Why do we need to pray according to the Scripture? Before Jesus faced the crucifixion He prayed in Gethsemane: "my Father…yet not as I will, but as you will." Every believer should willingly follow the footsteps of Christ. Prayer should be in accordance with the will of God. But what is the will of God? We know that God spoke His Holy Word to the ancestors, and He also spoke to us through Christ. Apart from meditating on the life of Christ, the Holy Word of God is the blueprint for His will.

First, we need to seek and discover the will of God. In order to do this, we need to dig deeper into the word of God and seek to live out His word. We should also pray with the word of God. This is the first practical step. When we do not follow our own will, but to follow the Father's will and pray according to the Scripture, we are responding to the first two lines found in the Lord's Prayer: "may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." The will of God is effected through our prayers.

Second, we should allow the Holy Word to train our lives so that we can become people of prayer. As disciples of Christ, we should not only say we believe, but we should also live it out. Prayer is our best action. During worship in church, our prayers must respond to the Holy Word, allowing the Holy Word to become our focus and emphasis. This is how we inherit salvation in the Lord: believe with our heart, confess with our mouth - this becomes our salvation. Not only should we believe with our heart about the power of the Holy Word, our mouth (i.e. our prayers) needs to have the word of the Lord. The word of God should be like pure spiritual milk to us, not only enabling us to be born from salvation, but to enable us to grow and be edified.

Third, the Holy Word is where the power of God lies. When we pray in the Holy Word, it is not because of who we are, nor is it because of the kind of strength and knowledge that we possess. The book of 1 Corinthians says that among those whom God called, not many have wisdom; and most are considered lowly and foolish. But relying on the power of God, the truth of Christ and the power of the Cross can accomplish salvation for us. We can return to the will of God through relying on the Holy Word. God will use us who are low, foolish and incapable to accomplish great things that He wanted to be done. Prayer does not depend on how appealing we talk, nor does it depend on our thinking and ability, but solely because of our faith in the word of God. We believe that God does things based on His word. When we pray in the Holy Word, it enables us to experience the power and faithfulness of the Lord. It is also because of the Holy Word that we enter into eternity with God.

Fourth, the Holy Word of God is His promise. With promise comes fulfillment. The Holy Word of God is His will, and with His will comes fulfillment. However, we must pray with our faith, for the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. The Scripture says we should pray continually. We also know that Christ was taken and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and Christ intercedes for us in the long run. The Holy Spirit that He sent mobilizes, revives and kindles our hearts to pray. His Holy Word accomplishes His "new work" called "creation." The Scripture says: the Holy Word exists forever, not the smallest letter or the least stroke of a pen will by any means disappear. The word that goes out from God's mouth will not return to Him empty. We see how the Holy Son, Holy Spirit and the Holy Word in our lives use us to accomplish His will. Our whole person needs to allow the Lord to be God. In this way we enter into continual prayers as invited by Him. We should not rely on our own, but to stand up and plead the Lord who intercedes for us in the long run. We should also invite the Holy Spirit to ignite this fire, and to enter into the powerful prayer that is based upon the Holy Word.

Fifth, we discover that the Holy Word has enabled the Lord's chosen people (whether young or old, man or woman, strong or weak, high or low) to attain unity through the prayers based on the Holy Word. The book of Ephesians teaches us to "reach unity in the faith". We therefore have a clear focus. We need to grow in Christ and be united by the faith. Our churches can pray in the heart of Christ with one heart, enabling every people and every tribe to respond with "Amen" and to respond from the depth of their heart by saying "yes." Christ is the greatest Amen of God. All His life He did not follow His own will, but only did what the Father wanted. May our churches become "Amen" in the will of God. When there is the word of God, we should respond with "Amen".

Last but not the least, the book of Revelation gave us a very important message. In the last days, the Lord of the resurrection would visit His churches and declare to them: "behold, I am coming soon!" However, we saw how the Scripture recorded the simple response of the churches: "come Lord Jesus!" This could well become the model of praying in unity. Since the Holy Word has stated this, we should respond with: this is our desire. I believe that the zeal of God will fulfill the promise as recorded in Zephaniah 3:9: "then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve him shoulder to shoulder." Where can we find the pure word? The Scripture says, "the commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever." (Ps. 19: 8b-9a)

We see that the Holy Word can become our greatest treasure in prayer and our focus of return. May the Holy Spirit push and kindle our hearts to accomplish the prayers of the churches. Amen.