Someone once said, "It is more important that men learn to pray than it is for them to gain a college education." Notice, it's not that a college education is not important; but learning to pray is more important. People go to great effort and expense to gain a college education. It's not expensive to learn to pray, but it may require some effort!
I feel so sorry for folks who don't know how to plead their case with God in the crises of life or as needs arise. They may know how to say words. But there is a vast difference between just spouting words off into the air and effective prayer that obtains needed answers.
Prayer is joining forces with God the Father. It is fellowshipping with Him. It is carrying out His will upon the earth.
John Wesley, founder of the Methodist denomination, said, "It seems that God is limited by our prayer life. He can do nothing for humanity unless someone asks Him to do it."
You might ask, "Why is this?" You see, God made the world and the fullness thereof. Then He made man and gave man dominion over all the work of His hands (Gen. 1:28; Ps. 8:5,6). Adam was the "god" of this world. However, when Adam disobeyed God, he committed high treason and sold out his dominion on the earth to Satan. That's when Satan became the "god" of this world (2 Cor. 4:4).
God can't just move in on Satan's territory and take over. If He did, Satan could accuse Him of being unjust. However, God devised a plan of salvation and sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to consummate it.
Satan had no dominion over Jesus. Therefore, through Jesus, God could redeem mankind and restore to man his lost dominion over Satan. Now when we ask God to move on this earth, He can move in our behalf in Jesus' Name. That is why it seems He can do nothing unless someone asks Him to do it.
Even under the Old Covenant, people in covenant with God could pray and expect answers. For example, in Genesis 18, we find Abraham pleading his case to the Lord. Abraham took his place in the covenant - what we call today the Old Covenant - that God had made with him.
"And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: SHALL NOT THE JUDGE OF ALL THE EARTH DO RIGHT?" (Gen. 18:23-25).
In this account, we see that God did not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah until He had talked it over with Abraham, His blood-covenant friend. Through the covenant the Lord had just solemnized with Abraham, Abraham received rights and privileges about which most believers today have very little understanding.
That covenant gave Abraham legal standing with God. Therefore, according to the terms of that covenant, Abraham could speak plainly to the Lord as he interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah, saying, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
Throughout the Old Testament we find people who not only understood their covenant rights, but took their place in their covenant with God. For example, because Joshua took his place in the covenant, God parted the waters of the Jordan and caused the sun and moon to stand still in the heavens at Joshua's command (Josh. 3:10-17; 10:12-14).
Because Elijah took his place in the covenant, God sent fire out of Heaven to consume the altar as well as the sacrifice (1 Kings 18:31-38) and put the prophets of Baal to nought.
And when you read about David's mighty men in the Old Testament, you would almost think you're reading about supermen; they were heroic warriors. David's mighty men of valor were utterly shielded from death in time of war as long as they remembered the covenant (2 Sam. 23:8-22).
Practically all the prayers of the Old Testament are prayers of covenant people praying to a faithful God who heard and answered prayer. Their prayers had to be answered. God had to give heed to the petitions of His people because of their covenant rights.
The believer today has covenant rights just as much as the Old Testament saints did. In fact, the Bible says we have a better covenant established upon better promises (Heb. 8:6). We ought to be able to do all they did and more because we have a new covenant, a better covenant, established upon greater promises.
Here is a challenge from a covenant-keeping God to Israel under the Old Covenant to plead their case with Him. How much more is it His challenge to the Church today!
"I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance: LET US PLEAD TOGETHER: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified." (Isa. 43:25,26)
First, God said, "I am He who blots out your transgressions and I will not remember your sins." Thank God for that! If you are a child of God and have confessed your sins according to First John 1:9, then you have been cleansed of all unrighteousness by the blood of Jesus. God has no knowledge you ever did anything wrong.
Do you see what confidence that gives you? When you understand that fact, you can come to the Lord without a sense of sin-consciousness. You can come with faith and boldness and get your prayer heard and answered.
As long as a person comes to the Lord in prayer under condemnation and with a sense of spiritual inferiority, he will be tongue-tied and fear-filled in His Heavenly Father's Presence. And he will be hindered from receiving answers to his prayers. For instance, many times when people pray, they say, "I don't know if the Lord will hear me because I've missed it and failed. I'm such a failure!"
If you've confessed your sin to Him, God doesn't know you are a failure, so don't tell Him you are. He plainly said in Isaiah 43:25, "I will not remember your sins." He doesn't remember that you have done anything wrong, so why should you remind Him of it?
It isn't good taste to remind God of something you have already confessed to Him and been forgiven for. To remind Him that you did wrong in the past is to accuse Him of being a liar because He said you are cleansed from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
God doesn't remember your past sins and failures - so don't you remember them either. Instead, come with confidence and boldness before the throne of grace, knowing that you have been made the righteousness of God by the precious blood of Jesus (Heb. 4:16; 2 Cor. 5:21).
Second, God said, "PUT ME IN REMEMBRANCE: let us plead together: declare thou; or set forth thy cause, that thou mayest be justified" (Isa. 43:26).
What does it mean to put God in remembrance? It means that as a covenant believer, you can stand before the throne of God when you pray and remind God of His promises. You can lay your case legally before Him and plead your case as a lawyer would plead his case before a judge. A lawyer is continually bringing up law and legal precedent. You bring God's Word to His attention: "Put me in remembrance...." Put God in remembrance of His covenant promises: "...Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen. 18:25).
In Isaiah 43:26, God is inviting you to put Him in remembrance of His Word. He is asking you to lay your case before Him and plead your covenant rights before Him using the legal precedence of His Word.
If you need healing, if your children are unsaved - whatever it is you are praying about - find Scripture that cover your case. Then lay the matter before your Heavenly Father.
How do you get God to move on your behalf? By standing on God's Word and pleading your case with Him. You find definite scriptures that promise what you need and continue to put God in remembrance of His Word according to your covenant rights. As you stand on God's Word and plead your case based on His promises, God will work on your behalf.
Isaiah 55:11 is an important scripture you should continually use in prayer as you stand on God's Word: "So shall MY WORD be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it SHALL NOT RETURN UNTO ME VOID, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."
This verse should be the very backbone of your prayer life. No word that has gone forth from God can return unto Him without accomplishing the purpose for which He sent it!
God said, "...I will hasten my word to perform it" (Jer. 1:12). The marginal reading of the King James Version reads, "I will watch over My Word to perform it."
As a partner, a worker-together with God, you lay your case before Him. You call His attention to His part in your life. And because His Word abides in you, you can ask according to His Word and receive answers to your prayers.
God will make His Word good if you dare to stand by it! The greatest answers to prayer I have ever received occurred as a result of bringing God's Word to Him and reminding Him of what He said in His Word. Praise God, the Lord always keeps His Word!
Excerpt permission granted by Faith Library Publications
Rev. Hagin served in Christian ministry for nearly 70 years and was known as the "father of the modern faith movement." His teachings and books are filled with vivid stories that show God's power and truth working in his life and the lives of others.
