Yes and Amen: Praying God's Promises Into Reality
"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ."2 Corinthians 1 v 20
I hope you have had a blessed summer with time for rest and renewal.
A New Term, A New Season of Prayer and Fasting
September is always an exciting time in the life of the local church as a new term begins with all the hope and promise that brings. Here at Christ Church we are about to move to the next stage of our vision process as we seek to develop the mission and ministry plans we believe God is showing us.
Needless to say, prayer will be vital to the success of this process — persistent, prevailing, purposeful, powerful, prophetic prayer. This is why we have taken the step of beginning each new term with a week of prayer and fasting, and as we draw towards the end of the first of these prayer weeks, I want to take a moment to reflect on one of the central purposes of intercessory prayer.
What It Means to Pray God's Promises Back to Him
Prayer is, in essence, speaking God's word back to him — reminding God of his promises and bringing those promises to fulfilment. I think this is what Paul is teaching the Corinthian believers in 2 Corinthians 1 v 20 when he writes: "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ. And so through him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God.'
Here's how it works.
God has made hundreds and hundreds of wonderful promises to us in his word, the Bible. The Scriptures are jam-packed with the promises of God, and every single one of them is guaranteed to us in Christ. In other words, Jesus is the 'Yes' to all God's promises. In turn, we take hold of these promises and we pray them back to God, reminding him of what he has said. At the end of our prayer we say 'Amen', which also means 'Yes'. Then God fulfils the promise, we receive its fruit, and in response we give him thanks, so that he receives the glory he deserves for what he has done. It's beautiful! Jesus is the 'Yes and Amen' to all God's promises, and we say 'Yes and Amen' to make these promises a reality in our lives. And God gets the glory! So, everyone's a winner!
The Promissory Note: A Picture of God's Promises
When was the last time to looked closely at a bank note? Maybe you noticed, in small print, the following words: 'I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of x pounds' and then the signature of the chief cashier of the Bank of England. This convention dates back to the days when paper money was a direct receipt for gold or silver. People could take the note to the bank and trade it for real gold or silver coins. So, on this note, the Governor of the Bank of England was making a promise, guaranteed by the signature of his chief cashier, to pay the equivalent sum in solid gold or silver, and to cash in, literally, on this promise, the bearer of the promissory note had to present it in person at the bank and the gold was theirs. Sadly, you can't do this anymore, even though the promise is still written on every five, ten, twenty, or fifty pound note. However, I think it makes a good illustration of the point Paul is making about prayer in 2 Corinthians 1 v 20.
God, the Governor of the Bank of Heaven, makes promises, guaranteed through Jesus, his chief cashier. These promises are written in his word, the Bible — his promissory note. We cash in on the promises by presenting them to him in prayer, so that we receive the grace and he receives the glory.
Daniel's Example: Praying the Promise Into Being
There is a wonderful example of this dynamic principle at work in the Old Testament book of Daniel chapter 9. Here we find Daniel, living as a refugee in Babylon, having been taken from his homeland in Israel years earlier. He understands from reading the Scriptures that God had promised he would restore the exiles to their land after 70 years and that the time had now come for God's word to be fulfilled. Now, Daniel doesn't just read the promise, put his feet up and wait for God to do it. No, he turns to the Lord and pleads with him in prayer, petition and fasting. In other words, Daniel puts 2 Corinthians 1 v 20 into practice, hundreds of years before Paul wrote it. He reads God's promise, he embraces it as true, and in 9 v 4-19 he prays it into being, humbly but boldly reminding God of his word. And, of course, God fulfilled his promise and the exiles returned to rebuild their lives in their homeland, just as God had promised.
Following Daniel's Example This Term
So, at the end of this first week of prayer and fasting and at the beginning of this new term, let us take to heart Paul's words and follow Daniel's example, praying God's word back to him, that we may receive all that we need from his infinitely bounteous grace, and that he might receive the honour, glory and praise which are his due.
Blessings
Rev Rob
Key Takeaways
Prayer is speaking God's word back to Him — reminding God of His promises in Scripture and bringing them to fulfilment.
2 Corinthians 1:20 teaches that every promise of God is guaranteed "Yes" in Christ, and we respond with "Amen" (Yes).
The bank-note illustration: just as a promissory note once entitled the bearer to claim gold at the bank, God's promises in the Bible entitle believers to claim their fulfilment in prayer.
Daniel (Daniel 9) models this: he read God's promise of restoration after 70 years, believed it, and prayed it into being through prayer, petition and fasting.
Christ Church Orpington begins each new term with a week of prayer and fasting as the church seeks God's mission and ministry plans.
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