Just Say the Word

Every time you pray God’s Word, you’re praying in the Spirit.

If you want to bring power into your prayer life, the key is Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesians:

“… praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication” (Ephesians 6:18, ESV).

Powerful prayer is always “in the Spirit.” And, one of the surest ways to “pray in the Spirit” is to pray God’s Word.

OK, will you try a five-second, juvenile object lesson for me? It’ll help explain why praying God’s Word is a form of praying in the Spirit. Put the back of your hand directly in front of your mouth and say out loud: “Let there be light.” What do you feel on the back of your hand? Your breath, of course.

When you speak, your words are literally full of your breath. When the Bible says all scripture is “God-breathed,” (2 Tim. 3:16) it means that God has inspired the Word. Literally, it means He filled the Word with His breath. Interestingly, the word for Spirit in Hebrew and in Greek can be translated “spirit,” “wind,” or “breath.”

Your breath symbolizes your aliveness. In a real sense, your breath is your life. In this sense, what God puts His breath into is what God puts His life into. The Word of God is, therefore, alive with God Himself.

What this means for the prayer warrior is extraordinary! It means that when you pray the Word of God, you are praying what the Spirit has already filled. When you pray the scripture, you pray in the Spirit.

It’s one thing to say to God, “I’m afraid and I hope you’ll protect me”; it’s quite another thing to say, “Oh God, you are my refuge and my fortress, and you promise to deliver me from the snare of the fowler and to cover me with your pinions. Let it be according to your word for all your promises are ‘yes’ and ‘amen’ to me in Christ.”

If you feel like you don’t know what to say to God or don’t have the right words for a difficult situation, turn to what God has already said. When you pray the Word, you’re praying in the Spirit. And that’s the Gospel!