Dynamic word-based prayer
Praying God’s word hotwires prayer into the most powerful force in the universe. It is part of the armour of God. However, to pray God’s word, we have to have it either in front of us - or in our hearts - ready to come out of our mouths. A time may come when the only word we have, is what we have stored up in our hearts.
Jan Yaxley took her seat and opened her Bible. She said, “Where is the reverence for God’s word today? Where is the respect, when someone opens up the word of God?” Jan Yaxley is a woman of the word. During my time studying at Lifeway College, I was blessed to be taught by Jan about word-based prayer. I learnt the importance of the word and of establishing myself in the word in the years to come… to build my spiritual sword.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Praying God’s word hotwires prayer into the most powerful force in the universe. It is part of the armour of God:
Ephesians 6:10-18
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.
In my Christian walk I have also been greatly impacted by two other women:
One friend who had so much word in her heart that she naturally slipped it into her everyday conversation (without chapter and verse, of course). This lifted her conversation to a supernatural level. (Angela Scott)
Another friend who always put her hand on my arm in conversation, gently interrupting me when sharing my current problem or worry, and said, “Let’s pray.” (Diane Jamieson)
Combining word-based prayer with praying about everything is a formidable combination. The word of God produces life. Life causes things to grow.
Isaiah 55:10-11
For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there,
but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Philippians 2:14-16
Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or laboured in vain.
However, to pray God’s word, we have to have it either in front of us, or in our hearts, ready to come out of our mouths. There is a spiritual famine in the world today because many people are not reading the word and are spiritually starving. I feel grief about the lack of word stored up in people’s hearts – and coming out of their mouths in prayer or conversation.
A time may come when the only word we have, is what we have stored up in our hearts.
Elephant calves can stand within 20 minutes of birth and can walk within 1 hour. After two days, they can keep up with the herd. As a spiritual new-born babe in Christ, I had to learn very quickly to run with a sword for my life! When I first gave my life to Jesus, there was such a backlash from the devil, I had to learn to fight very quickly. I had been a good agent for the kingdom of darkness, the devil was not going to let me go without a fight.
I had so many open spiritual doors for him to afflict me that I was seriously worried my son and I wouldn’t survive the first few weeks of my Christian journey. I had to learn to fight quickly. Aside from calling out Jesus name, which cut through evil like a hot knife through butter, I began to learn the word of God. Aside from the word of God being our spiritual sword, learning it caused me, learn my authority in Christ, and the will and mind of God and grow my ‘inner man’ (spiritual man).
Because I would wake so terrified and confused from spiritual attacks, I had trouble gathering my thoughts. So I wrote scriptures out on A4 paper in large print and stuck them on my wall so I could read them easily. I committed to learning these scriptures by heart. The first one I learnt was Luke 10:19:
“I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.”
To turn this into prayer, simply change a few words to personalise it:
I have given Thank you Lord that You have given you me authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you me.
Ways I learned the word:
1. Scripture on the wall in large print
Write or type scripture out on a large piece of paper and put it on the wall. Meditate on it and speak it out. When I go to another room, try to speak it out. If I get stuck, look at it again, and do some more work to commit it to memory. Repeat that process – I call it ‘combing’. Once I’ve learned that one, use it often, and leave it on the wall to keep my memory fresh. Then add another scripture to learn… and so on.
2. Singing cadences (you really need to hear the audio of this on podcast here)
“I have given you authority… (…I have given you authority), to trample on snakes and scorpions (to trample on snakes and scorpions) and crush them under your feet (…and crush them under your feet); and nothing (…and nothing) will in any way (…will in any way) do you harm, Luke 10:19 (…do you harm, Luke 10:19).”
3. Write key scriptures in your journal
Keep a note of key scriptures and meditate on them often.
When praying for someone I love, I prayed from Ezekiel 36:26,
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
While this was a originally a word for Israel, when I appropriated it in prayer as a grafted-in daughter of the Promise, I saw a dramatic answer. After a few years of this prayer for this person who had once had an adverse reaction to hearing about a new salvation –– began to cry when hearing of a dog being healed because of prayer!
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
To create a word-based prayer, search up the word you need to build your prayer around, eg: healing, blood of Jesus, faith, hope, salvation, anxiety etc. In the olden days, I used an old-school concordance book. These days you just need to search a word in Google and it brings up the scriptures. Eg. ‘salvation scriptures’, or ‘worship scriptures’. Or find an online concordance or download a concordance app. There are good online Bible apps like www.biblegateway.com or www.biblehub.com.
The first word-based prayer I ever wrote was to honour the Lord for who He is. First things, first, right? I found the scriptures, then personalised them:
Lord, I ascribe to You the glory due Your name; I worship You, LORD in the splendor of Your holiness, (Psalm 29:2). Thank You that Jesus is the radiance of Your glory and the exact representation of Your being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at Your right hand in Heaven. So He became as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs, (Hebrews 1:3-4). Therefore You exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on Earth and under the Earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father, (Philippians 2:9-11). Lord, Yours, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the Heavens and the Earth; Yours is the dominion, Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all, (1 Chronicles 29:11).
Many feel a heavy burden for unsaved family members. Here’s a word-based prayer for family. Find the scriptures first…
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9
Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Acts 16:31
Then personalise them…
Thank you, Lord that You do not want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. Father, I lift up (insert name here) before You and I ask You forgive their sins, in Jesus name. Thank you Father, that according to my faith on the Lord Jesus, my whole household is saved. I claim them by faith in Jesus mighty name.
We need to be reading through the Bible in a year – there are some good Bible plans available to help us systematically do this. The WORD FOR TODAY has scripture references at the end of each daily devotional. If we read through the scriptures referred to as well as the daily devotional, we will get through the Bible in one year.
The app called YouVersion has a wonderful Bible reading plan with Nicky Gumbel, the developer of the Alpha course, that you can download on your phone.
Lastly, a word-based prayer for those recovering from addiction or trauma:
Thank you Father, that you restore the years the locusts have eaten (Joel 2:25). That everything that the enemy intended for my destruction can be turned around, and used for our good by You (Genesis 50:20). Father, thank You that weeping endures for a night, but joy comes in the morning, (Psalm 30:5). Thank you Father, that Your divine power has given me all I need for life and godliness in Christ Jesus (2 Peter 1:3). I have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). I confirm no longer to the patterns of this world, but am transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2). I offer my body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God (Romans 12:1). No weapon formed against me can prosper, for my vindication comes from you (Isaiah 54:17). Lord, help me walk in the spirit and not in the flesh (Galatians 5), and search my heart and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24). Father I thank You that the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but You came that I may have life, and have it abundantly, in Jesus mighty name (Deuteronomy 30:3-13).
For further study on this VIP topic, listen to Ray Curle’s message, The Power of Speaking Out Declarations
Janet xox
If you don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, and want to, pray:
“Lord, I surrender my life to You. I ask forgiveness for my sins. By faith I receive the gift of eternal life. I ask that You baptise me with Your Holy Spirit. Thank You for setting everything right between You and me. Show me the way forward with You, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Congratulations, you’ve just made the most important decision of your life. Now ask God to show you a good church to be a part of, and bring the right people around you, and He will.
If you’re not sure, and want to know if God is real, pray this (even quietly in your heart):
“God, if you’re real, show Yourself to me.”
Hear my story in podcast with Megan McChesney, Back from the Abyss
Visit janetbalcombe.com to learn more about my books, other blogs, or to connect with me. To see what else I’m up to, visit: wildsidetrust.org, wildsideministries.com and wildsidedesign.net
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! -2 Corinthians 5:17
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. -Romans 12:2
Put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. -Ephesians 4:22-24