Remembering In Prayer

Reflections on God’s faithfulness for courageous prayer

Photo by Gabriel Jimenez on Unsplash

If we were to walk through scripture, we would have our minds engulfed with the reality that we have a God who loves promises. We have a God who loves the use the mind to remember. Our minds were made with memory. Memory has many uses in our day to day life. We need to remember: our relationships, names, addresses, phone numbers, history, math, reading, writing, and the list goes on. This helps us live life. It helps us learn. Indeed, if we didn’t have a memory we would naturally make the same errors over and over again. We wouldn’t remember what is poisonous to drink or what it even means to get a drink. This seems silly to consider, but we know for certain that our memory is vital.

In relation to God, we use our memory to read and memorize his word. We need his word in order to know him and to worship him for who he really is. More than this, we use it to take in promises that help us continue in times of difficulty in our lives. We need to remember in order to have hope. Hope is based on our knowledge of past and future promises and works. Indeed, how do we know we have salvation if we never heard and cherished what Christ has done for us on the cross? What if we couldn’t remember?

As I considered this, I thought it would be good and right to encourage us in our remembering. It would be good and right for us to set our minds on the faithfulness of God. Indeed, we all have times in our lives where we forgot and became anxious about a problem, only to have God provide over and over again. It’s easy to forget God’s control in life.

When I think back on my life, I can see his faithfulness continually. I’ve mentioned before about growing up in a divorced home. I had a deep anger in my heart when I was young. I remember trying to tip my dresser over on my sister in order to hurt her. I remember yelling terrible things at my sisters and my mom. I was angry. I also remember the day God led me to his word at a local Dollar General. I was young and asked my mom, “What’s this book, mom?” I remember sitting at our kitchen table and reading Genesis for the first time.

Not long after this my grandpa showed up at our door and said, “Your kids need to be in church.” He would then pick me up every Sunday. He lived almost an hour away. I remember sitting with older men and women around a table in a small church and hearing them speak great things about God. I remember them praying for a long time and crying out to God. I remember them laying hands on a man who had a low blood cell count and later rejoicing that he was healed. I remember them laying hands on me and asking God to use me as I went off to bible college.

Go further than that, I remember getting wrapped up in drugs and hurting people who deeply cared for me. I remember being in relationships and being awful towards the women in my life. I remember driving home one night, crying, “I just want to know you! I don’t want my life to be this way! Only, let me know you!” (Speaking to God.)

God answered that prayer. My whole life at that time was a wreck and God was leading me out. He continued to bring me back. He’s always been faithful. He’s always provided, even when I was being foolish. I could go on with more instances of his hand in my life, but I tell of these things in order to spark your memory of Gods hand in your life.

I have found that all these moments in my life have made me more courageous and hopeful in my prayers—even when I don’t have it all together. Indeed I never have it all together. God has proved faithful towards me.

More than this I have found scripture to be of more courage and hope in relation to prayer. It is the fuel that gives my heart hope when it doesn’t feel like God is there or that God isn’t listening. Scripture is a book of promises and proof that God is faithful—even with sinful man. Sinful men like me. Those who have constantly needed correction.

I want to encourage you with this. I want to reflect on God being a God who remembers and then urge us to dig for promises that will encourage us to become courageous in our prayer life. I want us to remember in order to be risky. I want us to remember in order for us to be bold. I hope to spark confidence. I hope to ignite a deep desire to love the word of God—in order for us to cling to Christ in a very deep way.

So let’s first consider our God who, remembers.

“I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.” -Genesis 9:15

As you remember, God chose Noah and his family. He told Noah to build the ark because he was going to send judgement on the earth. He was going to flood the earth. This is a picture of salvation. We only have one way to be saved from God’s wrath. We must trust in Christ. He is the boat in the midst of judgement.

After the flood, God puts a rainbow in the sky. He says every time he see’s it, he will remember that he promised to never flood the earth like this again. He made a covenant. He made a promise. Indeed a promise He never forgets.

In contrast with men, who forget. We can see this with the cupbearer and Joseph in Genesis 40:23,

“Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.”

Joseph had revealed the meaning of the cupbearers dream and asked him to remember him when the cupbearer got out of prison. Joseph had been put into prison because the pharaoh’s wife had lied about him. But the cupbearer forgot. This is our memory. Fleeting and questionable. God is not this way, he is faithful. He remembers his promises.

Consider Leviticus 26:45,

“But I will for their sake remember the covenant with their forefathers, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the Lord.”

God is telling the people what will happen. He tells them that they will indeed break their promise. They will indeed forget. But He will never forget. He is faithful and what he promises, he will do.

This is something that must be in our hearts and minds constantly. This is why we must read our Bibles. It is our constant reminder lest we be tossed around and convinced that God is a liar or even that he is like us; that he forgets.

David clings constantly to God and his remembrance,

“Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.” -Psalm 25:4-6

God is a God of his word. If he says that he will save, he will save. If he says He is a God who is merciful, he is merciful. If He says he has steadfast love, he has steadfast love.

David knows his God and knows he will keep his promise. Notice also that he is asking for God to teach and lead him. David loved the law of God. He loved his word. This is how David had so much confidence in his prayer. He knew God and therefore could pray rightly.

Many today pray to God based off their feelings, we would do better to know God in his word and pray based on that. We would do better to pray according to promises clearly stated in his word.

Consider how David speaks to God in Psalm 63:1-8,

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.”

Do you hear it? David sets his mind on God and what He has done. David knows God never lies. He knows whatever God says will happen. This consumes him. He would lay in his bed at night and continually consider and reflect on Gods faithfulness. Indeed, we see this in how he prays. Read the Psalms and count how many times he finds great hope in his God that remembers.

So what promises can you cling to as you pray?

How can you pray with boldness?

Well, there’s many promises you can cling to. In fact they make little books that only contain the promises of God. My son carries one around as he learns to read. He thinks it is the Bible. I find this very encouraging in light of his future.

Here’s one promise book I found on amazon as an example,

This specific book of promises is a devotional from Charles Spurgeon. He covers a promise and then writes a little piece on it. There are also books with a topic and then a list of verses for that topic. Most of these are very affordable.

Here are some links:

Gods Promises For Every Need

ESV Bible Promises

The Promises Of God Charles Spurgeon

You could find a promise book like this and start memorizing and cherishing things that will help you remember the faithfulness of God. You can start your prayer time by quoting promises that God has made. You could also speak the promises to God while talking to him. This will help you to pray rightly.

I have also heard of people praying the Psalms. This can be very helpful. What you do is pick a Psalm and as you read it, you pray according to the topic that you are reading.

For instance, if you’re reading Psalms 1, you would open the Psalm and read:

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

Then you could pray something like this,

“Father, you say I’m blessed if I delight in your word and meditate on it. Help me to consider your counsel above all. I don’t want to find myself resting in the ways of the wicked or their counsel. I want you and I trust that you are the best counsel I can find. Praise your name, Father..”

You see? You cling to his words. You cling to what scripture urges you to remember. This will help us to be bold in our prayer. This will help us love God and delight in his word. It will guide your thoughts through your prayer.

I would also say that you grab a notebook and remember what you prayed for.

Consider Colossians 4:2 when it says,

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”

This will be encouraging when you see him answer! You will have a first hand experience of him keeping his promises towards you! This will give you great joy! Indeed, it will be added to your list of things to remember!

You could also use google and look up, “Promises of God.” Then, highlight them in your Bible. You could put them to memory and quote them to yourself throughout the day and pray as you ponder them. There are many ways to remember Gods faithfulness and promises. I would also say that reading through the biblical accounts will help you see over and over again how God was faithful to his people. I think this will be of great help to our prayer life.

I hope this has helped you. I pray that in your next time of prayer, you will set your mind to remember God’s faithfulness. I pray that you will know for certain that your God is one who does what he says. I pray that you and I will become bold and consistent in our prayer life!

Here are a few promises to get you started:

"And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." -Matthew 28:20

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." -John 14:27

"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:19

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." -John 3:16

"I can do all things through him who strengthens me." -Philippians 4:13

With this, remember the faithfulness of God and then pray!

Cling to Christ!