Have you ever prayed for something and then found that God didn’t answer in the way you hoped He would? I suspect every follower of Jesus can think of many times this has happened. This is part of what it means for God to be God and for us to be human. He knows things we don’t know, sees things we don’t see, and does things we don’t understand, even as we trust that He always hears us and always responds to our prayers according to His power, His wisdom, and His love.
But what if I told you that God guarantees answers to some of our prayers? Would that embolden your prayer life? Would you pray for more things if you knew God was definitely going to do what you asked? Listen to Jesus’ promise to His followers:
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. — John 15:7
This is one of my favorite verses in all the Bible. Jesus is guaranteeing us answers to our prayers in this world when we pray according to His Word.
This is the third step in experiencing intimacy with God through studying the Bible: Pray. For many years, I have used the acrostic PRAY to guide my prayer life.
P–Praise R–Repent A–Ask Y–Yield
Four Questions for Prayer
As we meditate on and memorize God’s Word and apply it to our lives, let’s pray based on what God’s Word says, with confidence that God will answer. Specifically, let’s ask the following four questions.
1. How does this passage lead me to PRAISE God?
Before we ask for anything in prayer, we need to remember the primary purpose of prayer. Recall Jesus’ words right before He teaches His followers what is often called the Lord’s Prayer:
And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. — Matthew 6:7–8
Reflecting on these words, you might think it would decrease our motivation to pray once we realize that God already knows what we need. But Jesus is making an extremely important point that we need to be careful not to miss.
- Prayer is not primarily about asking for something but rather about being with Someone.
That’s why, right before these verses, Jesus says,
But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. — Matthew 6:6
This is the same promise we saw in Psalm 19. God supernaturally rewards those who get alone with Him and listen to his Word.
Therefore, as you meditate on God’s Word each day, let what you see lead you first and foremost to praise God for who He is and thank Him for what He has done. Look at the passage you’re studying and ask, “What attributes and actions of God do I observe that lead me to praise and thank Him?” As you meditate on God’s Word, consider falling on your knees or on your face and simply worshiping Him based on what you’re seeing in His Word.
2. How does this passage lead me to REPENT of sin?
The more we meditate on God’s Word, the more it will pierce our hearts, convicting us of our sin and showing us our need for God’s grace. The author of Hebrews says,
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. — Hebrews 4:12
Similarly, Paul says,
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. — 2 Timothy 3:16–17
Based on the penetrating power of God’s Word to reprove and correct us, every time we come to God’s Word, we should ask ourselves, Is there sin I need to confess in light of what I have read?
Specifically consider the application of God’s Word to the concentric circles of your life that we looked at in the last chapter. Based on what you read in God’s Word, is there anything dishonoring to God in your heart, mind, affections, will, relationships, or purpose that you need to confess before him? Confess your sin humbly and honestly, knowing that God loves you deeply, forgives you freely, cleanses you completely, and empowers you supernaturally to turn from sin and live according to his Word.
3. What does this passage lead me to ASK God for in my life and others’ lives?
Now think about all the things you might ask God for based on what you’re observing in His Word. Look at all the ways a passage applies to your life (including your heart, mind, affections, will, relationships, and purpose), and then pray for God’s help to apply His Word faithfully in these ways. As you pray, know for certain that God wants to help you apply His Word, and He promises to help you as you ask Him.
At the same time, don’t simply focus on your life. Consider others, asking, How can I pray for these same things in others’ lives? As you meditate on God’s Word, let it fuel your prayers for your family, church family, friends, and others in the world. And again, pray with confidence in the God who wants to work in others’ lives according to his Word.
Moses is a powerful example of what it looks like to pray Scripture over others. When God’s people were in danger of being destroyed by God’s judgment because of their sin, Moses interceded for them, saying to God,
Turn from Your burning anger and relent from this disaster against Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of Heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’ — Exodus 32:12–13
That’s a pretty bold prayer, isn’t it? Moses says “Remember” to the all-knowing God who always keeps His promises. Yet God delights in Moses’ prayer for God to be faithful to His Word:
And the Lord relented from the disaster that He had spoken of bringing on His people. — v. 14
What an incredible picture in Moses’ life, and what an incredible promise from Jesus for each of our lives:
When you and I pray according to God’s Word, God will act in the world.
4. How does this passage lead me to YIELD to God?
Jesus teaches us to pray for God’s will to be done in our lives, and God reveals His will to us in His Word. Therefore, once we’ve meditated and memorized on God’s Word and applied it to our lives, we need to pray exactly how Jesus prayed:
... not my will, but Yours, be done. — Luke 22:42
Before we even open the Bible to meditate on it, we need to pray, God, whatever you say in Your Word, I will believe and obey no matter what that means for my life in this world. Now, before we close the Bible, we need to express a similar prayer, saying, God, now that I have seen Your will in your Word, I want to walk in it. Please help me to believe and do all that you are calling me to believe and do through it.
Conversation with God
As we have seen, this third step in studying God’s Word — PRAY — is vital for experiencing intimacy with God. Neither prayer nor Bible study is a one-way street. Through studying the Bible, we hear from God as we spend time with Him, and this naturally (or better put, supernaturally) leads to expressing our hearts to Him as He hears from us. And don’t forget who we’re talking about here: the God who spoke all creation into being; the God who causes the sun to rise and calls the stars by name; the God before whom mountains quake and seas roar; the God who rules and reigns over all things everywhere. This God wants to speak to you and hear from you. Even more than that, He guarantees to give you what you ask when you ask according to His Word.
Prayer
God, please help me to pray with confidence that You will act in the world whenever I pray according to Your Word.
Excerpted with permission from How to Read the Bible by David Platt, copyright David Platt and Radical, Inc.
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Your Turn
How might understanding that God wants to speak to you and hear from you change your life? Today, take time to read the Bible and use the acrostic PRAY to guide your prayers. P–Praise R–Repent A–Ask Y–Yield. ~ Devotionals Daily