Why is it needed?
Most believers feel very defeated when it comes to their prayer life. Beyond the flesh’s inner resistance to prayer, the believer often struggles with unbelief about the very items prayed for, as well as confusion about how to pray for the various needs and issues that they face. Prayers can easily become rote (much like much mealtime praying) , somewhat lacking in direction, and they often lack an active faith in God. Praying Scripture tends to remedy most of these problems in one sweep. There is something very powerful about using God’s own “breathed out” words to fill our prayers. What is common suddenly becomes uncommon, crackling with light and life! God sees us talking his word seriously and happily works on behalf of his people.
Who is it for?
This is intended for believers in Jesus Christ (though there is enough about the person and work of Christ in these verses that an unbeliever will encounter much of the gospel in its pages). Specifically, it is intended for churches. It is a small attempt to help churches reinstate the largely lost church-wide prayer meetings that once were so common. My prayer is that this will be a tool that inspires churches to once again pray “all-together”, as well as function as fuel for the fires of the church at prayer!
But beyond that, I hope it encourages many believers in their individual prayer lives, as well as finding a use in small group meetings ,family devotions, groups devoted to prayer etc.
What other books exist like this? How is this one different?
25 years ago I conceived of the need for a resource like this to direct and nurture faith-filled praying but I was sure someone had already put something like this together. So I started to look. The Pocket Promise books of several Christian publishers were helpful to a degree. But they lacked the gospel-centered focus and comprehensiveness that I was looking for. Much out on the market that focuses on the promises of God (there is not a lot) presents the promises as a source of encouragement for the believer (which they are!) but not as fuel to help direct and fill our prayers.
This compilation has been designed with prayer in mind. I wanted something that tied the promises closely to the glory of God as the end of our prayers, and the gospel of God as the foundation of our prayers. With these two book ends, the promises are no longer isolated “happy thoughts” for Christians, but rather the armoury of prayer as we use the “The sword of the Spirit , which is the word of God” (Eph 6:17) to furnish our “supplication for all the saints” (Eph 6:18).
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Fortify your prayers with God’s Word & build a strong faith in God.
