The Process of Prayer – Isaiah 43:26

by Rex Rouis

Isaiah 43:26 gives insight into the process of prayer.

“Put Me in remembrance, let us argue our case together; state your cause, that you may be proved right.” NASB

“Cause me to remember; let us enter into judgment together; sum up for yourself, that you may be justified.” Green Literal

“Remind me when we’re in court together – tell your side, make the case that you are right.” Complete Jewish Bible

The following are the three main elements to prayer, they are:

1. “Put Me in remembrance…”

God wants to be reminded of your need. Matthew 6:6, 7, 8 tells us that even though God already knows what we have need of, we are to pray for them. It is important for us to involve Him and formally ask Him. This is similar to having a legal issue formally recorded on the docket for official action. For more on this…“I Command You To ask”

2. “…let us argue our case together…”

Jesus is our advocate. This is where you seek and wait on Him to find the will of God for the solution. He must be counseled with to find the proper course of action and to discover the exact nature of His will in the matter. ‘Judging the case together means that you will be requested to tell Him what His Word says about the situation. His Word acts as legal precedent before the Bar of God. It is never wise to go into a courtroom without an understanding of the law and the complete agreement of your attorney. When you find the will of God is when faith comes to the heart – for faith begins where the will of God is known. For more on this…Do God’s Promises Cover What You Want?

3. “…state your cause, that you may be proved right.”

Take the outcome of your interaction with Jesus and release it out of your mouth. This releases into the world the faith that has been placed in your heart. It must come out of your heart through your mouth, for the New Testament tells us

…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. Rom 10:9, 10

Faith must be acted upon for it to come alive, and the first step of believing obedience it speaking it out. For more…Faith Must Move Your Mouth Before It Can Move Your Mountain

My own translation of Isaiah 43:26 is:

“Put me formally on record; let us argue our case and govern together (judge our opponent at law); then sum it up and declare our judgment, that you may be proved right (and made whole).

Prayer is a partnership with God.  That does not diminish His authority or His sovereignty. He set it up that way. It is His requirement. God does not want to do things for us so much as He wants to do things through us. He demands that our attention to stay on Him. He wants us to believe and obey His word to us. It is disrespectful to sit back and simply expect God to move on our behalf. It is also disrespectful to not take Him at His word – the word He has already given to us in the Bible. We must trust and obey His written word and listen for His spoken word to our hearts.

His Word acts as legal precedent before the Bar of God.
His spoken word confirms to us and makes active His written general word. Faith, the Bible says, comes by hearing, and hearing by the (spoken) word of Christ. Faith does not come by reading or hearing someone else’s words. We must work everything out with Him and Him alone. For it is His word alone that we are to stand upon.

Prayer is a partnership with God.

Comments

  1. How am I to know this is the complete process? Did the author leave some elements to complete the process?

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