Daddy used to get fed up: “You’d argue with a fence post!” So he told me to be a lawyer. True, there are thousands of lawyer jokes, few of them undeserved. But when you need one, you’ll be glad to have one. (Even Jesus is described as “our advocate with the Father” 1 John 2:1.) Attorneys search the law and facts for anything helpful to their clients. Then they persuade judges and juries to make decisions favoring those clients.
We should pray the same way. Don’t bring God a wish list. Bring God the law—show Him what His word says about your prayers. Use the Bible to persuade Him. This is the principle of PRAY THE WORD ministries, founded by Mary Ann Bridgewater, whose father and husband were both judges. Tell God why His word requires Him to find in your favor.
Does that sound wrong? Is it wrong to argue a case before God? No. This is the way He wants us to pray!
“A Canaanite [pagan] woman came crying out, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is cruelly tormented by a demon….’
Jesus replied, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel… It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.’
‘Yes, Lord,’ she said, ‘but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table!’
Then Jesus said to her, ‘BECAUSE OF THIS REPLY, it will be done’” Matthew 15:22-27; Mark7:29.
Jesus liked her argument! He let Himself be persuaded! And the Bible is filled with stories of people who persuaded God to change His mind: Abraham, Moses, Hezekiah, Hannah, Elijah, and dozens more.
Jesus taught the same point: God responds to persistent, persuasive prayer.
He wants us to have a passionate conversation with Him, not to mumble rote words. And He wants us to know His word so well, we can use it to bolster our prayers.
Lord, teach us to PRAY THE WORD. Help us study it and use it to zealously advocate for the things we seek, both for ourselves and for others.
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