Powerful Prayers: Praying The Scriptures & Delighting In God's Presence Series

"James Duncan, preaching with great unction and power, was asked what was the secret of such powerful preaching. "The secret," he said, was "thirteen hours of consecutive prayer."

When asked the secret of his spiritual power, Charles Spurgeon said: "Knee work! Knee work!"

Charles Finney, after spending a day in the woods in prayer and fasting, preached that night in a phenomenally irreligious congregation. The sermon was accompanied by such divine power that the whole congregation, except one man, fell prostrate upon the floor, and voiced their agony under conviction of sin, in such loud outcries that the preacher was forced to stop." -Christ Life Newsletter.

Imagine if every person in the world prayed an hour a day! The entire world would change. Imagine if every person in this city prayed a half hour a day. The crime would drop to 0. Imagine if every person in the world knew God’s love. The whole world would be filled with peace.

But fear not my friends, it may seem overwhelming, to pray for an hour or a half hour. You can pray for a few minutes, and start there. Because God is near. And he hears our prayers. He answers in mighty ways too.

God is here right now. He is among us. And he is working. The kingdom of God is here.

"Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” -Luke 17:20-21

Understand that God lives within you. We know that for certain. We know Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to live within us. That’s not a theory. It’s a fact. It’s a present reality for every Christian.

So when you look for God’s presence recognize yes God is all around you, but he is also within you.

When we pray we should pray like Jesus did, looking toward heaven, but we can also know God is around us, and within us.

God is not far off. He is here. He is with us.

Today we’re going to consider two types of prayer that Jeanne Guyon discusses in the first three chapters of her book “Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ.”

The first is the practice of praying the scriptures. The second is the prayer of silence.

"Speak to Him then, for He hears,

And spirit with spirit can meet;

Closer is He than breathing,

And nearer than hands or feet."

-Alfred Lord Tennyson.

One way we speak to God is through praying His word. How powerful don’t you think? To quote God’s own words back to Him?

God’s words are written in gold, they are written across the universe itself, they are not of human origin, they are divine. So when we speak them, we are speaking a grand mystery beyond our understanding. Praying those timeless words, has great effect.

One of the most common scriptures to pray is Psalm 23. I encourage you to keep Psalm 23 in your back pocket as a prayer to God…

Try it like this…

Lord, you are my shepherd, I have everything I need.

You make me rest in green pastures,

You lead me, beside quiet waters,

You refresh my soul

You guide me along the right paths, for your name’s sake

Even though I walk through the darkest valley I will fear no evil

For you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord

forever. Amen (Psalm 23)

Sometimes it’s just praying a proverb, Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” And we pray, Lord I trust you with all my heart, I don’t lean on what I know, I submit to you in all my ways, and you make my path straight, in Jesus name, amen.”

Sometimes it’s praying a promise of God, John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

The prayer then is, “Lord you gave me your peace, so I receive your peace, I am not troubled, and I am not afraid, in Jesus name, amen.”

Do you see how powerful praying the scriptures can be? Quoting God’s word back to Him is an effective prayer that can change the world in moments.