Scripture Praying - The Act of Faith Appropriation

Lecture 9 Christian Living II

Thursday, March 10th

Prayer and Missions

We have already talked about the universal aspect of prayer, but I want to focus a little more on the missions aspect of praying.

Missionaries need our prayers in a desperate way.

Their primary purpose for ministry is dealing with the salvation of souls and they need our prayers.

Bounds “The key to all missionary success is prayer.”

Our responsibility is much like Aaron and Hur’s in Ex. 17:12.

They had to hold up Moses’ hands in the battle in order to insure victory for the people of God.

We must hold up the missionaries through faithful intercession.

Only God knows many of the battles that they face on the field and we need prayer warriors that know how to “get ahold of God” in prayer.

It is good and important to give money to missions (and you should), but that is not your entire responsibility concerning missions.

Bounds “Money is important, but money without prayer is powerless in the face of darkness, the wretchedness, and the sin in un-Christianized lands.”~

Too many times, poor praying at home is often to blame for poor results on the foreign field!

Those who give, will not necessarily pray.

That’s the problem many times, is that giving is entirely removed from prayer.

We feel like if we give our monthly pledge to missions, then we have fulfilled our obligation and there’s no reason to have to pray for missions.

It is the business of the local church to do the praying. It is the Lord’s business to call and send forth laborers.

The Lord does not do the praying; the church does not do the calling.

Don’t be caught up with the mentality that missions is a corporation or a business.

Remember: Those people that missions seek to reach are not simply statistics, but they are living souls that will spend eternity SOMEWHERE!

Allow God to challenge you to really intercede for them, as well as for those who try to reach them.

You may never go to a foreign field, but you can pray for those who do!

Chapter 5:

Scripture Praying-The Act of Faith Appropriation

Do you ever “pray” scripture during prayer? If so, what book of the Bible do you use?

“There are only three classes of people in the world today—those who are afraid, those who don’t know enough to be afraid, and those who know their Bibles.” ~Unknown preacher

The Word of God is a great source of strength for the believer and much could be said about it.

Make it a practice to have your Bible with you or near you during your prayer time.

Remember: Prayer is communication with God!

There will be times when God communicates with you through His Spirit (inwardly, gifts, sometimes, even audibly).

More times, however, He is going to communicate with you through HIS WORD.

That’s why you need to have your Bible, along with a pen and paper handy during your prayer time.

God will speak to you through His Word.

Note: That’s why I have a hard time believing people who say that they have received divine communication from Heaven, when that communication leads them against the written Word of God.

Examples: Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, Mohammed and the Quran, etc.

God’s Spirit will never disagree with God’s Word.

If God speaks to you in any other manner than His Word, it will always agree with that Word.

Now, keep in mind that this aspect of prayer (scripture praying) is not the same as studying scripture.

The key to praying scripture is application. We are seeking to apply those things that the scriptures mention into our own lives.

The primary purpose of scripture praying is to strengthen our faith.

Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”

Not only will our faith be strengthened by hearing the preached Word of God, but it can also be

strengthened as you read it aloud to God in prayer.

Hebrews 4:12 For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

There are times in life, when you will face things for which you can find no answer; but you can go to the Word of God in prayer and find the answer for that situation.

Though they help, fasting and long hours are not the primary factors in faith building.

E.W. Kenyon “Reading books about faith and men of faith and their exploits stirs in the heart a deep passion for faith, but does not build faith. The Word alone is the source of faith.”

Books and other things may help to strengthen our faith, but it is the Word of God that stands alone for the foundation of our faith.

The key to your prayer life is having it saturated with the Word of God.

Also, be careful that you don’t substitute the Bible for prayer, or prayer for the Bible.

These should be two separate aspects of your devotional time.

Eastman “Our prayer time, no matter how intense, is never truly complete without divine nourishment available only from the God’s Word.”

The Word of God is our guide and foundation for all effective praying. To neglect God’s Word is to neglect God’s power.

Charles Spurgeon “Every promise of scripture is a writing of God, which may be pleaded before Him with this reasonable request, ‘Do as Thou hast said!’”

By bringing God’s Word directly into our praying, we are bringing God’s power directly into our praying!

Why Should We Pray The Scriptures?

1. Jesus did.

a. Matthew 23:37-39 (Psalm 57:1; Exodus 19:4; Psalm 61:4; Psalm 118:6)

b. Matthew 27:46 “My God, My God, Why hast thou forsaken me…” (Praying Psalm 22:1)

2. God is Bound By His Word.

a. Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

b. NOTE: We aren’t to use scripture in an attempt to manipulate God, get our own way, or take advantage of the Word. This is abusing God’s Word. At the end of the day even when we pray scripture, it still must be in alignment with God’s Will for that situation, which means we need to first seek God and ask Him what is His Will for the situation we’re praying scripture about.

3. His Word Is Truth.

a. John 17:17 Sanctify them by Your Truth. Your Word is truth.

4. Helps Us To Maintain Our Focus On God.

a. Praying the Word keeps our heart focused on the One who matters most — God.

b. Why pray scripture?

c.It gets your eyes off the problem and onto the solution.

5. Helps Us Better Understand Scripture And Apply It To Our Lives.

a. Praying the Scriptures, helps us understand and relate to the Bible, which further enables us to apply the Word of God to our lives.

b. Praying the Word, helps us to know the Word better!

c.It shows you that others have made it through similar or the same circumstances

The Psalms, Proverbs, the Gospels, or Epistles are good for scripture praying, but I would add that the Spirit of God can lead you to anywhere in the Word of God!

It lets you know how God feels about your problem. (He really does care)

Whatever situation that you may face, you can find the answers in Scripture!

Faith—can be found in scripture!

Healing—can be found in scripture!

Revival—can be found in scripture!

Encouragement—can be found in scripture!

Conviction—can be found in scripture!

Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Lord, thank You that You call us to come to You when we’re weary and heavy-laden.

Thank You for Your desire to give us rest, which is peace in the midst of trials. Help us to take Your yoke upon us, like a guiding hand. Help us to learn from You; give us a desire to study Your word; open our eyes to understand it, that we may find rest for our souls. Thank You for who You are, for Your desire to walk with us and teach us. In Jesus name, Amen.

Isaiah 40:12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Isaiah 40:29-31 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Lord, with perfect detail you held the oceans when You formed the earth; You measured off the heavens and weighed the mountains. Your power is too much for us to comprehend, though we get a glimpse when we marvel at Your creation. We cannot find within ourselves the strength to stand when we are weak and powerless over our circumstances, yet You desire to strengthen us. Help us to trust in You Lord, that we will find new strength, that we will soar high on wings like eagles, run and not grow weary. As we walk through these difficult times, Lord, be our strength, that we will walk and not faint. Thank You for Lord, that You cover those who trust in You. Show us where our trust is lacking and help us to trust in You more every day. In Jesus name, Amen.

Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Dear God, thank you that you were with Joshua, so that he did not need to be afraid. Thank you for the many times that you have been with me in difficult situations. I know that you are the same God yesterday, today and forever – so I know that you will always be with me. Help me to remember that you are with me when I feel afraid and discouraged. May that bring me comfort, courage and strength. Amen.