For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you.
– 2 Samuel 7:27
Oh, this is such a good verse. It’s in a sense, a verse that summarizes the whole purpose of this podcast, Pray the Word.
2 Samuel 7:27 teaches us to pray with courage and confidence.
So what happens here in 2 Samuel 7 is God reveals a promise to David that he is going to establish his house, his line. He’s going to bless his family, and as a result, David prays, “You’ve made this revelation to your servant. So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you based on what you said.” And David is praying for God’s blessing on his house, that God will do what he has said. That’s the whole purpose of this podcast. It’s based on John 15, that when we abide in God’s Word and his Word and us, then we can pray according to God’s Word with courage.
I love this picture in 2 Samuel 7:27, “With courage, with confidence, knowing that God will be faithful to his Word.” So there are many things we pray for in our lives that we don’t know if God is going to answer in the way we are asking, that we don’t have a clear and specific promise from God for. It doesn’t mean we don’t pray for those things, for healing, from sickness or for this or that to change and this or that circumstance. So we ask God for those things with trust in his power and his love, and his wisdom. At the same time, there are things we can pray for that we know God will answer. We have courage and confidence that God will answer because we’re praying them directly according to what he has revealed in his Word.
2 Samuel 7:27 shows us how to pray according to God’s promises.
And so I just want to encourage you, as you think about your prayer life, to pray continually according to God’s Word. When you think about the promises of God, when you think about the purposes of God, when you think about what God has revealed about his plans in his Word, we can pray according to those things and need to, should pray with courage and with confidence for those things, knowing, again, with courage and confidence, knowing that God will grant us what we ask.
Oh God, please teach us to pray according to your Word. Teach us to pray with courage and confidence. God, I think about all your promises, that you’ll never leave or forsake your people, that you will grant us everything we need at every moment, to turn from sin, to walk by faith in you and the power of your Spirit. We think about your promise to work all things together for good. And so, God, we pray, yes, may you be faithful to all those promises today in our lives. May we walk in the power of your Spirit. Lord, may you grant us everything we need amidst everything we’re walking through. May you work all the things we are walking through together for good. Please, God, do it.
Prayer for the Somali People
We have courage to pray this based upon your revelation to us, your purposes as we pray for the spread of the gospel to unreached people around the world, specifically today, praying for the Somali people. God, we know you have a purpose to save Somali men, women, and children, that they’re going to be gathered around your throne. We know that based on Revelation 7, Revelation 5. And so we pray, God, do it, cause the gospel to spread among Somali people. We pray this with courage and confidence.
We know, Jesus. You said, “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field,” that you will do that when we ask. Oh God, do it. Send more laborers and give them success as they go to the Somali people, and not just in Somalia, but spread out around the world.
Oh God, we pray that you would teach us to pray with courage and confidence, like David did in 2 Samuel 7:27. And Jesus, we praise you for your promise in John 15, that you have made the way for us to have access to the Father in a way David could have only dreamed.
So help us to pray continually and courageously and confidently. In Jesus’ name, according to your Word in 2 Samuel 7:27. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
