Prayer: the Power of Words

Prayer takes many forms
One form is words… …..Words filled with power …..Words that create …..Words that bring about change …..Words spoken by God or inspired by God …..God-inspired words coming from a deep place out of you and me! (Be sure to read How to Pray Scripture, if you haven't)


Words: a Release of the Life Force of God
Let’s look at word power from the point of view of scripture (which is my main point with this website).
Scripture begins with God speaking in Genesis (the very beginning of the story). God speaks and creation, as we know it, comes into being.
• God speaks out each command
• He proclaims life to be
• …and the Holy Spirit is hovering above the scene like a hen brooding over her eggs.
God’s word is “sperma”, life force. And, the Holy Spirit is nurturing that life into the maturity that God is foreseeing.

Whether I take this story to be factual or metaphorical, the demonstrated truth that strikes us here is the power of the spoken, proclaimed word:

Ps 33:6
By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made and all their host by the breath of his mouth. (Ampl)

Heb 11:3
By faith we understand that the worlds [during the successive ages] were framed (fashioned, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose) by the Word of God so that what we see was not made out of things which are visible. (Ampl)

Faith : belief, trust, agreement (Strong’s Concordance)


Side Bar___________________
Check out this article by Dutch Sheets on the power of praying Scripture...compelling!
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Jesus: Releasing Power Through the Word
God’s powerful speaking continues through the Old Testament. Then, we encounter Jesus in the New Testament. He displays for us the same powerful use of words. After all, He is saying what the Father says and He is doing what the Father does. (Jn 5:19) Observe:
• The frightened disciples wake Jesus. He’s been asleep in the boat in the midst of a life-threatening storm. Jesus doesn’t break a sweat over the situation:
Mk 4:39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea , “Peace, be still!”. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. (Power of Words!)

• The Centurion approaches Jesus for healing on behalf of his paralyzed servant. Jesus says, “I’ll go.” The Centurion responds with
Matt 8: 8-9 “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed ”

• Jesus loves it! Loves it! He sends the Centurion on his way with:
Matt 8:13 “Go your way; and as you have believed so let it be done for you .” And his servant was healed at the same hour.

Jesus speaks with power and authority…heaven’s power and heaven’s authority. As a result, He really has people’s attention. This is no empty rhetoric. Jesus has the words of life and as He speaks, life goes forth.

When Jesus arrives in Bethany, we learn that His friend, Lazarus, is dead and has been in the tomb for four days. A large rock covers the opening to the tomb. Jesus has the rock rolled away. Then, with little fan-fare, but much authority:

(Jn 11: 43-44)
He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus come forth .” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him and let him go.”

Needless to say, this display of power causes a stampede of on-lookers. The power of the spoken word has broken through the prison of death, restored life to the dear prisoner. Can you feel the stir of wonder that this event has caused?



“Prayer is the strongest form of generative energy.” 
Dr. Alexis Carrel, Nobel Prize winner


Jesus and His disciples are walking early one morning…apparently without having had breakfast. They approached a leafy fig tree. I’m sure they could see it from a distance and were contemplating the nice energy charge that comes with tree-ripened fruit. WRONG! No fruit! Jesus addresses the tree with:
Matt 21:18 “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.”


The tree immediately withers. The disciples are standing in open-mouthed amazement. You would think they’d be accustomed to such displays of power by now! Anyway, Jesus answers:

Matt 21:21-22 “Assuredly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea’, it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”


There it is: “believe” and “speak” . No indication of those disciples trying this. But, they didn’t have the Holy Spirit yet. We do!


The Power of Words: Guard Yours!
The New Testament is rich with examples of Jesus speaking with power…and things changing because of His words. Then He gives us a stunning bit of information about our words:

Matt 12:36-37 “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Jesus is making the point that words are so much more powerful that we have ever realized. They are a power source that has almost been overlooked.

Neuroscience is beginning to come up with explanations of why this is true! As we look at this, you and I, we start waking! What you and I have been saying is actually shaping our worlds.

We are given the opportunity and privilege to speak out words of power and life in the Spirit of Prayer….
• to speak out words that originated in the heart of God and carry his life-force in them.
• to speak light into the darkness, to speak order in the chaos.

We have the opportunity, as God did in the beginning. The world awaits our stepping up to the plate.


Resources:
No Storm Too Great!: CD of Scripture prayer based on Psalm 91; peaceful and healing; charged with faith
Prayer Affirmations for the Journey: CD of Scripture prayer proclamations for winning the battle against negative thinking
Releasing the Power of Psalm 91: a free e-course for building faith
Confession of Faith: Understanding the dynamic of Scripture prayer