The Best Prayer Promise

Prayer is one of the great privileges and tools God has given Christians, yet many saints carry confusion about what He has actually promised us when we pray. Christians often reach for promises that were never written to the Body of Christ, and when the outcome they want does not come, they are left discouraged and wondering whether God has heard them at all. The trouble is not that God has failed to keep His word. The trouble is that they have laid hold of the wrong promise, and in doing so, they have overlooked the far greater one that is ours today. The best prayer promise given to the Body of Christ is not that we will always receive what we ask, but that the Spirit and the Son intercede for us according to the will of God, and that we are kept in perfect peace whatever the outcome.

A Promise That Was Never Written to Us

Not every prayer promise in Scripture belongs to us today.

When the Lord Jesus ministered to Israel while on earth, He said:

“And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” - Matthew 21:22

“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” – Mark 11:24

That was a kingdom promise to the kingdom disciples, marked by signs, healings, and mountain-moving faith. It belonged to Israel’s covenantal, prophetic program, not to the mystery of Christ revealed to Paul concerning the Body of Christ. To claim it today, as though God has guaranteed us whatever we ask, is to claim a promise that was never addressed to us in context. If you try to claim this prayer promise, you’ll be sorely disappointed in a short time.

We must rightly divide the word of truth here. Paul himself prayed three times that his thorn in the flesh might depart, and the answer was not the removal he asked for but the sufficiency of grace:

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” - 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

He prayed for deliverance from unbelievers in Judaea, and it didn’t happen: he was imprisoned and ultimately put to death (Rom 15:30).

The apostle Paul didn’t, nor do we, hold a blank check that guarantees every desired outcome as long as we have enough faith. And while our flesh may not like that, God has given us something better.

How We Ought to Pray Under Grace

We ought to pray with an understanding of God’s will.

We do not always know what we should pray for as we ought (Rom 8:26). There is a way we ought to pray, with understanding (1Co 14:15), and there are things our prayers should center upon, yet so often our praying drifts toward the fleshly and the temporal rather than toward the salvation of souls, the edifying of the saints (including ourselves), and the glory of God.

We have many examples of prayer patterns under grace and what we should desire in setting our affections on things above and not on things on the earth: the salvation of the lost (1Ti 2:4); our own and others' spiritual growth in love, wisdom, judgment, and a walk worthy of the Lord (Php 1:9-10; Col 1:9-11; Eph 1:16-19; 3:16-21); and boldness to preach the gospel of the grace of God (Eph 6:18-20; Col 4:2-4). This is why we study, to know God's pattern for prayer under grace rather than to claim a prayer promise to Israel that does not come to pass, leaving us disenchanted and discouraged in our walk.

The Best Prayer Promise

Rather than getting what we want every time we pray, we have the best prayer promise imaginable: the Spirit and the Son intercede for us according to the will of God.

Nowhere is the grace of God in prayer more beautifully displayed than in Romans 8:

“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” - Romans 8:26-27

The Spirit helps our infirmities by interceding for us, knowing what we truly need rather than merely what we want. And the intercession does not stop with the Spirit. He that searches the hearts is the Lord Jesus Christ, who knows the hearts of men and tries the reins (Jer 17:10; Rev 2:23). Nothing you carry silently or even unknowingly is hidden from Him. So both God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are interceding to God the Father on our behalf in prayer, and they are doing so according to the will of God, with perfect knowledge of where you are and what you need. What an amazing truth!

This is the heart of why it is the best prayer promise. Our prayers are often filtered through fleshly infirmity and ignorance, but His intercession never is. He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us (Eph 3:20), and He directs it all toward His will, which is His glory and our ultimate good (Php 2:13; 2Th 1:11-12). If God’s glory is the highest good, and if His glory is bound up with our being conformed to the image of His Son (Rom 8:28-30), then a promise that secures His will for us is far greater than any promise that would merely give us our own will.

Peace That Keeps the Heart and Mind

Even though we don’t always pray as we ought to, we should still pray in every situation, knowing that not only is there intercession according to God’s will, but whatever happens, we are promised peace in prayer.

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:6-7

Notice what is guaranteed. Not the outcome we desire, but a peace that keeps our hearts and minds through Christ. Whether or not the thing we pray for comes to pass, we are promised peace that keeps us, and with it the strength to endure the sufferings of this present time with the right mind, the right heart, and the right perspective in light of God’s grace. That is a better possession than getting our own way, because it rests on the finished work of Christ and the faithful intercession of the Son and the Spirit rather than on the shifting circumstances around us and our limited knowledge.

Christians should pray without ceasing, in everything, and we should study to pray as we ought. But even when we fall short, we are not left to ourselves. The Spirit and Son intercede according to the will of God, and for God’s glory and our good. Behind every prayer we pray is an intercession we could never improve upon, and a peace that is greater than any trouble we face. That is the best prayer promise we could ask for and is why we should continue to stay prayerful in every circumstance.