More than “Thoughts and Prayers”

Written by Vianne Satterfield

I John 5:14-15 “And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.”

I began Biblical meditation and praying His Word, intentionally, after experiencing a kind and loving reply to an email I had sent about needing prayer for myself and my 19 year old sick cat. I did not know the lady very well, at the time. We sat at the same table in Bible study, and I admired how she prayed, because she quoted God’s Word throughout her prayers. In her reply to my email about my sick cat, Lucy typed a beautiful prayer filled with compassion, love and specific Scriptures that pertained to my need. This interaction may have been simple, however, it is what motivated me to know God and His Word so intimately that when given the opportunity to share with someone in need, I too could pray with the authority of God’s Word on my lips and in my heart. I received much refreshment as my faith was strengthened from that simple yet profound prayer, which occured in late 2009.

A dear friendship developed as a result which led to many opportunities to gather together with other like-minded people that meditated and prayed God’s Word into the nations, communities and church. This prayer group was unlike any other I had been associated with, as this group’s main focus was meditating on Scripture, asking the Lord for insights and praying the Word into the situation. Many wonderful friendships have resulted from praying with ASKers from all over the globe. I received mentoring from precious people who love God with all of their heart, soul, strength and mind. The mentoring came from observing their lifestyle of believing God’s Word to be true and the answer to whatever ails us! One such mentor, Martie, will stop conversations in mid sentence — to pray aloud for a situation or person, as she makes declarations of God’s promises and her confident trust in God’s ability to handle it. We might be talking about a problem or issue in our own lives, and suddenly we are taking the issue to God in prayer. It is as if this holy and sacred moment needs immediate expression and it cannot wait until later. There is no “I will pray for you” later, as she demonstrates confident trust in the One who hears our requests and launches into a conversational prayer with me. She modeled praying with people rather than praying for people. It’s a subtle difference yet is needed in our world of quick text messages of “Praying!” or sharing the praying hands emoji, which can be seen as spiritual, yet doesn’t really offer the faith strengthening quality of an actual prayer to God, the One to whom we are admonished to present our requests.

Every Christ-follower is called to pray, as this is our primary way of connecting with God, through the power of the Holy Spirit. What if Christ-followers demonstrated our belief in God’s Word by saying His Word in prayer? Wouldn’t our faith be strengthened if we gave more than “thoughts and prayers” to this world? What if we prayed boldly — prayers that depend upon the firm foundation of faith found within a real relationship with God. Praying the words of a Psalm is a powerful tool. For example, Psalm 18:2, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer, my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,” can be offered as a prayer. “Lord, I thank you for being my rock, my security, my deliverer, the One whom I trust. In times of uncertainty, I know I can trust you to handle ______, because your Word tells me it is so. I take refuge in your strength, power and security. Thank you for saving and delivering me from bondage. You are my source of all I need. May you show yourself strong and mighy for _____ who needs your help, hope and healing. I pray in the strong name of Jesus, Amen.”

I challenge you to pray in agreement with God’s Word as you pray with others, making your requests known to God, who has the authority to answer prayer.

Could it be that God is pleased to hear His children declaring their faith in His ability to meet their need? Perhaps God is pleased when we remind him of His Word — which is truth. By doing this, we’re also reminding ourselves of His truth, which reinforces Scripture memorization and builds faith as we proclaim the character of God such as His faithfulness, grace, loving-kindness, compassion and care.

I challenge myself and those who read this blog to make a point to pray with people by speaking or typing your prayer, whether it is sent by email, text messages or posted as a comment on social media platforms. This kind of interaction is far more meaningful than the quick “thoughts and prayers,” and it may even lead to further opportunity to pray with people and to mentor others in connecting to God through praying His Word.

The mentoring I received is being passed on to people in my sphere of influence so that others can encounter a real connection with God, the One who listens to our requests, answers our needs and provides relationship through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

I challenge you to practice your belief in God and His Word by praying it into situations in your life and the lives of those in your sphere of influence.

I would love to hear how praying God’s Word has affected your life. Please share in the comments below!