Harnessing the Power of Praying God’s Word

Have you ever found yourself at the point in your life where you just feel anxious, overwhelmed, and not sure exactly what you should say or do?  Then you suddenly realize that going to God in prayer might be the exact thing that you need to do.  Yet, when you stop and find a moment to go to God in prayer, your tongue feels all tied up, and you cannot think of a single thing to say that would make any sense of the situation. You possibly even try praying God’s Word and simply draw a blank.

This rings true on so many accounts for me.  I have been there, to the point of not knowing what to say.  Even if I tried to talk to God as a friend, which is usually how I have a conversation with God, I still find myself unsure. I’ve gone so far as to just sit there, praying that God will speak in that quiet moment, and give me the words I need to say.

Recently, my husband spoke on praying the Scriptures.  I’ve known this all my life.  I’ve always prayed Scripture while praying.  Although this time, it was different.  There was something he said that struck a chord with me.  He pointed out that we should be specific in the reading of the Word during prayer.  He began with Psalms 1.  He spoke of how he prayed that specific Scripture and how the Lord just stepped into His prayer time.

Me being me…I decided that maybe I should do the same. 

I mean, after all, Isaiah 55:11 says,

“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” King James Version.

And it is HIS Word that we are praying.

Word that was given to man by Him.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16–17, KJV.

Now the first thing that comes to people’s minds is the fact that maybe they do not know a whole chapter of Scripture.  Neither do I! I have learned many Scriptures and some small chapters throughout my years in Christian school, but to stand here and say that I can pray several whole chapters throughout the Bible would definitely be an untruth.  Which brings us to an important point.

You can read the Scripture while you pray!

Bear with me here.  I know many of you are thinking, “Didn’t she know she could do that?”  Yes, yes, I did.  The thing to keep in mind here is that not everyone knows this.  This became very clear after my husband’s message, when a few people came and spoke to me about it.  I clarified this important fact with them and saw such a relief wash over their faces.

Praying God’s Word is Powerful!

Since today’s post is focusing on the power of praying God’s Word, I want to empower you with specific Scriptures and the purpose of each one.  I pray that by doing so, it will encourage you to move forward by being specific in your prayers.  I also pray that it will help you develop the habit of praying each day if you don’t already do so.

For one week, I want to challenge you to join me and focus your prayers on specific chapters throughout the book of Psalms. That is seven days of focused prayer.  Each chapter will be listed along with the focus point of the Psalm.  I truly believe that if you do this in faith, you will change the atmosphere of your prayer time.

Below, you will find clip art for each day’s prayer.  Feel free to right-click on the artwork and save it to your device.  Print it out and hang it where you can see it.  Set aside a time to focus completely, with no distractions, on praying the chapter.  I would love to hear how doing this has changed your prayer life, so be sure to comment below.

One more Scripture before we move on, which I believe is very fitting for this post. 

“Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray.  Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.  Is anyone among you sick?  Let them call on the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up.  If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.  Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.  Elijah was a human being, even as we are.  He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.  Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain and the earth produced crops.” James 5:13–18, New Living Translation.

The moral of the story…THERE IS POWER IN PRAYER!

Let’s begin praying God’s Word together!

For more encouragement like this, check out my latest blog post: Crafting a Proverbs 31 Lifestyle with a Dash of Reasonable Independence.

Day 1: Psalm 27 – In Times of Fear

Day 2: Psalm 73 – In Times of Doubt

Day 3: Psalm 6 – In Times of Illness

Day 4: Psalm 46 – In Times of Trouble

Day 5: Psalm 51 – In Times of Sin

Day 6: Psalm 32 – In Times of Forgiveness

Day 7: Psalm 12 – In Times of Loneliness