We all pray. Talking to God seems to be a part of our DNA, from the ‘God, if you’re listening’ cries of desperation to the well-thumbed hymnal of a devout 80 year old. Prayer can be freestyle or written as a poem, wordless or wordy, quick-fire or facedown petitioning sessions, popcorn group prayers or individual meditative heart-prayers.

One fascinating reflection on prayer is Charles Spurgeon’s chapter ‘Order and Argument in Prayer’ in his book ‘The Power in Prayer’. What were some of the formulas of the prophets’ effective petitions? What examples can we use to fuel our personal faith in prayer and stoke passion into our cries?

First, we must acknowledge that all prayer reaches God’s ears. The enemy can often taunt us with the lie that God can’t or won’t listen to His children. We can counter this easily with various scriptures, for example:

Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice. (Psalm 55:17)

Just like any good father is attentive to his child’s voice, God listens to all our prayers no matter the size or shape.

Arguing your case in prayer

As we discussed this topic as a bible study group, I realised that many of us in the room felt that to ‘beef up’ our prayers with reasons God should answer us felt almost… demanding. It felt like we were actually discussing ‘seven steps to manipulating God into giving you what you want’. This demure attitude may be a whiplash effect in our church culture following the anti-prosperity-gospel sentiments of Reformers and Friends. But what does the Bible say? Moses padded his prayers with arguments. Elijah (a man like us!) knew what to say to see results. Jeremiah, too, was pretty wordy. Can all of these men of God be wrong and manipulative? Maybe, just maybe, when we speak to God from a place of relationship, persuasive methods are not so much about getting what we want but aligning our faith, our belief system, with what we know to be true about Him.

The following list can be found in ‘The Power in Prayer’ by Charles Spurgeon:

1. God’s Attributes

Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it?

Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:24-25)

Abraham pleads with God not to destroy the city on the basis of God’s righteous justice.

To base your prayer requests on God’s attributes means to appeal to what you know about God: His love, His kindness, His justice, his mercy. God’s nature will never change and our prayers are powerful when based on His unchanging characteristics.

2. God’s Promises

“Now, O Lord God, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, establish it forever and do as You have said.” (2 Samuel 7:25)

This is a piece of David’s prayer in response to a prophecy from the prophet Nathan.

Here we see David aligning his prayers to God’s promises to him rather than his personal desires. He had initially planned to build the temple himself but had to back-pedal following Nathan’s words. 

This is perhaps one of the better known prayer strategies: Basing prayers on scriptures (God’s word) and to use scripture in prayer. For example, when praying for someone’s future you might quote Jeremiah 29:11. ‘God’s Promises’ could also include personal, tested prophetic words that have been given to you through the Holy Spirit.

3. The Name of God

Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. (Exodus 32:12)

Reverence for God’s great glory (or ‘fear of God’) is a heart posture that is cultivated over time. God Himself is deeply committed to His own glory and He will defend it. This is a common prayer argument used by Moses in Exodus and Numbers.

4. The Sorrow of His People

Her Nazirites were brighter than snow

And whiter than milk;

They were more ruddy in body than rubies,

Like sapphire in their appearance.

Now their appearance is blacker than soot;

They go unrecognized in the streets;

Their skin clings to their bones,

It has become as dry as wood.

(Lamentations 4:7-8)

In this poetic lamentation, Jeremiah reminds God of the depth of the people’s suffering. God’s compassion for His people knows no bounds. In fact, our deep longing to see suffering resolved in specific spheres are most likely initiated by His Spirit. When deep cries out to deep, He will no doubt respond!

5. The Past

And Moses said to the Lord: “Then the Egyptians will hear it, for by Your might You brought these people up from among them…” (Numbers 14:13)

The word testimony in Hebrew is ‘Aydooth’ which means ‘do it again with the same power and authority’. When we read the Bible our faith is kindled by the many miracles and answered prayers. We can use biblical examples of God’s movements to strengthen our prayers. If He’s done it before, He can do it again!

6. The Only True God

And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. (1 Kings 18:36)

Spurgeon quotes this famous passage in which fire rages down from heaven to consume a hosed-down sacrifice, moat of water and pagan blasphemers. Elijah prayed that all would know Him as the only true God and God revealed Himself in an extravagant showdown.

7. The Sufferings of Jesus

If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. (John 14:14)

Praying based on the sufferings of Jesus means to pray in His name. This is the most common ‘argument’ that Christians use in their prayers and for good reason. God will always remain faithful to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Jesus is our great intercessor and mediator and when we pray in His Name, we are saying that we are praying so that His work, kingdom and glory will be magnified in the answers to our prayers.

Try it out

It’s helpful to think of this process as a conversation. For example, when I tried out argument one, ‘The Attributes of God’ in my prayer this morning, I wasn’t sure which of His characteristics related most with my request. I was praying over the book I am currently writing and I felt the Holy Spirit remind me of the ‘Spirit of Knowledge’. God is a God of knowledge and books fall well under that category! 

Why try to use one or two of these seven arguments that you haven’t used before? 

Let us know how it goes in the comments below!

Ref: Spurgeon, C. (1996) The Power in Prayer. Whitaker House.

Kate Walsh

Kate is the current owner and editor of Cup of Faith. She is a blogger who loves Jesus, loves to read, and currently lives in Johannesburg with her husband.

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