The Old Testament book of Psalms is important to Christians because of the many prayers to God it contains. The remaining psalms (hymns) are primarily for the Jewish people because Christians have created their own hymnals to sing their praises to God. The book of Psalms is one of the largest books in the Bible and almost a third of these psalms are actually prayers to God from Moses, David and many other men of God. These prayers to God serve as an example for believers to follow in their own prayer lives. The prayers in Psalms are also useful for study because they show how God deals with the problems of his people in ancient times which proves God will do the same for us in our time. We must always pay close attention to whatever actions God has taken, what God says, and what God does in the life of his saints.
Psalm 4:1 – Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
In my last blog I identified the five types of prayers I find in the Bible; namely prayers of thanksgiving, confession, asking for help, requesting protection and rejoicing in the Lord. In this blog I want to delve more into the mechanics of the first four types of prayers since almost all our prayers to God will fall into one of these four categories (prayers of rejoicing are rare). God made us all different and we all have to be who we are in this world. Prayers aren’t meant to be cookie-cutter but you can still use similar structures as long as they’re in agreement with God’s Word. Some people are extroverts and gregarious by nature. Their prayers will be different from mine because I’m basically a shy person who is also an introvert. Praying to God has always been hard for me, especially in a public setting. Am I addressing God in the right way? Am I saying the right things? Is God hearing me? Will God answer me? As long as you’re talking to God from your heart the style is less important than the message. It’s the content of your prayers that matter to God.
Psalm 6:9 – The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer.
I didn’t always have the confidence in God I should have had because I didn’t really know God all that well and that was totally my fault. Just because you know God is real and you’ve accepted his grace unto salvation doesn’t mean you really know God or how to pray in such a way that God will hear your prayers and answer them. God could choose to answer your prayers, or he might not; but the chances are God will turn a deaf ear to your prayers if you only come to him when you need him; if you haven’t beforehand established fellowship with God through daily Bible reading and prayer.
Proverbs 28:9 – One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
Read Proverbs 28:9 above several times out loud; soaking in the meaning of each word in the verse. God’s Word, our Holy Bible, is God’s law. If you are turning away your ear from God’s law it means you’re not daily hearing the faith-filled words of the Bible in a worship service, Bible study or personal recitation of Bible verses. Indirectly the above verse also refers to you not reading your Bible daily for knowledge, understanding and wisdom. In Proverbs 28:9 God is referring to nonbelievers. God is always ready to hear from believers, even when they are out of fellowship with God. The use of the word “even” in this verse is key to understanding that nonbelievers are also an abomination to God along with any prayers they send to God. It’s critical for man not to be an abomination in the sight of God and that’s exactly what man is if they don’t accept the grace of God unto salvation through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
Hebrews 11:6 – But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
God established the system of two-way communication between himself and his creation (us). God speaks to us through the pages of the Bible and we talk to God in prayer. That’s the way it’s supposed to work. That’s the way it must work if we want to really know God and have a personal relationship with him. If we don’t hold up our end of the bargain by praying and studying God’s Word so that we know God personally and are able to know and obey God’s commandments for our lives we are not communicating with God as he intended. We are not in fellowship with God and are therefore sinning against our creator. I’ve said before a good mantra to live by is love what God loves and hate what God hates. We can’t go wrong that way. When God hates something a lot he calls it an abomination.
James 4:2 – Yet you do not have because you do not ask.
When we pray to God as nonbelievers we’re mocking the Lord because we don’t believe God exists and we don’t expect an answer to our prayers. When nonbelievers pray it’s just for show. The prayers of nonbelievers are an abomination to the Lord. Don’t pray to God and ask for his help if you don’t serve him. Don’t call on God for help if you’re a stranger to him. Nonbelievers don’t fear the Lord enough to believe that he is. Nonbelievers don’t know God’s Word and they don’t obey his commandments therefore God will turn his ear away from their prayers. Their prayers will fall on deaf ears. The prayers of believers will also not be answered if they are not in fellowship with the Lord through Bible study and prayer. The noted theologian Karl Barth said it best when he said, “Prayer without study would be empty. Study without prayer would be blind.” When you study God’s Word you realize just how critical prayer is. Bible study and prayer are two sides of the same coin. You must have both Bible study and prayer to effectively communicate with God because one without the other is useless.
James 5:16 – The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
A good way of praying to God effectively is praying using God’s own words. God’s creative power is in his faith-filled words and as we speak God’s words in our prayers we harness God’s creative power in our own lives. We confirm and claim the promised blessings of God contained in the Bible. The spiritual world is controlled by God speaking his word. The physical world is also controlled by God’s Word. The difference is God is allowing us to also have control over the physical world with him by speaking God’s Word in faith because we are royalty in heaven and children of the Most High God. You can also learn more about praying Scripture at www.prayingscriptures.com and www.prayscripture.org.
Philippians 4:6 – Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
Long ago I read a book from retired pastor and author Charles Capps titled, “The tongue – A Creative Force.” This little paperback is forty five years old and you can only buy it now on Ebay. It’s a classic. In this book pastor Capps expounds on the effective use of Scripture in prayers. Pastor Capps lists a series of prayers; verbal affirmations taken straight from the Bible that we as believers can claim with our faith-filled spoken words in prayer. Pastor Capps has broken these prayers into four categories; comfort and strength, wisdom and guidance, worry and fear and material needs. These four categories will generally fit into one of the four types of prayers I’ve listed in this blog. Since I’ve already recommended four primary prayer times (morning, noon, evening and night), I think it’s a good idea to recite a different set of these verbal Bible affirmations during each prayer session so you capture all the blessings that God has to offer.
Psalm 5:3 – My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; I will direct it up to You, and I will look up.
Praying Scripture using spoken Bible affirmations is a good way to start improving your prayer life. You’re safe using Scripture because the Bible is the truth of God and you can never go wrong speaking truth. When you pray Scripture you’re aligning yourself with the promises of God. By agreeing with God you’re accepting the promised blessings of God in your life. You can pray using straight Scripture or you can pray Scripture in combination with your own prayers from the heart. Once you’ve become a seasoned prayer warrior you may find you can dispense with praying Scriptures altogether. Your prayers to God will evolve over time to fit your personality so that your conversations with God become original, unique, and pleasing to God.
Colossians 4:2 – Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.
Now if you have a critical problem that needs addressing you can choose to use all four prayer times in that one area of need, such as if you need God to help you financially (material needs). God always answers the prayers of his saints. Praying one time probably won’t do it. The key is to keep praying out loud repeatedly in faith and don’t stop until you receive an answer from God. Remember that God’s timetable for responding won’t be the same as ours so don’t lose faith. You might have to pray for years before God answers you. The secret of the Christian faith is to continually pray using the words God said. I keep these prayers of Bible affirmations on 4″ X 6″ index cards so I can use them easily in prayer. I admit I don’t use them as often as I should. Here they are:
1. Worry and fear:
“No weapon formed against me shall prosper, for my righteousness is of the Lord. But whatever I do will prosper for I’m like a tree that’s planted by the rivers of water.” Ps 1:3
“No evil will befall me neither shall any plague come nigh my dwelling. For You have given Your angels charge over me and they keep me in all my ways, and in my pathway is life and there is no death.” Prov 12:28
“I am a doer of the Word of God and am blessed in my deeds. I am happy in those things which I do because I am a doer of the Word of God.” Jas 1:22
“Christ has redeemed me from the curse of the law. Therefore, I forbid any sickness or disease to come upon this body. Every disease germ and every virus that touches this body dies instantly in the name of Jesus. Every organ and every tissue of this body functions in the perfection to which God created it to function, and I forbid any malfunction in this body, in the name of Jesus.” Rom 8:11
“Great is the peace of my children, for they are taught of the Lord.” Isa 54:13
“The devil flees from me because I resist him in the name of Jesus.” Jas 4:7
“I am the body of Christ and Satan has no power over me. For I overcome evil with good.” 1 Cor 12:27
“I am of God and have overcome him (Satan). For greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world.” 1 Jn 4:4
“I will fear no evil for thou art with me Lord, your word and Your Spirit they comfort me.” Ps 23:4
“I am far from oppression, and fear does not come nigh me.” Isa 54:14
“I am delivered from the evils of this present world for it is the will of God.” Gal 1:4
“I take the shield of faith and I quench every fiery dart that the wicked one brings against me.” Eph 6:16
“I am an overcomer and I overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony.” Rev 12:11
“The Word of God is forever settled in heaven. Therefore, I establish His word upon this earth.” Ps 119:89
2. Material needs:
“I delight myself in the Lord and He gives me the desires of my heart.” Ps 37:4
“I have given and it is given unto me good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, men given unto my bosom.” Lk 6:38
“There is no lack for my God supplies all of my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:19
“And I, having received the gift of righteousness do reign as a king in life by Jesus Christ.” Rom 5:17
“With what measure I mete, it is measured unto me. I sow bountifully, therefore I reap bountifully. I give cheerfully, and my God has made all grace abound toward me and I having all sufficiency of all things do abound to all good works.” 2 Cor 9:6-8
“The Lord is my shepherd and I do not want because Jesus was made poor, that I through His poverty might have abundance. For He came that I might have life and have it more abundantly.” Ps 23:1
“The Lord has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant, and Abraham’s blessings are mine.” Ps 35:27
“Christ has redeemed me from the curse of the law. Christ has redeemed me from poverty. Christ has redeemed me from sickness. Christ has redeemed me from spiritual death.” Gal 3:13
“For poverty He has given me wealth, for sickness He has given me health, for death He has given me eternal life.” 2 Cor 8:9
“It is true unto me according to the Word of God.” Ps 119:25
“I have put off the old man and have put on the new man, which is renewed in the knowledge after the image of Him that created me.” Col 3:10
3. Wisdom and guidance:
“I trust in the Lord with all of my heart, and I lean not unto my own understanding.” Prov 3:5
“In all my ways I acknowledge Him and He directs my path.” Prov 3:6
“The Word of God is a lamp unto my feet, it is a light unto my path.” Ps 119:105
“The Lord will perfect that which concerns me.” Ps 138:8
“I am filled with the knowledge of the Lord’s will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” Col 1:9
“I am a new creation in Christ, I am His workmanship created in Christ Jesus. Therefore, I have the mind of Christ and the wisdom of God is formed within me.” 2 Cor 5:17
“I let the Word of God dwell in me rightly in all wisdom.” Col 3:16
“The Spirit of truth abides in me and teaches me all things, and He guides me into all truths. Therefore, I confess I have perfect knowledge of every situation and every circumstance that I come up against. For I have the wisdom of God.” Jas 1:5
“I do follow the good shepherd and I know His voice and the voice of a stranger I will not follow.” Jn 10:4-5
“I have put off the old man and have put on the new man, which is renewed in the knowledge after the image of Him that created me.” Col 3:10
“Jesus is made unto me wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Therefore, I confess I have the wisdom of God, and I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.” 1 Cor 1:30
“I receive the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of my understanding being enlightened. And I am not conformed to this world but I am transformed by the renewing of my mind. My mind is renewed by the Word of God.” Rom 12:2
4. Comfort and strength:
“Jesus gave me the authority to use His name. And that which I bind on earth is bound in heaven. And that which I loose on earth is loosed in heaven. Therefore in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I bind the principalities, the powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world. I bind and cast down spiritual wickedness in high places and render them harmless and ineffective against me in the name of Jesus.” Matt 16:19
“I am a believer and these signs do follow me. In the name of Jesus I cast out demons, I speak with new tongues, I lay hands on the sick and they do recover.” Mk 16:17-18
“I let the peace of God rule my heart and I refuse to worry about anything.” Col 3:15
“I speak the truth of the Word of God in love and I grow up into the Lord Jesus Christ in all things.” Eph 4:15
“I am complete in Him who is the head of all principality and power. For I am his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God has before ordained that I should walk therein.” Eph 2:10
“I am increasing in the knowledge of God. I am strengthened with all might according to His glorious power.” Col 1:10-11
“I am delivered from the power of darkness and I am translated into the kingdom of His dear Son.” Col 1:13
“I am born of God and I have world overcoming faith residing on the inside of me. For greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world.” 1 Jn 4:4
“I will do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Phil 4:13
“I let no corrupt communication proceed out of my mouth, but that which is good to edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearer. I grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby I’m sealed unto the day of redemption.” Eph 4:29-30
“God is on my side. God is in me now, who can be against me? He has given unto me all things that pertain unto life and godliness. Therefore, I am a partaker of His divine nature.” 2 Cor 6:16
“No man shall take me out of His hand for I have eternal life.” Jn 10:29
“The peace of God which passes all understanding keeps my heart and my mind through Jesus Christ. And all things which are good, and pure, and perfect, and lovely, and of good report, I think on these things.” Phil 4:7-8
“The joy of the Lord is my strength. The Lord is the strength of my life.” Ps 27:1
“I will not let the Word of God depart from before my eyes for it is life to me for I have found it and it is health and healing to all my flesh.” Prov 4:21-22
“I’m the body of Christ, I am redeemed from the curse, and I forbid any sickness or disease to operate in this body. Every organ, every tissue will function properly, for greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.” Gal 3:13
“I am delivered from the power of darkness and I am translated into the kingdom of His dear Son.”