Praying God’s Word

Hi, friends, this is Joni Eareckson Tada and welcome to Joni and Friends. The large window in the Baltimore-Washington Airport framed a really gray, dull afternoon. Our flight was late, and all the seats in the waiting area of gate D7 were full. So rather than sit anyway, Judy and Bunny stood beside me to pray – something we always do before and after flights. Besides, Bunny knew I needed a prayer lift. She knew I was pretty down over a number of things, including the news that that morning we had not received from a certain foundation the needed funds we required for a project we had going to help the disabled.  

Bunny read the sadness in my eyes, reached for our hands and, after a little bit of praise and thanksgiving, she said, “Lord, send forth the corn and the wine and the oil. Send forth the early rains, the late rains, and produce a wonderful crop of blessings.” Her voice was tinged with that southern accent, soft yet strong, laced with humility, oh, yet so much confidence. I recognized in her prayer the strains of Joel 2 where it says that “the Lord will send you grain, new wine and oil, enough to satisfy you fully.”  

Well, just as Bunny was repeating the part about the corn and the oil and the wine, I felt the presence of a fourth person in our huddle. I kind of squinted, and I smiled at a woman who had edged in between Judy and me. Her husband crowded close and, together, they punctuated my friend’s prayer with lots of “amens.” I assumed they gathered around us because they recognized me in my wheelchair. Well, when we finished, we hardly had time to exchange names with these folks. In their rush to catch their flight, I gave them a quick hug and a book I happened to have with me. And the woman quick picked up her bags, and then her husband folded a $100 bill into Bunny’s hand. The couple hurried down the corridor, and Bunny, she kind of waved the bill in the air like a flag of victory and announced, “Yea, even while I was speaking in prayer, the angel came with the answer!” 

Oh, and she was right. And it didn’t surprise me. ’Cause when Bunny prays, things happen. “Joni,” she instructed as she tucked the $100 bill into my coat pocket, “Joni, this is the first fruits of what God will supply, honey!” Well, I have learned through years of interceding with Bunny, that her prayers not only seem to have, but, friend, they do have power with God. And I’m gonna tell you Bunny’s secret: she has learned to pray in the language of the Father. Bunny even answers using God’s words: Her “yea even while I was yet speaking in prayer” was a direct quote from Daniel 9:21!  

And I have learned to follow Bunny’s lead and always salt-and-pepper my prayers with the Word of God. It’s a way of using God’s language when we talk to him. It’s speaking his dialect; it’s using his vernacular; it’s employing his idioms. Because the Bible underscores that there are two things that the Lord honors above all else: his name and his Word. It says in Psalm 145 and Psalm 138 that “I will exalt you, my God; I will praise your name, for you have exalted above all things your name and your Word.” Learn Bunny’s secret today, and salt-and-pepper your prayers with Bible passages. For prayer which is spiced with his Word is prayer exalted. 

I invite you to visit me today at our website at joniradio.org. Until next time, this is Joni and Friends. 

© Joni and Friends