Praying According to God's Word

Praying According to God’s Word

Scripture Reference: Proverbs 4:23 KJV"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."

Personal Experience:

During my morning prayer time, I found myself talking to God and asking Him to manifest His blessings in our ministry. To strengthen my case, I shared with God how much the enemy had stolen from us and hindered our progress. I spoke about how long we’ve had to go without much-needed resources and the many activities we wanted to provide for our children, youth, and community outreach ministries—all with very little success.

After pouring out these concerns, I suddenly heard these words:"Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of your heart flow the issues of your life."

Message Details:

As I meditated on that word, this thought rose within me: All the problems I kept presenting to God were actually coming out of my heart during my prayer time.

While continuing to reflect on Proverbs 4:23, I found myself also speaking verses 24-27:

"Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil."Proverbs 4:24-27 KJV

Four Reasons Why These Verses Are Important in Your Prayer Time:

1. A Froward Mouth and Perverse Lips

   • These refer to speaking contrary to God’s Word (false and dishonest speech).

   • Instead of approaching God with His Word, I had been bringing all my problems to Him. These words were coming from a froward mouth and perverse lips—words that did not align with God's Kingdom.

   • God does not respond to false and dishonest speech. He responds only to His Word!

     • "Put me in remembrance: let us plead together" (Isaiah 43:26).

     • "He works only with His Word, with signs following" (Mark 16:20).

As a believer, you are programmed to have what you say. If you keep speaking the problem, you will have more of the problem.

1. Eyes Straight Before Thee

   • This means keeping your focus on God’s Word without letting Satan distract you.

   • I realized that by focusing on past events and continually rehearsing my problems to God, I was not walking according to His Word. I was walking by my feelings, which only manifested more problems.

   • Speaking God’s Word helps to put the past behind you—and keep it there.

2. Ponder the Path of Thy Feet

   • Consider well the paths you take in life, especially during prayer.

   • My prayer path was not aligned with God’s Word. My requests for church growth and prosperity could not be answered because they lacked the foundation of His Word.

   • To receive God’s blessings, I had to redirect my prayers to align with His Word.

1. Turn Not to the Right or Left

   • This means staying consistent with God’s Word in your life and prayers.

   • When we approach God with our problems, we veer away from His Word. Speaking His Word keeps us on the straight and narrow path. Once you’re on that path, never turn to the right or left

Closing Prayer:

Learning to speak before you walk means making every confession of God’s Word a statement of faith. For example:

"Father, I keep my heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of my life. I put away from me a froward mouth and perverse lips. I let my eyes look straight ahead, and I keep my eyelids focused on Your Word. I ponder the path of my feet, and I allow all my ways to be established according to Your Word. I turn not to the right hand nor to the left, and I remove my foot from evil.Thank You, Father; I take Your Word by faith! In Jesus' Name. Amen!"

Notes:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Scripture Reference: (KJPV) King James Personalized Version