalm 119. Each of the eight verses in this section also begin with Aleph. This same pattern is repeated in each stanza all the way to the last letter, Tau.

As you can imagine, this took the composer much time to think through and write.

Acrostic Prayer Examples

Writing acrostic prayers are a great way to access your creative side as well. Here are two examples of ones that I wrote.

FATHER

When you pray, remember God is our FATHER:

Forever
Accessible,
Tirelessly
Hearing
Every
Request.

My second one follows the pattern of Psalm 119 in using the letters of the alphabet:

Zeal Without Love is Nothing

Abba, as Your beloved son I ask that You
Build my faith and
Carry me when I am weak.
Doubt has no power where You reside, so
Even in hard times, I will trust Your Goodness.
Forgive me for my many trespasses and
Guide me by Your love.
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty!
I love you with all of my being!
Jesus, strengthen me by Your grace and
Kindle the coals in my heart that have become cold.
Lead me Holy Spirit and
May all my thoughts and deeds be pleasing to You.
Never again will I trust in my own strength, for it will fail.
Open my eyes to see Your beauty and holiness.
Prepare me for the journey ahead.
Quiet my soul in times of trouble.
Restore my joy of fellowship with You.
Save me from the woes of sin.
Thank You for loving me when I was Your enemy.
Underneath Your wings, I am safe from harm.
Vanquish the fears that seem too high to overcome because
With You by my side, nothing is impossible.
X-rays and scans cannot see the real me, but You can.
Yahweh, examine my motives and give me Your heart for
Zeal without love is nothing.

This one took more time to write, but it was very rewarding for me. And just to warn you, it’s really hard to come up with something for X!

I encourage you right now to create an acrostic prayer as an act of worship! This practice could be just what you need to revive your prayer life!

Do you ever write out your prayers? Comment below and tell me about your experience!