Praying the Word: How Christ Becomes Your Prayer

Alright, now then, that’s one. That’s one. Actually, brother, that’s two. When I was here last time, I said pay attention to the sense of life and go along with it, and when you feel darkness and death, turn from it, and set your mind on the Spirit. Now, step two, brothers. Groan. Breathe. And say a Word. He can never be further away from you than your mouth. That’s the furthest that God can ever get from any man. He is as nigh as your mouth. I do not understand this; I can only tell you that the Lord places great emphasis on a man’s mouth. Paul said, “Let every man seek after prophecy.” To use your mouth to confess Him. To praise the Lord with the tongue. All I can say, brother, is it’s true. Just call him. “O, Lord. O, Lord.” Exercise the mouth in an effort to throw the switch, to exercise the spirit.

Alright, now, then that’s two. Now, then here’s three. Alright, we’re…I don’t know where you are, but let’s turn back to Ephesians. Brothers and sisters, we are going to learn something utterly and completely new. Now, we have chucked everything, and we’re going to learn the most practical thing for all of us to begin to learn to exercise our spirit, to contact the Lord’s Spirit, to live by His Life, rather than our own. It’s in these two passages of Scripture, and we’re coming very close to the end.

Verse 17. This is Ephesians 6:17. We have already looked at it. The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. What is the word of God? The Spirit. So, we come to the word of God, and we feed upon it, and we take it as Spirit. Now, then, brethren, it also says, praying always with all prayer. How do you pray? You pray with prayer. You pray with prayer. With all prayer. That doesn’t mean “all prayers”; it means there is a prayer within you, brother; pray with that prayer. Pray with that prayer. Alright, now that’s two things. What is that? That is taking the word of God in spirit, and it is praying in the spirit. It is praying the Lord Jesus. It is the Lord Jesus praying to the Father. It is the Lord Jesus in you. I will put it this way. Perhaps this is the best way to say it.

Prayer is the echo of the Lord in your spirit and in the Father. You sense something in you, echoing: pray it.  You sense something in you groaning: pray it. You sense a prayer in you: pray it. Have you ever sensed a prayer? I believe, brothers, there have been times when you sensed a prayer, and what you did was to fellowship with a brother. There have been times you have sensed a prayer, and you just let it turn into a thought. Brother, be very quick to sense a prayer and pray it with your mouth. Pray the prayer of the Lord Jesus in you.

I am going to give you a million dollars. This is the most helpful thing that you can do to really be in the spirit, but before I tell you what it is, I want you to make an agreement with me. Whatever we do in the church, whether it’s a meeting, let us never give ourselves or what we do a name. Do you understand that? We never want to be the gospel chapel out here, right? The moon is not called a Baptist moon, is it? It’s the moon. This is the church, so we don’t call it some kind of…it’s just with the brothers and sisters. When we do things, we don’t give a name. As for number two, brother, don’t make anything legal, right? One week, we will do something this way. Next week, we will do it that way. Whatever we do will have to be new and fresh. Okay?

Now, this is starting off as just a word. Thirdly, brethren, will you try this? Will you try this? I’m going to tell you something. Is it, Gene, I’m not going to read anything till you tell me what it is? Okay, if it’s just not so terribly terrible, will you try? I want to see some hands. Alright. Okay, praise the Lord.

The word of God is Christ, and prayer is Christ. The offerings were Christ. The incense was Christ. The Life in you is Christ. The thing that pleases the Father is Christ. The only thing about you that ever pleased the Father is the Son. So let us just come and take the Word that is Christ and offer it to the Father. Praise the Lord. The Word of God is living and quick, sharper than any two-edged sword, dividing soul from spirit. The soul cannot withstand the word of God. The soul cannot withstand the word of God; it will invariably split the soul from the spirit. And this is the living word of God, when it is in spirit, and the spirit is what prays. So, pray the word of God. And brother, you can’t pray the word of God but a minute or two, and it’ll split the soul…and you will be in spirit.

You say…I’m a doubting Thomas. Okay, here is something that can be proven by experience. Brothers and sisters, just come to the Word. Are you listening? Because we are here, right now. You open the Word of God. You come to it and just throw away the mind. I don’t want to learn a thing; I want to feed. And you open the word of God, and you just read it a little bit, and you get a little sense; a little echoing: tell the Father. You’re offering up the Word, the Lord, and you’re offering up the Lord in spirit. You say, ” What are you offering up?” Brother, I don’t know. Who’s praying it? I don’t know. All I know is that this is the ladder from heaven to earth. This is being in spirit.

Brother, after a moment, you will pray a little bit more, and you’ll get just a little…wow, praise God. And then you’ll see something else, and all of a sudden, oh, praise the Lord. Father…and you speak it to Him, and suddenly there is a sense that you are in reality; you are in the Spirit, and you’re living by a Life that sure doesn’t look like yours. And you go on and offer it up to the Lord. Offer up His Word to Him as Life; pray back to Him: Himself.

This book, brethren, is a testimony given to you; it’s an old one and a new one, right? You take it and pray back to him. Read back to Him His testament to you. Okay? I’m going to tell you something. You’ve got to do this five times. At least five times. I don’t want to be legal, but I want you to do this 5 times on five separate days. Why, Gene, do you want me to do this five times? I will tell you why, because the first time you do it, you will be about as conspicuous…you’ll feel about as conspicuous as if you stood out on the Bakersfield expressway out here in your pajamas. (laughter) That’s exactly how you will feel, but that’s alright, because pretty soon you’ll get to enjoying the fellowship of the Lord in his Word so much, you don’t care what you look like. Praise the Lord.

Now, brothers and sisters, this is a real good step; this is a real good beginning in exercising our spirit, by being in the spirit, and by living by another Life.