Why We Teach Praying From Scripture
It builds trust, increases faith, and provides confidence that our prayers align with God's purpose
I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word. - Psalm 119:58 KJV
The psalmist here is asking the Lord to show kindness and favor, according to the Lord’s own words.
I have sought Your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to Your promise. - Psalm 119:58 BSB
Your promise, or Thy word
Both refer to an utterance, something spoken by Almighty God. That word is His promise, testament, command, pledge. Here, that He would grant mercy and salvation. (see v.41)
The Word is His revealed will to His children. The psalmist knew God promised mercy, but his request for it is based on God promise, not based on him deserving it. God’s dealings with us, in his love and grace, does us a favor—He gives us something we do not deserve.
“But the true ground of our hope is not our most whole-hearted prayers, but God's promise.” Alexander MacClaren
When we come to the Lord in prayer, seeking mercy, grace, favor, blessing—or interceding for another—our appeal to Him may be out of a desire of something. But asking must be based on the promises He has made.
“The principal thing for which we ought to pray is, that God, out of his free grace, may be favorable to us, look on our affection, and grant us relief.” John Calvin
Our Lord will answer only according to His word, for God cannot lie nor contradict himself. (Titus 1:2) He will not break His covenant.
According To is Agreement With
The prayer is “according to” God’s promise. This according is being in line with something, in this case God’s stated will. We are agreed, it is consistent with, in harmony, of one mind—these are all similar sentiments of accord.
These statements all convey the idea of things matching or adhering to a standard, rule, or expectation. God’s promise is that rule. Therefore, when we ask in agreement with it, we are in line with Him.
Mary understood this. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. - Luke 1:38 KJV
This is not a desperate cry of blind faith
He must have had certain hope in God’s word, he had to have known God is a God of grace and blessing. And we know today of the Lord’s great promises, for we have his Testaments, and “in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…” Hebrews 1:1-2
So on this basis, we have confidence to come before the throne of God and ask for mercies—according to the Word of God himself. And this is why we pray the Bible, using Scripture as the foundation of our intercession. He has told us what He has for us and wants to give us.
This is why we teach praying from Scripture. It builds trust, increases faith, and provides confidence that our prayers align with God's purpose.
Here’s the deal: our praying like the Psalmist—according to God's promises, is significant because it aligns our requests with His will and divine plan. It's how we base our praying—on His unchanging character and the assurances He's given us in His Word.
When we ask Him--according to His promises, we can pray with confident hope that our prayer is heard and our Lord will send the blessing as He will.
Later today we will send a special edition newsletter
In it is more information about the Book Launch for Praying God’s Perfect Will: Asking Exactly What He Wants With 23 Prayers From Ephesians.
The book will be released September 6th on Kindle, Paperback and Audiobook. We will also make it available on Substack. More details later today, but if you’d like to support the newsletter and the book, head over to pre-order the Kindle version.
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