http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2010:23&version=NIV
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I%20Kings%208:56&version=NIV
Three or four months ago Pastor Todd and I had a discussion in my office about the promises of God. I don’t remember the exact way Todd brought up the subject. It was something that he had either heard or read about this. Simply stated, it was about people who ‘pray the promises’. In other words, when some people pray they remind God of one of His many promises found in the Bible. In effect, they ask Him to answer their prayer based on this promise. The questions that Todd and I discussed were, Why do they do this? Is it really necessary?Well, since God is perfect we know that He is incapable of forgetting any of His promises. It would follow then that, if this is the case, He really doesn’t need to be reminded of them. That being said, is there any precedent in Scripture for it or any command to pray in this manner? If so, is there any benefit for us to practice this? First of all, let’s see if there is any precedent for reminding God of His promises in the Bible.
In Exodus 32 God was angry with the Israelites over their making and worshiping of the Golden Calf. In verses 13 & 14 we have Moses’ conversation with God. “Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” Then the Lord relented and did not bring on His people the disaster He had threatened.” Then in 2 Chronicles 6:42, at the dedication of the Temple, Solomon prayed, “Lord God, do not reject Your anointed one. Remember the great love promised to David Your servant.” Finally, there is the prayer of Nehemiah when he heard about the sad state of affairs in Jerusalem. “Remember the instruction You gave Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to Me and obey My commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for My Name." In each instance one of God’s servants reminded God of one of the promises He had made. So I would say that the practice of reminding God of His promises is supported in Scripture. Next we need to see what benefit there might be for us in doing this.
As we’ve already seen, God never forgets His promises so we don’t need to remind Him of them. So, praying the promises must be for our benefit. When we take one of God’s promises to Him in prayer, what we are doing is responding in faith. We are telling God that we agree with His promises. That we believe in them. That we fully expect that they are going to be kept. So praying the promises has the effect of increasing our faith - faith to believe in a God who is faithful. Who always keeps His word. And praying in faith always brings results!
Lord, I thank you for Your many promises found in Your Word. Promises to save me. And keep me. Guide me. Protect me. Bless me. Use me. May I be encouraged and strengthened by them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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