Chapter Seven: (from Lift Up Your Jawbone by Richard W. Murray)    

The Language of Prayer

                 “For our conversation is of heaven.” – Phil. 3:20

Prayer is perfect speech. It is the language of God. But, before we can pray effectually, we must first learn to listen to God’s language vigilantly within our own hearts and then translate God’s language faithfully to our ready minds, Then, we will be primed to pray forth the power and purposes of God.

Scriptures help us to learn God’s language – His way of communicating with man. Let me share with you the master key to learning the language of God. God speaks in promises. Only in promises. Always in promises. All of the promises of God are “yes and amen” in Jesus.  (see 2 Cor. 1:20) 

The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of promise.

(see Eph. 1:13) The Scriptures are the exceeding great and precious promises of God which provide us all things for life and godliness and allow us to be partakers of Jesus’ Divine Nature.  (see 2 Peter 1:3-4). However, these promises are not about what God will do, but about what God has already done through Jesus’ accomplished work, “by Whose stripes we were healed.”  (see 1 Peter 2:24)

The Holy Spirit continually bears witness to us within our own spirits and hearts that we are children of God and joint heirs with Jesus – heirs according to the promises of God contained in Scripture.  (see Rom. 8:16-17; Gal. 3:29)  This is why the Lord is known as a covenant God. Every Scripture is to be read and translated as a covenant promise of God fulfilled in the completed work of Jesus Christ.

Once fully convinced of these promises, we are now ready to pray them into manifestation in this earthly realm. Do we see? The Scriptures contain imbedded promises of God’s “always already” completed work of the cross. The Holy Spirit stimulates our souls to “recognize and realize” the reality of these completed promises. As we continue to expose ourselves to this “always already” Kingdom of God, a magnificent miracle occurs – we become fully and gloriously persuaded that all God’s promises are indeed “yes and amen”!

“Not by might, but by My Spirit says the Lord”

I remember when I first read Mark 11:22-25 many, many years ago.

And Jesus answering saith unto them, “Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore, I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye will receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, If ye have ought against any: that your Father which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.  (see Mark 11:22-25)

I immediately set my mind to believe that whatsoever I desired from God, I would receive immediately. It did not work. I focused more on my will-power to believe. I once got down on my knees in my closet and repeated over and over again, “I believe, I believe, I believe” with regard to the various things I wanted from God. I was like the Little Train that could – “I know I can, I know I can, I know I can!” More will-power, more intensity, more effort; It did not work! It took me years to understand the true secret of faith. “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”  (see Rom. 10:17)  Always remember, first there is a hearing of God. Then faith Comes. This verse does not say faith comes by will-power, intensity and effort. Faith comes by hearing the Holy Spirit bear witness in our hearts to Jesus’ work “always already” accomplished in us in heavenly places in Christ.

This is why our Spirits are already seated with Jesus in heavenly places, why we are already blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, and why our spirits have already been made perfect and complete in Jesus Christ.  (see Eph. 1:3; 2:6; Heb. 12:23)

This is why God has already rested from His works, because they are finished.  (see Heb. 4:10; John 19:30)   Jesus has already fully “spoiled principalities and powers” and “made a show of them openly.”  (see Col. 2:15)  Greek scholars tell us this passage describes a victory parade celebrating the full, final and complete disarming and despoiling of all the demonic enemies of God. Jesus already fully “led captivity captive” long ago.  (see Eph. 4:8)  The only reason we do not fully realize God’s completed victory is that we individually and corporately neglected so great a salvation. Even though all things have been put under Jesus’ feet, we do not see all things put under His feet because of our neglect to hear the Holy Spirit’s witness to our “so great a salvation”.  (see Heb. 2:3; 8-9)

Hearing the Holy Spirit will change all this and stop the neglect. True faith always “comes” from first “hearing” the Holy Spirit’s inner proclamation of Jesus’ past completed victory over

sin, sickness and Satan.

This faith does not come by the seizing mind, but by the listening heart. Confessing and meditating on Scriptures is not done to increase will-power to believe, but rather to sensitize our hearts to better hear the Holy Spirit’s continual witness. Always remember, “it is God who works in us to will and to do His good pleasure.”  (see Phil. 3:20)  God is the only source of faith. Just as Jesus drew His iron will-power from the Father and not from Himself, so must we draw the power “to will and to do” from God and not from ourselves. Even the faith to believe is a gift from God, or perhaps more accurately the gift of God.

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me.”  

(see Gal. 2:20)

Do not miss the importance of this verse! The faith we are to believe with is not our faith, but rather it is the faith of Jesus – literally. The indwelling Christ, when we listen in yieldedness, actually supplies the very faith for us to believe all things. It is this wonderful process that allows us to partake of Jesus’ Divine Nature every second of every day.

But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof. 

(see Rom. 13:14)

But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.  (see 1 Cor. 1:30)

Seen in this light, confessing Scriptures is not a way to build our faith to get what we want, but rather is a way of releasing Jesus’ faith to get what He wants. And what He wants is to give us His purity of heart followed by blessings of Heaven. Jesus wants to give us His faith, His hope and His love. Theologians call these the “propassions” of Christ – His actual mental and emotional passions. He wants to give us the same intimate relationship with the Father that He has. Jesus wants to fill your barns to overflow with the goodness of God.

But, the only thing standing in the way is our own self-will. Never boast in having great faith! Never condemn ourselves for having small faith. This thinking makes us the issue, not God. This type of thinking comes from self-will. Instead, seek the God-kind of faith – the very faith of Jesus. Jesus never made His own level of faith the issue. Instead, He just listened to the Father – and listened, and listened, and listened.  (see John 5:19,30; 6:38; 8:28-29). He dived into learning Scripture as a youth, not as a way of bolstering His will-power to believe, but rather as a way of honing His heart to hear. Jesus then grew stronger in recognizing and realizing the omnipresent voice of the Father. This is why Paul refers to our receiving the Holy Spirit as “the hearing of faith.”  (see Gal. 3:2)  All works of the Spirit impart faith to those who first “hear”.

When our faith has been purged of self-will, then all that remains is a listening heart, ready to receive all things from God. It is a heart ready to rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing and in

everything giving thanks.  (see 1 Thes. 5:16-18)

Pray This Way

So, what exactly is prayer? How did Jesus pray? How do we pray without ceasing? How does confessing Scriptures relate to prayer? In what sense is prayer-perfect speech?

First, prayer is interaction with God; Participation in each others’ presence; Fellowship; Worship; Friendship; Awe; Communion; Intimacy; Union. It is our souls’ fluid and spontaneous flow with God’s indwelling Spirit. This place of inner-dialogue with the Lord takes place in the human heart. It is the heart we are to guard with all diligence, for from it flows the “issues” (literally “deliverances”) of life.   (see Prov. 4:23 God is always searching the hearts of men, seeking to help us unite and enlarge our hearts with His love.

(see 1 Chr. 28:9; 2 Chr. 16:9; Ps. 86:11; Heb. 4:12)  Interestingly, one of the New Testament words for “prayer” translated as “intercessions” in 1 Tim. 2;1 is “enteuxis” and literally means “to interview or confer with.” Prayer is conferencing with God in the chambers of the heart.

Prayer does not originate on the tongue, but in the heart. It is primarily non-verbal and consists of tender touches and powerful promptings of faith, hope and love – all ministered within our hearts by the wonderful Holy Spirit. These touches must be hungered for, hoped for and listened for, or else they are not felt or recognized. Neglecting the Holy Spirit’s inner-witness is the source of all failure, unbelief and hardness of heart. Heart-prayer is the cure for all failure, unbelief, and hardness of heart – it is that simple. In fact, when Scriptures instruct us to pray without ceasing, they are not referring to verbal prayer, but to heart-prayer. We can not pray 24/7, but we can always pitch our heart-tent towards God.

This is the life of prayer, to abide in continual and spontaneous receptivity to the Holy Spirit. This spiritual sensitivity is all in the Book of Acts, and it is oh so available for us, as well. Stop viewing prayer as oral communication with God. Rather, view prayer as oral affirmation in God as to what the heart has already heard and resolved to believe from the Holy Spirit.

Let’s consider how Jesus prayed. First, we know that He prayed without ceasing in that He heard the Father’s promptings at all times in all places.  (see John 5:19, 30; 8:28-29)

Jesus’ conversations with His Father were all internal heart dialogues. Jesus went out of His way to make sure to inform all around Him that He did not need to orally speak to or orally hear from His Heavenly father.  (see John 11:41-42; 12:27-30) Jesus prayed out loud for the benefit of others, and not for the benefit of Himself. Jesus already knew from His heart interactions with the Father what, when, and how the works of God would manifest.

Even in Gethsemane, Jesus wanted the disciples to stay awake so that they could hear and later record that prayer for our benefit. Jesus did not need to orally confer with the Godhead because He had learned to heart-listen for the Father at all times. Think about it! We never hear the Father verbally respond to Jesus’ oral prayers recorded in Scripture, except in John 12:28-30. Yet, here Jesus clearly tells all that the voice of the Father was saying for their benefit and not His. And in fact, Jesus tells us in John 11:42 that His oral prayer was not for the benefit of the Father or Himself, but rather was for the benefit of those nearby that they would know Jesus was from God. Jesus then ordered Lazarus back to life. And Lazarus obeyed! Death obeyed! Resurrection manifested!

This leads us to the greatest revelation of prayer Jesus ever taught. In Luke 11 and Matthew 6 Jesus recites the Lord’s Prayer and instructs the disciples to “pray this way”. Greek scholars agree that Jesus spoke the Lord’s Prayer in the imperative mood. There are four basic moods in the Greek language – subjective, optative, indicative, and imperative. The mood itself refers to the attitude of the speaker toward the verb he is using. The subjective mood basically has the speaker believing what he says (or prays) “might” happen if certain other conditions occur. The optative mood has the speaker “hope” that what he says (or prays) may happen. The indicative mood has the speaker (or pray) what the current situation “appears” to be to him. Jesus did not pray in these three moods. He did not pray that the Kingdom of God “might” come. Nor did Jesus pray that the Kingdom of God would “hopefully” come. Nor did Jesus pray based on factual appearances that the Kingdom of God “needs” to come.  (see John 7:24)

Jesus prayed the Lord’s Prayer in the imperative mood. Kingdom come! This is the mood of command and authority. He was not asking, begging, wishing, or opining that the Father send His Kingdom to Earth. Jesus was ordering His surrounding reality to conform to His Father’s Kingdom. He was not speaking to reach God the Father. He was speaking from having already embraced God the Father. Jesus had already conferred with God the Father through abiding heart-prayer. His verbal prayer was the external expression of a matter internally resolved and concluded.

Most, if not all of us, have been taught to pray in any mood, but the imperative. This is why there is so much failure and lack of spiritual power. We do not pray “this way”, the way of Jesus, the way of the imperative. We beg or wish at God, rather than issuing orders from and through God. Paul Billheimer rightly said, “Prayer is not overcoming reluctance in God. It is implementing His decision. It is enforcing His will upon the earth.” Thus, prayer is not about overcoming reluctance in God, but rather overcoming reluctance in us – reluctance to believe God for all things.

This same dynamic occurs when the Scriptures instruct us to “ask in Jesus Name”.

Consider John 15:7:  If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Beloved, is this not exactly the issue? First, we abide in relational heart-prayer with God. Then, we “ask” out loud and it shall be done. This is the imperative faith that comes only

from abiding in Christ.

There are five words in the Greek New Testament which we usually translate in the English Bible as “ask”. Punthanomai means “to ask without knowing the answer”. Erotao means “a request for favor”. Zeteo means “a search for something hidden”. Deomai means “to beg an urgent need”. We are not to use any of these forms in asking in Jesus’ Name. The word for “ask” in the following verses is “aitheo” and means “strictly a demand of something due”.   (see Strong’s 4441 and 523)

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to My Father. And whatsoever ye ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it. 

(see John 14:12-14)

If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 

(see John 15:7)

Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you.  (see John 15:16)

And in that day ye shall ask Me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye ask the Father in My name, He will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.   see John 16:23-24)

Do we see? Praying in the imperative is the same thing as asking in Jesus’ name. We are not begging, wishing, seeking or inquiring with our verbal prayers. We are commanding our immediate sphere of influence to come under dominion of God’s goodness. As an example, when David prayed Psalm 103:1-5, he was commanding his own soul to conform to the dominion and goodness of God. Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfies thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.   (see Ps. 103:1-5)

Again, it is not that we are telling the Father what to do. Rather, it is that we have in our hearts already heard and resolved ourselves to the Holy Spirit’s promptings. Our verbal prayer is the exclamation point that completes the circuit of God abiding within us to God manifesting out of us. According to an early Aramaic translation of Genesis 2:7, God created us to be “speaking spirits”. When we are abiding in the Holy Ghost, which should and can be 24/7, we are anointed to speak the imperative will of God into this earthly realm, as it already is in Heaven. Interlinear translations of Matthew 16:19 agree that Jesus tells Peter that, “Whatever you bind or loose on earth shall occur, having already been bound or loosed in Heaven.” The keys of the Kingdom referred to here were the realization and recognition of imperative prayer as perfect speech. Jesus spoke differently than all the scribes because He spoke with imperative authority. His listeners were astonished at the difference.   (see Mk. 1:22)

Prayer is perfect speech because it amens and affirms the “always already” completed work of the Cross. Verbal prayers do not initiate the power of God. They punctuate it. The roots of true prayer grow deep, wide and strong in the heart-soil of men. Only those with a healthy root system of continual abiding in the Holy Spirit are able to effectively launch the verbal missiles of imperative prayer. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to Whom be praise and dominion

for ever and ever. Amen.  (see 1 Peter 4:11)