Effective prayer requires you to settle God’s Word in your heart. You must believe the Bible more than you believe the news, your bank account, and the symptoms in your body.  The Word of God must be more than head knowledge it must be heart knowledge.

There are five keys to settling God’s Word in your heart.

1. You must believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God.

All scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). Although penned by man, the Bible is inspired by God. Sometimes God told the writers precisely what to say; other times He used their minds, their vocabularies, and their life-experiences to reveal His true nature and character.   If you don’t believe that the Bible is God speaking to you, then you will struggle to trust that the Bible’s promises are from God and not man and this unbelief will limit the power of the life-giving Word you breathe-in.

2. You must believe that the Bible is true and not just made up stories to teach us valuable “life lessons”.

You make your own reality. You limit God by how you see God. If you find it impossible to believe that God rescued the Israelites from their enemies by parting the Red Sea, then you will struggle to believe that He is your rescuer. If you find it hard to believe that Jesus fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish, then you will struggle to believe that He is your provider. God is the God of creation; if He is powerful enough to speak the universe into existence, then He is powerful enough to part the seas and multiply food. Don’t limit God to what you see in the natural but instead choose to see Him through the lens of the supernatural.

3. You must believe that God said what He meant and meant what He said.

God is not a man; He will never lie. God is reliable; He does not change His mind. Therefore, His Word will always come to pass (Numbers 23:19).  Unless you trust God, you won’t approach Him with confidence; you may not even approach Him at all.   Choose to take God at His Word; let His Word take shape in your heart so that you will not be what James called double-minded, and waver back and forth in your belief.

4. You must believe the Word of God is the final authority.

Jesus has the ultimate victory. His Word, the truth wins. Nothing can shake His Kingdom; His Word is unmovable. (Matthew 24:35). No matter how hopeless your circumstances appear, no matter what others tell you to believe, you must consider the Bible as the final authority on the issue, and trust that what is written there will prevail.

5. You must nourish yourself with God’s Word daily.

God’s Word is like an all-day buffet laid out in front of you: whatever sustenance you need, you can find it there.  Taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8).  What better way to savor His truth than through His life-giving Word!

Settle God’s Word in your heart and see your prayers come to life.  Don’t limit the power of God’s Word by limiting God. Choose to expand your reality to the supernatural. Resolve to trust God and to stand firm in His truth and you will begin to believe the Bible more than you believe the news, your bank account or the symptoms in your body. His Word will begin to gravitate from your head to your heart and your heart will cry out “all things are possible for those who believe and I believe!”