Scripture Praying: Step 4 For Cultivating Daily Delight in Prayer
“Could you not watch with Me one hour?”
Matthew 26:40 (NKJV)
Step Four ____________________________
Basic Definition
The Act of _____________ Appropriation
Action Focus: Supernatural _____________________
Key Word: __________________________
Voices from the Past:
“Though the Bible be crowded with golden promises from cover to cover, yet will they be inoperative until we turn them into prayer.”
—F. B. Meyer
SCRIPTURE PRAYING: A Biblical Basis
Scripture:
Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6:17 (NLT)
“Does not my word burn like fire?” says the LORD. “Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces?”
Jeremiah 23:29 (NLT)
For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
Hebrews 4:12 (NLT)
In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?… In God (I will praise His word), In the LORD (I will praise His word).
Psalm 56:4, 10 (NKJV)
God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
Numbers 23:19-20 (NKJV)
Summary Definition of SCRIPTURE PRAYING…
A time to ______________________
Voices from the Past:
“Every promise of Scripture is a writing of God which may be pleaded before Him with this reasonable request, ‘Do as thou hast said!’ The Creator will not cheat the creature who depends upon this truth, and far more the heavenly Father will not break His Word to His own child.”
—Charles Spurgeon
SCRIPTURE PRAYING: A Prayer Application
Employ __________ Word.
Voices from the Past:
“The only thing that matters in our warfare is to throw all the energies of our being into the faithful use of this precious blade—the sword of God’s Word!”
—Amy Carmichael
SCRIPTURE PRAYING: A Life Application
Claim a _______________ promise.
Voices from the Past:
“If there is progress in understanding prayer in depth, it is by the study of the Bible.”
—Donald Demaray
“Prayerful study of the Bible is indispensable for powerful prayer.”
—Andrew Murray
Where to Next?
SCRIPTURE PRAYING…
Four Ways to Get Started and Keep Going!
Following are four suggestions to help you personally apply this aspect of the 12 in daily prayer.
A Practical Prayer Summary
Step 4 in World-Changing Prayer
- When bringing Scripture into your devotional hour, ask God to bless His Word to your spiritual body, just as He blesses natural food to your physical body.
- Examine a passage from either the Gospels, the Epistles, Psalms or Proverbs. Look carefully for specific ways to apply each verse to prayer.
- As you study a verse (or verses), ask yourself what petition this passage prompts you to make, or what promise this passage contains that stands directly behind a specific petition.
- Develop actual prayers based on the thoughts and phrases included in a verse (or verses) of Scripture and offer those prayers confidently to the Lord.
Afterthoughts...Ponder and Pray
Ponder Points:
Discuss (or ponder) why you feel God’s Word is so important to our praying. What do you think Charles Spurgeon meant by “pleading God’s promises” in prayer? What do you think it means to say that the Bible is “a living extension of God’s nature and character”?
Personal Afterthoughts
Prayer Points:
Take a moment to pray for a personal need (or the need of a friend or situation) using a favorite Scripture or Bible passage as a basis for that prayer. Weave phrases of this verse or passage into your prayer. (If you can’t think of a passage, use a verse or two from the 23rd Psalm as the basis of your prayer.)
