Prayer and the Word of God
There cannot be a relationship without communication.
God communicates with us through His word.
We communicate with God through prayer.
Luke 6:12 And it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.
Jesus spent much time in prayer speaking to His Father and our Father who is in heaven. When we first believed in Jesus Christ we were born again, we became true children of God. Because we are united with Christ we are children of God in as much as Jesus is the Son of God. Our relationship with God becomes closer and more meaningful to us as we spend time with Him in prayer and in His word. We need to allow God to speak to us through His word and we need to speak to God through prayer, in order to become strong and mature children of God. Through prayer we learn to depend upon God; we also learn to thank Him and praise Him for all of His goodness towards us.
Mark 14:36 And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for Thee; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt.”
We should have the same attitude in our prayers as Jesus did; “yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt.”. We must always seek God’s will as we pray, always submit to His will. It is impossible to force God to do anything and we must never try. It would be a great insult against God to even think that we could force Him to do our will.
God is all wise and never makes a mistake. He is always good, loving, and kind. He always does that which is best for us; therefore, we can seek His will, when we pray, and always trust that His will is best for us.
Rom 8:14-15 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
Just as Jesus was able to say Abba Father, we can say Abba Father because we are indeed children of God and He loves us with an affectionate love. We can approach God just as a young child can approach his daddy with confidence and without fear of rejection. Furthermore, we pray as we are led by the Spirit of God to pray. When we are led by the Spirit of God our prayers will be pleasing to God, and He will hear our prayers, and answer them just as a loving father would respond to the request of a child whom he loves.
Acts 6:4 “But we will devote ourselves to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.”
The Apostles devoted themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word because they knew that they were totally dependent upon God. They knew that they needed both God’s power and guidance. Prayer is our recognition of our dependence upon God for all things. The more we pray, the more we will learn to rely upon God and the more we learn to rely upon God, the more we will pray.
As a good relationship requires two way communication, we must also spend time in the word of God allowing God to speak to us. The more time we spend in the word of God, the more we can expect to be led by the Spirit of God in prayer.
I Jn 5:14-15 And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.
A mature father-child relationship requires two-way communication. God loves us and He wants to communicate that love to us through His word, and He wants us to love Him and to communicate with Him through prayer. When we pray according to God’s will, we will receive that which we request of Him. Therefore, we must know the will of God if we are to know how to pray. God’s will is revealed to us in His word; therefore, we must spend time in the word of God, seeking to know Him, if we want to be effective in prayer.
God desires to bless us by giving us that which we ask of Him, but He will not give us that which is not good for us anymore than a human father would give something harmful to his child. Wisdom comes through maturity and maturity comes to us through feasting on the word of God. We grow in wisdom, knowledge, and faith by reading and believing the word of God. 1 Pet 2:2 Like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, Therefore, spending time in the word of God, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to us, is essential if we are to be effective in prayer.
Matt 21:22 “And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.”
We pray according to our faith, there is no point in praying if we don’t believe God will answer our prayer. God rewards our faith in Him by answering our prayer. We demonstrate our faith in God’s love for us by prayer, and God demonstrates His love for us by answering our prayer. God wants our faith in Him to increase and He wants us to know and understand the goodness, the love, and the kindness of His grace toward us; therefore, He is always ready to answer our prayer of faith.
Furthermore, our faith is increased by hearing or reading the word of God. Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (KJV) Therefore, we should spend time in the word of God along with prayer so that our faith is increased for the purpose of prayer. God’s desire is that we maintain two way communication with Him, through His word and prayer.
James 5:17-18 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the sky poured rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
The word of God gives us confidence to pray for the impossible to be accomplished in our behalf, and in behalf of others. Elijah was a man with a nature like our own, he was a sinner saved by grace just as we are, he had weaknesses just as we do, and he prayed for the impossible and God answered his prayer.
As we read the word of God and see how God has worked in behalf of others, we gain confidence in prayer. There is no prayer that is too difficult for God to answer. Our lack of faith is the only real obstacle to answered prayer. Therefore, the more time we spend in the word of God, getting acquainted with Him, the more boldness we will have in prayer.
Phil 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
We are instructed not to worry about anything but instead we are to pray to God about all things that would tend to cause us to be anxious. Furthermore, we are instructed to give thanks to God as we pray. When we give thanks, as we pray, we show our confidence in His ability and willingness to answer our prayer. When we place our trust in God by prayer with thanksgiving He rewards us with true peace of mind.
When we do not trust in God we will experience anxiety that results in depression and all kinds of physical ill being. On the other hand, when we trust in God and demonstrate that trust by prayer with thanksgiving we will experience peace of mind that is beyond all comprehension.
Col 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with {an attitude of} thanksgiving;
Prayer with thanksgiving should be the way of life for every Christian. We are totally dependent upon God; therefore, we must not neglect prayer. We have unlimited resources in Jesus Christ and prayer is the key to unlocking those resources. Prayer should be our constant companion, we should always be in touch with God by prayer.
1Thes 5:16-18 Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Many Christians are always concerned with finding the will of God for their lives and yet they miss this verse. This is the will of God for all Christians, and until we learns to do the very basic will of God, He will not lead us further. It is always God’s will for every Christian to rejoice, pray, and give thanks. A Christian should never stop rejoicing, never stop praying, and never stop giving thanks. If we want to experience the fullness of all that God has for us we must rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks. This is so important, I could repeat it over and over. We should all memorize these verses and live accordingly.
We rejoice always because we have confidence in God; we know He is always good, loving, and kind. We pray without ceasing because we know that we can always depend upon God to do all that we cannot do. We give thanks in everything because we trust in God; we know that He is in control and causes all thing to work for our good.
Eph 6:18-20 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
We are instructed to always be praying in the Spirit. We should set aside a time for prayer, but we must never stop praying. When we are being led by the Spirit of God, we will always be ready to pray for the needs of others. We don’t need to worry about how to pray or what to pray concerning others; the Holy Spirit of God will guide us. There are times when others will ask us to pray for them, and there are times when we will see the other person’s need even though they do not ask for prayer. There is no Christian who is so mature that he does not need God’s help to live the Christian life, we all need prayer. The important thing is that we always be aware of God’s presence, and that we always be ready to intercede for others.
1 Pet 3:12 “For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
When we first believed in Jesus Christ, we received the righteousness of Christ and thereby entered into a relationship with God, where our prayers are always heard by God. God is a faithful and loving Father; therefore, we can be sure that He will always discipline us when we need it, and sometimes his discipline takes the form of silence when we pray, because we are not living as we should. When we are living a life that is pleasing to God we can be sure that He will answer our prayer, but if we are living a life that is not pleasing to God we will not have confidence in prayer. God’s will is found in His word. Seek to do God’s will and you will have confidence in prayer.
1 Pet 4:7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober {spirit} for the purpose of prayer.
We are living in the end times and the closer we get to the end of the church age the more we will need to depend upon the Lord. The world is becoming more and more corrupt and confused. The world is changing daily, and there are more and more temptations presented to us every day. Therefore, we are becoming more and more dependant upon God for guidance and protection, both for ourselves and for others. We must make steadfastness of prayer a way of life, if we are to live a life that is pleasing to God.
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, ©
Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968,
1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1988. Used by permission.
* Bible Studies by Max Swan
Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD. (NAS) Jer 9:23-24