Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalms 23:6)
This is a faith confession. It is a form of prayer. Specifically, it is affirming prayer. It is a form of prayer that affirms our faith, that affirms what we believe. It is a form of prayer that affirms the things we know about God, the things we know that God has done, and the things we know that God has said. And it affirms the things that we know about ourselves because of God or in relation to God.
This form of prayer does not wish and wonder, but it affirms its content as true and sure. It does not say, “Perhaps goodness and mercy shall follow me, if it is God’s will.” It does not say, “Lord, I beg you to allow goodness and mercy to follow me, if it is your will.” Rather, it declares, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me. There is no doubt about this. I am not asking, and I am not wishing. Of course goodness and mercy will follow me. And goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, not only some days, but all my days.”
This form of prayer is used in hundreds of verses in the Bible. It is common for prayer to take the form of definite and affirmative statements of what God has done or what God will do. The person affirms what God will do for him. He affirms what he possesses or what he will receive. He affirms what will happen for him. He affirms what will happen with his circumstances.
Christians continue to pray this way as they affirm forgiveness and salvation, healing and prosperity, favor and protection, signs and wonders, and all the things that belong to us because we have faith in God and because we follow Jesus Christ.
The Faithless do not pray this way. They affirm sin, sickness, poverty, suffering, and defeat. They do not affirm blessing and victory because they have no confidence in God. They have no knowledge or confidence in the contract that believers have with God through Jesus Christ. Although they present themselves as the guardians of Scripture, they are the enemies of Scripture, because they do not believe the Scripture. When they pray, they speak against God’s revealed will. They speak against the work of Christ. They speak against the Holy Spirit. They are not truly praying, but they are wishing and complaining and blaspheming.
Instead of affirming the word of God, and instead of affirming blessings and miracles, they affirm the circumstances around them and submit to them as if these circumstances are the will of God. In other words, they affirm that their environment is God, and their circumstances are the revelations of God’s will.
The Faithless often pray, but their prayer is not believing, but begging and wishing. They do not express confidence in the outcome, but they exhibit counterfeit piety by submitting to any outcome. They would submit to the outcome as if it is the will of God even when this outcome is against what the God of the Christians has said. This exposes the fact that they do not worship the God of the Christians, but they worship their environment and their circumstances.
They worship sickness as the will of God, and not the God of the Bible who heals the sick and casts out demons. They worship poverty as the will of God, and not the God of the Bible who prospers and makes rich. The worship the God who has ceased, and not the God of the Bible whose nature is in performing signs and wonders, and who grants various miracles and spiritual experiences.
Christians, on the other hand, affirm that the words of God are the revelations of God’s will, and they will affirm the promises and abilities of God even in the face of contrary circumstances. They will reject circumstances, they will defy sickness and poverty, and they will overcome suffering and defeat as they affirm God’s goodness and protection.
Pray with faith. Speak with confidence. It is not that we think our words themselves carry the power to do what we say, but the reality is that God will honor our faith and perform the work. Faith is certain. Faith does not surrender to circumstances. Faith insists on the desired outcome. Speak according to the word of God, not against the word of God. Speak according to what God can do, not what you can do. Speak according to what you know from Scripture, not what you see, hear, and feel around you.