Prayer is the grammar of heaven.

“Grammar” is the body of rules, expectations, and principles used to determine a language so that it can be understood.  In short, it is what makes communication possible.  Without grammar, you could say whatever you wanted… and no one could understand.

Prayer is the grammar of heaven.

 It contains inflections, tone, position…

it determines what is the subject and what is the object…

it governs the “voice” of the action, whether passive or active…

there are phrases and adjectives, prepositions, and adverbs…

and there are types of speech.

Prayer is a dialogue.  It is a conversation.  It is communication.  And it has different types of speech.

When we pray in the imperative we are commanding, releasing, and demonstrating authority. God said, “Let there be light.”  His authority, through His Word, brought forth His Will.  We have the same power in prayer when we speak in the imperative.  We stake claim to God’s promises for us through authority.  This same tone is used in spiritual warfare.   When we command demons to leave and the devil to flee we are acting in the imperative.  Silence is often imperative.  When railing accusation comes against us as it did Jesus we can open not our mouth.

When we pray in the declarative we are stating a fact.  When God spoke all of creation into existence He said, “It is good.”  When we get a hold of the power of declaring God’s word over our lives we are confessing what God has already said.  We are saying along with Him that what He has said is true.  “We have all the riches of heaven through Christ Jesus.”  This is a fact.  When Jesus was speaking to the devil in the wilderness He said, “it is written.”  By simply stating the fact of the truth of scripture, victory is realized.  When we pray in the declarative we speak what is in the unseen into the seen.  To de-clare is to make clear.  The deception of the enemy… the lies he spews, make things cloudy.  But when we pray in the declarative we make it clear that God’s truth is THE truth.

When we pray in the exclamatory we proclaim God’s Glory!  The exclamatory is the emotive voice.  It requires an exclamation point!!!  Praises are part of prayer because they proclaim His glory.  When we shout with Joy!  We are praying – having a dialogue with the Lord – in the exclamatory voice.  Praises enthrone God.  Praises bring forth camps of angels.  The exclamatory voice is what happens when the declarative voice (stating a fact) becomes our own voice and we lay hold of the truth of the claims.  When we can’t contain praise, when we can’t help but smile when we pray… or cry… or yell… or grimace… we are praying in the exclamatory.

When we pray in the interrogative we ask… we challenge… we question… we inquire of God.  Don’t ever let anyone fool you in to thinking that you can question God.  Not in a sense that you think He is wrong… but in a sense of truly wanting to understand.  Interrogate Him… interview Him… challenge Him!  What?  Do you really think He is not up for it?  Do you think you will stump Him?  If we weren’t allowed to challenge or test Him why does He tell us to in Malachi 3:10, “prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts.”   Jesus Himself, Who was without sin, never dishonoring the Father “cried with a loud voice”, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) Sounds like a pretty legitimate question to me.  And one with a pretty legitimate answer.  When we are sincere in our questioning… our seeking… we shall be answered.

Use all the voices you have in prayer because God loves the conversation.

SDG