Prayer 101
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Learn to talk to God when you need help
Prayer 101 is a powerful pocket-sized book by Pastor Tim Dilena from Times Square Church. This book is packed with 101 scripture verses from the Bible to provide guidance and strength as you face life’s challenges.
Multiple Colors Available
Prayer 101 is available in white or brown leather.
How to Use This Book
There is an often overlooked but very important prayer in the book of Genesis. It is a prayer of a man who was in crisis. His name was Jacob, and he was about to face a 20-year-old problem. That problem’s name was Esau. Esau was Jacob’s brother, and their relationship was destroyed by Jacob’s deceit and stealing decades earlier. And without any warning, Jacob found out that he and his brother were on a collision course to meet each other. The last time Jacob was with his family, he was told that Esau wanted to hurt him. That is the last thing that was in Jacob’s head. Knowing this back story, Jacob prayed this prayer:
“But You said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered…’” (Genesis 32:12, ESV)
Jacob didn’t pray for victory. He didn’t pray that they would avoid each other. Jacob’s prayer was built on 3 words. Those first three words were what makes this prayer and any prayer powerful. Jacob said, “But You said…” Jacob was quoting what God had said to him 20 years earlier in Genesis 28. Jacob’s prayer was quoting God’s Word back to Him.
“But You said” is the response to a crisis. It’s the prayer of a man that has no idea what this encounter with his brother will be like. It is a lesson on how to face your battles with prayer and God’s Word and believing for God’s intervention.
“But You said” is not challenging God, rather it is challenging your situation by praying God’s Word into it. Jacob wasn’t challenging God’s Word; he was putting God’s Word into his prayer and into the mess he created.
Jacob’s prayer changed the encounter. Why would Esau be bringing 400 men with him if his intention was simply to give his brother a hug and let bygones be bygones. You don’t need 400 men for that!
After Jacob prayed, after Jacob quoted God’s Word back to God, God intervened. Genesis 33:4 (NASB) says, “Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.” Who would have expected that?
Powerful prayer is when you can say to God, “But You said.” “But You said” is our authority in prayer.
The power in quoting God to God is that it appeals to the veracity of God. The veracity of God means God always tells the truth. Another way to say it is that God cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18; Titus 1:2). God will always be true to what He has said, whether it was 20 years earlier or 2000 years earlier.
Jacob quotes God’s own words back to Him like a child would quote something their parents have said to them. It was as if Jacob knew God will always keep His Word. This is why reading the Bible each day helps you pray more effectively. God always responds to His Word.
1 John 5:14-15 (NASB} says, “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.”
His will is found in His Word. So when you ask according to His Word, He hears us. Always remember the Bible is God’s Word. When the Bible speaks, God speaks. So quoting the Bible in prayer is actually quoting God in prayer. Effective prayer is praying the Word of God back to God.
Let’s take a page out of Jacob’s prayer as he faced his crisis. As you read these verses during your prayer time, declare like Jacob, “But You said.” Quote God to God.
You hold in your hand 101 Bible promises with which you can say to God, “But You said.” You can say these words knowing God always keeps His word. People have told me, “When I pray, I don’t know what to say.” This little book is the answer to that question. If you are wondering what to say in prayer, simply quote God to God. You will face situations where people will say things, your mind will say things, circumstances will even say things, but that’s when you get on your knees and tell God, “But You said.”
About the Author
Tim Dilena is the senior pastor of Times Square Church. With over forty years of pastoral leadership and experience, he is the third senior pastor since the founding of the church by David Wilkerson in 1987. Dilena founded the Revival Tabernacle in Detroit, in a former XXX movie theater, and pastored in Brooklyn, NY, and Lafayette, LA, before returning to New York City. He has been a speaker for the MLB, NFL, and WNBA chapels and is the author of The 260 Journey, a daily devotional through the New Testament.
