“The Bible is actually a whole book of spiritual words! The Bible will teach you the language of God so that you can effectively communicate to Him. When you speak from the Bible in your prayers, you will be led to an entirely different place in prayer—one you might’ve not thought was humanly possible, simply because the language of the Bible is so absolutely different than our own.” - Wesley and Stacey Campbell
Dear intercessors,
God loves to hear your voice praying His Word back to Him. Did you know that praying the Bible out loud brings spiritual breakthrough? God’s spoken Word is much more powerful than any of us realize. We cannot live without it, for it is there where our prayers unite with God’s heart bringing tremendous rewards of breakthrough. There is a great decline today in the belief that you can know absolute truth and right from wrong. This is one of the reasons we must emphasize the Bible in our prayer meetings and everywhere we go. The Bible is absolute truth. We pray from the foundation of absolute truth. We believe it, and as we pray God’s Word out loud, our faith grows.
A few years ago we spent several months in the nation of Australia. During that time we were fascinated with learning about the kangaroos that live there. I remember eagerly looking at the cute mother kangaroo with a tiny baby peaking out of her pouch. They looked like harmless creatures, but we found out that they could be quite dangerous. A kangaroo’s main weapon is its feet. When he is angry or out to kill, he has the ability to hop so fast that he can kill another animal or person just by the kick of his foot.
He can destroy His enemy by this powerful, forceful kick.
In a similar way we have a powerful weapon—the Word of God. We can kick the enemy and defeat him by speaking the Word of God. Praying the Bible out loud is powerful for spiritual breakthrough. Praying God’s Word with our lips is a dangerous weapon to Satan. He knows the power of the Word of God.
When we went to Australia, at first we were very ignorant about the kangaroo. But they understood and knew the powerful weapon they had with their feet. They could destroy their enemy with one swift kick.
Many Christians do not realize that praying the Word out loud breaks through the enemy’s defenses. It can bring destruction to his plans and bring victory to God’s purposes. Let’s not be ignorant of the power we have in the Bible. Let’s learn to use the Word of God and speak it out loud for spiritual breakthrough. When we do, the spiritual atmosphere of entire cities can change. We can make a huge impact in our neighborhoods through praying or singing God’s Word out loud and over it. The government of God is released through our prayers.
Praying God’s Promises Out Loud
The Word of God contains many promises about the circumstances and situations we face. Reading, proclaiming, declaring, and meditating on these promises found throughout Scripture will increase our faith. Faith comes from hearing the Word (Romans 10:17). We actually pray the Holy Spirit’s inspired words back to God. He is faithful to His Word. His promises are consistent with His character. You will be able to pray with wisdom and authority as you pray God’s promises. Here are a few from the New Testament but there are many more.
- Luke 24:49 -Father's promise to cloth the Church with power from on high. See also Luke 11:13.
- Acts 1:8 -Promise to receive power through encounters with the Holy Spirit and to be witnesses, even to the ends of the earth.
- John 14:12 -Promise that those who have faith in Jesus will do even greater works than those of Jesus because He goes to the Father.
- John 14:13-14 -Promise of answered prayer when asked in Jesus’ name so that He may bring glory to the Father.
- John 14:27 -Promise of peace and encouragement so as not to be afraid or troubled.
- Matthew 10:1, 8 -Promise of having authority to heal the sick and cast out demons. See also Mark 16:17; Luke 10:19; and 1 John 3:8.
- Ephesians 6:11-18 -Promise for the ability to stand against the devil's schemes and his flaming arrows.
As we pray God’s promises out loud, we begin to understand God’s plans and agenda. Our desires fall in line with His.
Praying the Apostolic Prayers of Paul
The prayers of Paul are some of the richest prayers in the Bible. They are always directed toward God. They are always positive. He thoroughly understood the law, grace, the Church, and holy living. He prays for the fruits of Godly character in the lives of those in the Church. He prays for wisdom in the Church in order that believers are able to search out the mysteries and knowledge of God so that we may know Him better. He prays these prayers for the glory of God so that His Kingdom may come and His will be done in our churches, cities, and nations.
Paul reveals to us in his prayers, the power of intercession and the high focus we should have in prayer for the spirit of revelation. He prayed that the Church would come to a more full experience of the knowledge of God in active intimacy (Ephesians 1:17-19) as they walked out these spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3-14). He wanted the Church to encounter God deeply. We need our eyes enlightened. We need divine encounters with God. Look at what happen when we pray these apostolic prayers regularly:
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Our hearts are supernaturally influenced by God - This helps us have a sustained lifestyle of pursuing God’s glory. We need the Spirit to do this, to enable our human capacity to receive more of God (1 Corinthians 2:12-14). We need to have our hearts fully alive!
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We receive divine revelation to enlighten the eyes of our understanding - We begin to see God unveiled experientially in our understanding (John 17:3; Ephesians 1:18).
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We receive confidence and hope in our individual calling from God - These divine assignments encompass all of time and eternity. We cannot walk firmly in our assignment in this age unless we are anchored in eternity (Ephesians 1:17-18; 2:10; Colossians 1:9-10).
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We receive understanding of our spiritual identity - We discover the glory and wealth of being God’s inheritance. We understand that we are the focus of God’s affection (John 15:9; 17:23).
- We are empowered to live our life in God (Ephesians 1:17-19) - He gives us His resurrection strength (Ephesians 1:20-21). We have the authority of Jesus as we resist sin and satanic opposition. All of God’s power works through and for the good of His Church because all things are subject to Christ (Ephesians 1:20-21; Colossians 1:16; Philippians 2:6-11).
Praying these apostolic prayers of Paul’s are powerful. He had a brilliant mind but was deceived and, out of his extreme zeal, had been persecuting the Church. But suddenly, Paul had a supernatural encounter with God that changed everything. His prayers are anointed with the power of God. We pray the apostolic prayers daily at IHOP in Kansas City. See Apostolic Prayers. I encourage you to pray these prayers as well.
We must seek to obey God as we fill our hearts with His Word and ask for revelation. The apostolic prayers will undoubtedly bring you up to a new level in prayer and intercession. They will help you see how God views the Church and each one of us. Begin by praying them in your own personal life, and then integrate them in your own prayer meetings.
These are only a few examples of how you can pray the Word of God. Praying the Psalms is another wonderful way to praise and worship God through His Word. The Psalms contain many different types of prayer such as adoration, supplication, worship, praise, confession, and intercession. You may want to sing the Word. As you read a chapter in the Bible, you may want to turn every verse into a personal prayer for spiritual growth, physical or emotional healing, or some other concern in your life or the life of another. You may want to rephrase the Word as you pray it back to God.
There are so many creative ways to pray the Word. The knowledge of this great treasure we have should cause each one of us to rejoice. It is far more valuable than silver or gold. God’s Word is life-giving. Let’s use it daily in our prayers. Let’s learn to pray it for spiritual breakthrough.
"As a result of praying these biblical prayers, we find it increasingly easy to come in agreement with the Spirit of God concerning His nature and His agenda. We begin to desire what He desires, confident in His ability to bring it all to pass. Also, as we pray the prayers of the Scriptures, we find it easy to come to unity and agreement with other believers. We are not praying for our own agenda or the success of our own programs. We are not praying for our political convictions to be established as the norm. Rather, we are focused on the establishment of His rule and reign, and that is an agenda with which all believers are in agreement.” - Gary Wiens
*This Article Published 11/4/2013