Praying God's Word

Dear Friends,

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I was reading my journal recently to remind myself of what I had written only a few weeks back. 

I had written down the following verses from Revelation. These words are truths revealed by God to John:

Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia.

This is the message from the one who is holy and true,
    the one who has the key of David.
What he opens, no one can close;
    and what he closes, no one can open:

8 I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me. Revelation 3:7-8 (NLT)

There is so much in these verses that I find encouraging. God knows that I have little strength. He knows that I am weak. Yet despite my limitations caused by poor health, God can still use me if I am willing to keep his word.

I wrote the following prayer in my journal based on those verses:

"Lord God, you know the opportunity you have for me and what you are calling me to. Would you please open that door and not allow anyone to close it. Likewise, anything which is not of you, and not your will for me, would you close the door firmly and allow no one to force it open. Thank you Lord, Amen."

It has only recently struck me (I'm a slow learner) that although I have used prayers that are in the Bible and prayed them for myself and others, I have never really deliberately used God's Word and formed prayers based on his Word, like the one above.

I have taken God's Word and held on to the promises within it. Yet never used the words to form and shape my prayer. My praying is going to change from now on. Whenever I sense God is drawing me to a particular verse(s) I will use the words of that verse to pray either for myself or for someone who I believe needs it.

And not only that, but I am also going to write these prayers down in my journal, so that I have a record of them and can look back over them, and pray them again, just as I have done with the above example.

I wish I had realised this sooner in my Christian journey, but the wonderful truth is that God always has something new to teach us and to help us to mature spiritually if we are open and willing to learn.

If you're not sure where to start with this, let me give you one more example. On Bible Gateway's website they have a verse of the day which you can read in any version you prefer. I have signed up to receive it via email. If you would like this too, then click on the link here: Bible Gateway

Today's verse is this:

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. Romans 5:3-4 (NLT)

You might like to pray it for yourself or for someone you know who is finding life difficult right now.

Your prayer might be something like this:

Lord God, you know the problems and trials (be specific in your prayer and name those things) that I (or name of person) am going through. Help me to look at these trials from your perspective, knowing that you are allowing them because you want to produce in me endurance, to develop my character, and to strengthen my confident hope in you and in your salvation. Thank you that you are there with me in the midst of these trials and help me to learn to rejoice in this. I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

To Think About:

Have you ever considered praying God's Word in the way I have described above?

If not, will you try it and see what difference it makes to your prayer life. If you keep a journal, or have a notebook available, why not consider writing these prayers down?

Are there other ways you use God's Word in your praying? If you read this blog online, would you be willing to share them in the comments sections so that others, including myself, can also benefit from them.

Vicki

If  what you read was of interest to you, then you may like to know that my book "Dear Friend...52 Weekly Devotions to Encourage, Challenge and Inspire" is available to buy from Amazon. (Its content is material adapted from previous blog posts.) To learn more, click on the link below:

Dear Friend...

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