Why remind God of His Word? Many of us grew up hearing that when we pray, we should repeat His promises. But since the Lord knows everything anyway, why waste time? If we pour out our hearts and make our requests, haven’t we done enough?
We quote Scripture in our prayers for one of three reasons.
To Prod God’s Memory
When we’ve been counting on a promise in the Bible that God has yet to fulfill, we might feel like He forgot what He said. So we recite Bible verses to help Him recall.
But God doesn’t forget anything! His Word stays fresh in His mind; even our good works don’t fade from view.
“Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.” – Joshua 21:45
“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” – Hebrews 6:10
According to the Bible, then, we don’t have to remind God of His promises. He keeps track of everything He’s ever said.
To Provoke God’s Actions
Yet when we experience a gap between promise and performance, we suspect that God changed His mind. We fear He doesn’t want to do what He told us He would. So we quote verses to force Him to honor the contract He made with us.
But we don’t have to worry about the Lord’s motivation. He cares about us and wants the best for us.
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” – 2 Peter 3:9
In the worst case, we could worry that God never intended to keep His promise. In other words, He lied.
But the Bible will have none of this!
“God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” – Numbers 23:19
We can count on God’s Word but that doesn’t mean we control His timing. So are we still in the dark about His motivation? Not exactly. Paul discloses God’s ultimate intention.
“in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, 3and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior” – Titus 1:2-3
The gospel is God’s plan. Everything He says and does leads us to the person of Jesus Christ. And through Christ, we receive an eternal relationship with God.
Relationship–that’s God’s goal!
To Converse with God
When we pray, we speak to God with honesty, faith, and consistency. But it’s not like a normal conversation; we don’t hear the Lord like we do other people. But we don’t want to do all the talking, because that’s a monologue!
We quote Scripture to help us discern His voice. The Spirit will never tell us something that contradicts the Word. So when we recite verses to the Lord, we’re training our hearts to listen to His responses. It’s all about deepening our relationship with the Father.
When Jacob faced trouble with his brother Esau, he rehearsed God’s promises in prayer and reminded God that He would bless his family.
“Then Jacob prayed, ‘O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, LORD, you who said to me, “Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,” 10I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. 11Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. 12But you have said, “I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.”’” – Genesis 32:9-12
When Nehemiah was distressed over the news of the walls of Jerusalem still lying in ruins, he spoke the Scriptures in his prayers. The promise of a restored relationship with God was what Nehemiah sought for the Jewish people; but only the Lord Himself could redeem the city.
“Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, 9but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’” – Nehemiah 1:8-9
Application
According to the church patriarch John Chrysostom, the purpose of prayer is “not to inform God or instruct Him but to beseech Him closely, to be made intimate with Him, by continuance in supplication; to be humbled; to be reminded of our sins.”
Invest your prayers with Scripture. Take time to read and listen to the Bible every day. As you do, don’t let the words stay in the book. Store them in your heart and speak them aloud to the Author. When you do, you will find your faith growing as you establish your prayers on the firm foundation of His Word.
Remind God of what He has said. Not because He forgets or hesitates, but because it’s a chance for you to grow closer to Him.
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