Prayer and the Promises
by Barbara Epp
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#4 in Barb's series on prayer
Prayer and the Promises
God was very surely laying a foundation of understanding about prayer in my heart and each “stone” laid was invaluable to building me into a “house of prayer”! As I was grasping the innate qualities of prayer I saw it as both natural – to me – and supernatural – from God! God’s heart is always about bridging the gap between Himself and His creatures.
Jesus said, “Ask, and ye shall receive.” James said. “You do not have because you do not ask…or ask amiss.” We instinctively know that we can ask, don’t we. And we know that we should not ask amiss (selfishly). What we often don’t know is that God simply wants us to want what He wants!!
So He has supplied us with what we call His PROMISES!
It was not a big leap for me from seeing that God inspires prayer to realizing that He has given us “exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature..”! 2 Peter 1:4 But it was nevertheless a revelation.
God, as the Master Builder has given us literally hundreds of promises to be used as building blocks in our lives as He perfects us. As He shines the light of revelation on these “precious stones” we have the opportunity to co-operate with Him in the building process by agreeing with Him that He fulfill His promises.
I remember a song from my youth:
“Standing on the promises of Christ, my King,
Through eternal ages let His praises ring.
Glory in the highest I will shout and sing,
standing on the promises of God!”
These promises are woven into His word and lie like “treasures” and “pearls” to be discovered and desired by us! I began to realize that I was living like a pauper when God had already given me all that He has! I needed to learn to stand on the promises by asking God to do what He already wants to do! What He is waiting to do! However, while the promises seem to be there to pick and choose from at random, this work of building me into a “house” of prayer is carefully planned by my Father and it is vital for me to let Him be the architect and carpenter!
One of my most favorite promises is:
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will guide you with My eye.” Psalm 32:8
I am His workmanship!
Prayer is Gods’ gracious provision and is initiated and inspired by Him! Also, my part in prayer is to hear, see, believe and ask in order to appropriate the promises He shows me.
And, that’s not all…………!!
Barbara Epp. For many years she was the director of Mothers Who Care which is a prayer ministry that enlists moms to pray for their children’s teachers and schools. She is now working as a mentor to women around the globe who have indicated a desire to learn more about Christ. She is able to do this by e-mail.
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