Prayers and Confessions Based on the Word

"His divine power HAS GIVEN to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
(2 Peter 1:3,4).

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What shall we make of these Scriptural declarations? Sometimes we are like children with a check for a million dollars who haven't yet learned how to go to the bank and cash it. Ignorance of God's promises, and ignorance concerning the principles of faith which must be applied to receive them, have cost us dearly. This ignorance exists because of a deficient personal knowledge of Jesus Christ in our lives. If we drew near to Him and sought to please Him through a life of active faith, the results would be amazing. It would change the way we talk, the way we think, the way we act, and the way God would move in and through our lives. God wants us to talk, think and act like He means what He says!

Too many Christians struggle along, desperately begging God for things He has already promised, or already declared that He has given to us. Emotionally tormenting oneself does not impress God or move Him to respond. God responds to faith. Without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6).

Verbal thanksgiving is a major key to releasing faith. We thank God for his promises, we praise God for His promises and His declarations to us, before we see the manifestation of the answer we need. We talk as if it is already done. This pleases God, who wants us to "walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).

The Promises are For Us

"For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us."
(2 Corinthians 1:20)

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ".
(Ephesians 1:3)

If we are in Christ, then all the promises in the Bible can be found, claimed and received by us. Any Bible teacher who declares "this biblical promise is no longer for today" is a deceiver. Such a teacher places his own theology above the plain declarations of Scripture.

Satan used to whisper to me that the promises were for another time, another person, that they were not worth having, and later, that I would not receive. All these kind of lies can be overcome by immersing ourselves in the Word of God – by pondering it, speaking it, and hearing people of faith preach it. Like anything worthwhile though, it takes some effort and diligence to renew our minds according to the Word of God. Satan is out to promote unbelief. Unbelief is sin, and we do well to make war on the unbelief in our own hearts, so that the new man in Christ can start to live and move through us.

This most important promise, apart from the promise of justification and the new birth to those who believe, is the promise of the Spirit. It helps a great deal to receive the Spirit as the disciples did on the day of Pentecost, and on other occasions throughout the book of Acts. We need the power of the Spirit. It is the Spirit of God who then leads us through the Word and teaches us how to pray so that God is glorified through the fact that His promises come to pass in OUR lives.

The prayers belong are based on Scriptural promises. By thanking God for making them a reality in our lives, we please God who told us "in everything give thanks" (1 Thessalonians 5:18) and to offer thanks when we pray (Philippians 4:6,7).

We who have entered into a covenant with God through the blood of Jesus Christ are partakers in the promises of God, found in His Word, the Bible. We have given our life to God and promised to obey His Word. He in turn not only gives us the power to obey His commandments, but also is ready to pour His blessings upon us because we are now His children. Everything His Word promises is for us to receive. We must appropriate these blessings by faith.

Speaking the Word of God with a first person application is one way of expressing the kind of faith which pleases God. By confessing our obedience to a commandment of God we are boldly declaring our allegiance to God. We are trusting God for the power to walk in obedience to what He told us to do. It is important to confess like this because our verbal commitments steer the direction of our life. It is also important because many of God's promises to us are conditional upon the kind of faith which leads to obedience.

By confessing a promise in the first person we are boldly stating that we are the ones that it applies to. We definitely express faith that we are the ones who are going to receive the blessing.

Praying the Word for the church is one way of expressing the kind of faith which pleases God. We can be sure we are praying God's will when we pray His word, and we have confidence that He does what we ask. (1 John 5:14,15)

Materials compiled by Michael Fackerell