## Sweet Hour of Prayer #4: Scripture Praying

## Romans 10:17

We have been considering important elements of prayer. We have filled in the first three sections of our prayer clock. First there should be a time of "Praise" followed by a quiet time of "Waiting" which prepares us for a time of "Confession".

Next comes a time of claiming the promises of Scripture. An old preacher once said, "There are three classes of people in this world: those who are afraid, those who do not know enough to be afraid, and those who know their Bibles." Knowledge of the Scriptures is important to every aspect of the Christian life, but it is extremely important to a successful prayer life.

We all know that "...Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God". But for us to appropriate God's promises, we must know them and claim them. God's Word needs to become an actual part of our devotional life of prayer. Only as we apply God's Word during prayer will we come to a full understanding of how much power God has available to us.

Evangelist and pastor, Leonard Ravenhill said, "One of these days some simple soul will pick up the Book of God, read it, and believe it. The rest of us will be embarrassed." We have gotten the idea that the Bible is to be explained, when in reality it is to be believed!

I. Healthy Prayer Requires Divine Nourishment.

A. Jesus said, "...If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove..." cf Mt. 17:20

B. Only God can move mountains, but faith and prayer can move God!

C. Our faith can only be strengthened by the Word of God. cf Ro. 10:17

II. Word-enriched Prayer.

A. God's Word brings life into our prayers.

B."For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effect- ually worketh also in you that believe." cf 1Th 2:13

C. The Word of God is powerful in our lives and It is powerful in our prayers!

D.The Word of God brings our prayers to life."I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me." cf Ps 119:93

III. How to Scripture Pray.

A. Listen to or read a passage of the Word of God.

1. At least one chapter from the Psalms, Proverbs, Gospels, or the Epistles.

2. Remember that you are not reading for Bible study, but you are searching for power that can be applied to your petitions.

B. The moment you discover a verse or two that impresses a particular truth on your heart, stop and meditate on what that verse is saying to you.

1. Evaluate how that portion of Scripture might be transformed into a specific prayer.

2. It is not necessary to form a prayer from every verse that you read.

3. Ask yourself a number of questions:

a. Does this verse prompt me to pray for something specific?

b. How can this passage be directly applied to my petition?

c. Can I use the actual words of the verse in my prayer?

C. Then formulate these meditations into an actual personal prayer that is enriched by the Word of God.

D. Let's apply this to Psalm 1.