By: David McFadden

“How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your Word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” (Psalms 119:9-11 NKJV)

We all know that there are innumerable expressions of prayer. Christians around the world are compelled to approach God to communicate with Him. There are billions of people using many languages and dialects, but God responds to prayers spoken from His Word, no matter which dialect He hears.

When we pray, God asks us to remind Him of His Word—He delights in His Word. The Bible also tells us in (Isaiah 55:11 NLT), “It is the same with My Word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”

When we pray, God’s Word is “sent” through our confessions of agreement. His Word will produce fruit and accomplish all that He wanted, prospering everywhere He sends it.

Communication is at the very heart of any relationship, especially our relationship with God.

For that reason, we want our prayers (communication) with Him to be effective. When we use His Word in prayer, He hears us. But just as important, we must understand His response so that we can obey Him correctly—this is absolutely vital. For instance, if I only spoke the Greek language and you were not fluent in Greek, you could never really know me intimately. It would be difficult for you to know my true intentions—there would be a lot of hit-and-miss in our communications and a lot of misunderstandings. This is why many people become frustrated in knowing God—they don’t know or understand His language.

As I mentioned earlier, we use God’s Word when we speak to Him, and He uses His Word to speak to us. Considering how important prayer is, our goal is to be fluent in His language. In other words, the more we know His Word, the better we can communicate with Him, and the more effective our prayers will be. John says it this way, “But if you remain in Me and My words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!” (John 15:7 NLT)

God gave every human being the ability to connect with Him through His Word.

If you do not believe this, then carefully read and study Psalms 119. Every verse, all 176 of them, clearly tells us this truth. We were designed to operate with His Word infused in our lives—for His purposes. Andrew Murray writes, “What God’s words are to me, is the test of what He Himself is to me, and so of the uprightness of my desire after Him in prayer.”

God will always use His Word or a Scriptural principle to speak to you. God will never speak to you or prompt you outside of the confines of Scripture. This means that knowing His Word ensures your ability to properly discern God’s voice, enabling you to pray His will to bring about the harvest He desires.

“I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with Me and I with you, the relation is intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from Me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with Me and My words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon.” (John 15:5-7 The Message Bible)

I have discovered that one of the top concerns for many Christians is to know when, in fact, God is speaking to them. How many times have you heard someone say, “I wish I knew what God was saying to me?” And just as important, the unspoken thought, “I wonder if God will answer my prayer?” Praying amiss is often the outcome when a Christian doesn’t intimately know God’s Word. Faith in answered prayer comes from hearing God’s Word and having His Word hidden in your heart.

Heavenly Father, You are the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. You spoke the universe into existence with your Word. The universe is governed by Your Word, and You have given Your Word to keep me. I want to glorify You with effective prayer. So, LORD, I ask You to work the truths of Your Word into my life. LORD, help me to prioritize my time so that I may put You first and have the desire and courage to choose to read Your Word, study Your Word, and meditate on Your Word. I want to experience the Life You have reserved for me as I eat Your Word. Holy Spirit, thank You for illuminating Jesus’ Word and writing it in my heart. Thank You that You have given me a firm foundation on which to build Your kingdom— the Spirit-revealed knowledge of Jesus written upon my heart.

Excerpted and adapted from, “Prayer by the Book” - Available on Amazon.com by clicking here: Prayer by the Book

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