Jehoshaphat Prayed the Word
When Judah was faced with the danger of imminent attack by a group of enemy nations, King Jehoshaphat prayed the word of God. He prayed the promises of God to their forefathers and God came swiftly to their rescue.
“Jehoshaphat stood before the people of Judah and Jerusalem in front of the new courtyard at the temple of the LORD. He prayed ‘O LORD, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you! O our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when your people arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? Your people settled here and built this Temple for you. They said, ‘whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war, disease, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence before this Temple where your name is honoured. We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us.”
2 Chronicles 20:5-9
Great! Jehoshaphat knew the word of God and simply threw it back to Him. It is not that God forgot His words and promises. But He will always want us to affirm our faith in His words and walk in His will. Jehoshaphat was reminding God of His promises to Abraham and also to King Solomon during the dedication of the Temple. Let’s see them:
Promises to Abraham
“As the sun went down and it became dark, Abram saw a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. So the LORD made a covenant with Abram that day and said, ‘I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River – the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.” Genesis 15:17-21.
Promises to Solomon
“So, Solomon finished building the Temple of the LORD, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do. Then one night the LORD appeared to Solomon and said,
“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this temple as the place for making sacrifices. At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or I might command locusts to devour your crops, or I might send plagues amongst you. My eyes and my heart will always be here.” 2 Chronicles 7:11-16, 1 Kings 9:3
Jehoshaphat knew all these promises and promptly threw them back to God at the time of need. And because God cannot deny His words, He immediately responded and saved Judah from the imminent danger. He took over the battle, the three nations killed themselves and Israel had victory. Praise God!
Daniel Prayed the Word
Another good example is Daniel. He knew and prayed the word of God for the deliverance of the children of Israel from Babylonian captivity, and he received the attention of heaven swiftly:
“It was the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede, the Son of Ahasuerus, who became king of the Babylonians. During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, was studying the writings of the prophets. I learned from the word of the LORD, as recorded by Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with Him in prayer and fasting. I wore rough sackcloth and sprinkled myself with ashes.”
Daniel 9:1-3.
Now, Daniel and the children of Israel were taken into captivity in Babylon. There, Daniel read from the writing of Jeremiah and understood that it was time for Israel’s captivity to end. It was meant to last just for seventy years. Then, he began to pray on that divine promise and consequently got favourable results.
Let’s see the promises that Daniel prayed:
“The truth is that you will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised and I will bring upon you home again. For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. I will be found by you,’ says the LORD. ‘I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you again to your own land.”
Jeremiah 29:10-14
These were the promises Daniel prayed on. If you don’t know the word and promises of God for your life, you will overstay in captivity. You must strive to know what the word of God says concerning you, your family, your country and the church. You must know what the word of God says concerning your health, your finances, your children, and your marriage and then pray on them, if you must get the desired results.
Jesus prayed and acted the Word
Jesus also understood this principle that was why He said that He does nothing except what He is directed to do from above. He would always seek for the will of His father to be done. In fact, at a stage He said that He was going (acting) according to . That means that everything about him has been written down in heaven. His was just to follow the divine script. No wonder, He always got the maximum result of His prayers. When we know and pray God’s word, all things will become possible to us.
Let’s also briefly see what some of the veterans of prayer movement have to say on this:
R.A. Torrey in his work ‘How to pray’ wrote that,
“Mere intellectual study of the word of God is not enough; there must be meditation upon it. The word of God must be revolved over and over in the mind with a constant looking to God and His Spirit to make that word a living thing in the heart. The prayer that is born of meditation on the word of God is the prayer, which soars upward to God’s listening ear.
“The word of God is the instrument through which the Holy Spirit works. It is the Sword of the Spirit in more senses than one. The person who wants to know the work of the Holy Spirit in any direction must feed upon the word. The person who desires to pray in the Spirit must meditate on the Word, so that the Holy Spirit may have something through which He can work. The Holy Spirit works His prayers in us through the word. Neglect of the word makes praying in the Holy Spirit impossibility. If we seek to feed the fire of our prayers with the fuel of God’s words, all our difficulties in prayer will disappear.”
Then, E.M. Bounds also elaborated on this theme in his book, ‘The Necessity of Prayer’:
“Prayer draws its very life from the bible. It places its security on the firm ground of scripture. Its very existence and character depend on revelation made by God to man in His holy word. Prayer, in turn, exalts this same revelation and turns men toward that word. The nature, necessity, and all – comprehending character of prayer is based on the word of God.”
Well said by these spiritual generals. Now, we can also know the will of God and pray it through the messages we receive from dreams, visions, discernment, word of knowledge and word of wisdom (prophetic words). God through these revelation gifts can make known His will for an individual, for the church or for the people. And when you sense that the message is coming from God and pray it, it receives answers. I can testify to this. I receive most of my revelations from God through dream and visions.
Though, God also speaks to me through other means, but dreams and visions have become predominant. When I