Throughout Scripture, we are urged to lift up the promises of God back to Him in prayer. After considering the below examples, you will be convinced that praying the word of God back to God, is something that our Father instructs, commends and delights in!
1) In Isaiah we read, “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins. Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case, that you may be acquitted.” (Isaiah 43:25-26). Here, God makes a declaration regarding Himself. In short, He makes a promise: I will blot out your sins and not remember them. Then, he urges His people to remind Him of His promise. “Put Me in remembrance,” He says. The root for both “remember” and “remembrance” is the same word in Hebrew, zakar. “Put Me in remembrance,” He is saying, “of my promise not to remember your wicked ways.”
2) David writes, “Remember the word to Your servant, upon which You have caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life” (Psalm 119:49-50). Here, David is reminding God of His promises. He is urging Him to fulfill them and fulfill them quickly.
3) In Isaiah 62, the Lord declares: “I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth” (Isaiah 62:6-7). The Lord is encouraging His people to harass Him with what He has promised them. “Do not keep silent,” He says. “Give Me no rest,” He instructs. “Remind me day and night,” He directs.
4) In Nehemiah, we read an emotional appeal prayed by the author of this book that includes the words: “Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name’” (Nehemiah 1:8-9). Nehemiah reminds the Lord of His promise to restore His people should they repent. The Lord answers Nehemiah favourably and uses him to rebuild Jerusalem.
Do you see how praying the word of God back to God is emphasised in Scripture? We are putting God in remembrance – and He loves it! Why? In Numbers we read, “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19). Our lifting His words back to Him shows the Lord that we believe He is faithfulness itself and truth personified. It shows Him that we believe that when He speaks, He will remain true to that word and when He promises, He will perform. This expression of faith delights our Heavenly Father, through and through!
Please watch out for the next part in the TEACH US TO PRAY series, coming soon.