Praying Promises

And now, O Lord God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it, forever, and do as thou has said.
2 Samuel 7:25

Many, when they go to pray, have their hearts to seek, but David's heart was found, that is, it was fixed, gathered in from its wanderings, and entirely engaged to the duty and employed in it. That prayer which is found in the tongue only will not please God: it must be found in the heart; the heart must be lifted up and poured out before God. My son, give God thy heart.

He builds his faith and hopes to speed upon the fidelity of God's promise. "Thou art that God, and thou has promised this goodness unto thy servant, which I am therefore bold to pray for." He fetches the matter of his prayer and refers to that as the guide of his prayers.

He prays for the performance of God's promise. "Let the word be made good to me, on which thou has caused me to hope, and do as thou hast said; I desire no more, and I expect no less; so full is the promise and so firm."

Thus we must turn God's promises into prayers, and then they shall be turned into performances; for, with God saying and doing are not two things, as they often are with men. God will do as he hath said. (Matthew Henry)

Our pastor said last Sunday that if you don't read and memorize scriptures; God can't use his word to minister to you. You have to know what the promises are before you can return them in prayer to God.

Pulling Back the Curtain: I'm going over to my daughter's house today and we are engaging in a meaningful activity to us both. She has recorded our favorite shows and we are watching them today! We will do some laundry to justify it; and I'll bring my crocheting over to work on.