Many times, I get letters from people who sincerely think they are doing everything they are supposed to when they pray. They feel they are making all the right confessions, following all the right steps, but they are still not having their prayers answered. However, many of them do not realize they are "missing it" on one very crucial point -- they are not praying in line with the Word of God.

Praying in line with God's Word includes two things -- (1) deciding what you want from God, and (2) finding scripture that promises you what you are asking for. Before you pray, ask yourself, "What am I praying about? What do I want? Why am I doing this? What is the end result I want to derive from this time of prayer and petition to God?" If you answer, "I don't know," you will get nothing. In the petition (asking) prayer, you have to decide what you want, and you should be specific.

Once you decide what your prayer request is going to be, find scriptures that promise you the thing you want God to give you or do for you. The scriptures you find, plus your desire, should be the foundation for your prayer. Do not pray for anything for which you cannot find scripture. If you pray outside the realm of what God promises you in His Word -- which is, in effect, outside the will of God -- that prayer is doomed before it ever leaves your mouth.

When you search the scriptures, you will have to use wisdom. You will not find a verse that specifically says, "You can have a Rolls-Royce," or "I promise you a new house on the hill." However, you can find a verse which states the principle or spiritual law through which those things are promised to you. If you exercise wisdom and discernment, you can find a specific scripture to cover any automobile they make, any kind of house you want, or anything else you may need or want that is consistent with a godly lifestyle.

In the first chapter of the Book of Joshua, there is a passage that illustrates the principle of praying in line with God's Word. Even though it was written during the time of the Old Covenant, it enunciates a spiritual law that fits anywhere in the spectrum of time, Old or New Covenant.

Notice what this verse does not say. It does not say that the Word should not depart out of your mind or out of your heart. It says it should not depart out of your mouth. That does not mean that it should not depart out of your mouth in terms of verbalizing it. Rather, we should not let the Word depart out of our mouths in terms of not saying it any more. The next part of this verse bears this out:

In other words, we are to do meditate or dwell on God's Word continually. Normally, the word meditate in the English language means to think deeply about something, to concentrate on it in a mental way. However, in the original Hebrew, meditate means "to mutter." It means "to say something." There is certainly an aspect of thinking in this form of meditation, because you need to think about what you are saying. But the act of meditation in this case is not thinking about something. It is saying something.

We are told to meditate day and night on the Word, "... that [or, so that] you may observe to do according to all that is written in it." This presupposes that you will study the Word, so you will know what is written in it. You cannot do "all that is written in it" if you do not know what is written. How can you meditate on the Word of God if you do not know what the Word says? You cannot, and this is where many Christians have missed it.

Altogether, we are told in Joshua 1:8 to do three things. First, we are not to let the Word of God depart out of our mouths, but to meditate in it day and night. Second, we should observe to do what the Word instructs us to do; and third, we should make sure to do everything the Word says for us to do.

When we do these three things, the Lord says:

What does prosperous mean? It means "abundantly supplied" -- and abundantly supplied means having all your needs met and enough to give away. This verse tells us that whether or not we are prosperous (and this includes having our prayers answered) is not up to the system. It is up to us.

Now, Satan and his demon forces will attack you. They will attack your mind and your thinking, and they will try to tell you that what you have asked God for and what you are standing in faith for will not come to pass. You have to guard yourself against these encroachments. You must make sure these evil forces do not demoralize you, that they do not take away from your peace of mind, or your confidence that God has heard your prayer, and the answer is on its way.

When Satan comes against you, you have to use the Word. But again, if you have not meditated in the Word day and night, you will not know how to confess it. When the enemy comes in like a flood, you will not be able to raise the standard of the Word of God against him. That is why many people are defeated. They do not know the Word of God. The only way you can stand against the devil and demon forces is to resist them with the Word.

A good illustration of how we should stand against the enemy is found in the fourth chapter of Matthew.

Here is the devil saying, "It is written." This is why you need to know the Word. Your enemy not only knows his game plan, but he knows yours, as well. The devil knows what the Bible says, but he does not know what the scriptures actually mean. However, he knows through experience that most Christians do not understand how to work the Word, either, so Satan knows how to use that lack of knowledge against them.

Notice what happens when you know the Word and use it as God wants you to.

Notice that Satan tried to demoralize Jesus three times by dealing with His circumstances and environment. However, Jesus answered, "It is written," three times. Did you notice how fast the devil stopped his attack on any given area when Jesus said, "It is written"? Did you notice that the devil did not come back with a rebuttal in any of those cases, or try to continue that particular line of attack? He immediately changed to another subject, because he cannot deal successfully or effectively with the Word of God.

When you pray and believe God for things, the devil will be on your case before you finish the prayer, telling you, "That isn't going to work. How do you think that is going to work? Remember Brother So-and-So. He prayed that prayer, and he died." You have to be able to say, "It is written," and be convinced of what is written. Otherwise, your prayer will be compromised by your own doubt or fear.

We are instructed in 1 Timothy 6:12 to Fight the good fight of faith. Many Christians do not realize that when they decide what they want from God, find scriptures that promise them what they want, and pray and stand on those scriptures, they are fighting the good fight of faith. It is a fight of faith, because Satan will come in like a flood to try to challenge you while you oppose him with the Word of God. If you are not prepared for a fight, you are not prepared to pray. Satan will contest every inch of ground you claim. But if you continue to stand by faith on those scriptures, you will win. This is why the Bible calls it the good fight of faith.

Sometimes it may even be hard to form the words while you try to pray, but you have to stay with it. The race is not given to the swift or to the strong, but to the one who endures to the end -- the end, of course, meaning the end of your prayer, which is the answer to your prayer.

First John 5:14-15 tells us:

If we believe we have what we have asked God for, we need to say it. We need to confess it, and we need to act like it is true. Make every word, relative to what you have asked, a statement of faith instead of a statement of unbelief or doubt. Keep standing on God's Word, and the request you made to God will come to pass.