Prayers that Availeth Much and other Prayer Books

[victoryword]

I am sure that if you have been in WoF circles long enough you have run across some of the books by Germaine Copeland titled "Prayers that Availeth Much."

Not so well known has been some books by Clift Richards and Lloyd Hildebrand Called "Prayers that Prevail" which I personally liked better than Germaine Copeland's (as far as I know, she is no relation to kenneth and Gloria). However, all of these books contain ready made prayers based on combining several Scripture promises together in order to pray God's Word back to Him in a conversational manner.

I am just wondering how many among the WoFers have used these books in their prayer time?

How many you continue to use them?

Have you received any visible/tangible results from the use of these books and could you share?

If you have used these books, have you felt like you were just kind of "reading to God" rather than just simply having a talk with Him straight from your heart? Did you or do you feel like you are just going through a ritual if and when you use any of these books?

Is there anyone here who knows about these books but are reluctant to use them in your prayer? Could you share your reason?

i will chime in with my answers later so as not to write a long drawn out initial post.

 

[KingZzub]

Not something I use myself, though I do have the books.

Amanda (Mrs. Zzub) uses Hazel Hill's book which I cannot remember the name of but is essential similar in terms of idea - Scriptural prayers written in a book. She gets a lot of benefit from it. I often use Bob Yandian's confessions from his website, which I guess is similar. It is not so much about relationship, but about speaking the Word I guess.

I think that goes back to something I am realizing more and more, there is the presence of God which comes through fellowship and the power of God which comes through principles. Many churches have one or the other and many churches don't understand that one is not the other.

We need a relationship with the Lord and a clear understanding of the principles that His power works by.

Slightly off topic, but still in the general area of your question. Keep up the interesting posts, VW.

Blessings,
Ben

 

[ShaunJ]

I myself do not have the books. Nor do I have any set prayers I pray. Thanks for posting about the books though. I'll check them out when I get a chance.

 

[heatherfb]

I haven't heard of these books but they sound interesting. I have a Charles Capps book called Faith and Confession that has a number of Scripture based confessions at the back which I often use as prayers. I think that there is a lot of benefit in doing it to build your own faith, afterall faith comes by hearing the Word of God. I think that perhaps if this is the only way you pray it could become formulaic (sp?) and impersonal but I know that as I am fairly new to this WoF stuff I have found having these confessiona has been a good starting point for me!

 

[the.Sheepdog]

The books sound interesting. I have found that when I really dont know what or how to pray, the Holy Spirit helps and they end up being the best prayers.

 

[victoryword]

WOW!!

Zzub and I must really be from the only ones from the old school Word-Faith as we are the only two so far who knows about and possesses any of this literature. In the 80s during the highlight of the movement, these books were abundantly popular, especially among intercessory prayer groups.

I have known people to pray prayers from these books and actually received the thing from God that they petitioned Him for. At times I have prayed prayers from some of these books, even in recent months, with positive results. When my wife was pregnant with our third child I prayed some of the prayers from both "Prayers that Availeth Much" and "Prayers that Prevail" for the health of my son and wife.

One day my wife, while still pregnant, got the mumps. This is dangerous to the fetus. I prayed over her and rebuked them mumps and she was instantly healed. I then continued in praying from those books. The boy came out healthy. No problems or complications whatsoever.

However, I do have difficulty with them sometimes as I like to be genuine when I go before the throne and don't want to "read" to God. It would be like my children approaching me and reading their requests to me from a script. I learned to read some of the prayers and the Scriptural principles provided and talk to God at the same time. It is easier to demonstrate than write about. I don't use the books often, but they are very helpful when needing a point of reference for faith in praying about a particular situation. I may the Richards and Hildebrand series of books (the ones currently in print. Many of their best books are out of print) available in our church bookstore and they are among the most popular items.

For those interested, I think they sell them at Christianbooks.com. You can buy many of the out of print books at Amazon.com.

Has anyone ever heard of the Baptist lady, Beth Moore. She has a book titled "Praying God's Word." While it is a good book, it is definitely not WoF and she has some criticism of what she calls "Name it and Claim it." Never used the book but there are good things to learn from it.

 

[gennaoanothen]

I have and like
how to pray R.A. Torrey
prayer and praying men E.M.Bounds
intercessory prayer Dutch Sheets
Bible prayer study course Kenneth Hagin
and more..........

 

[victoryword]

I have and like
how to pray R.A. Torrey
prayer and praying men E.M.Bounds
intercessory prayer Dutch Sheets
Bible prayer study course Kenneth Hagin
and more..........

Those are all great books which teaches principles of prayer. However, the books I am specificially referring to in this OP are books that actually have prayers written out by which one can read to God.

 

[ShaunJ]

In the 80's lol.

I was born in 80.

 

[victoryword]

In the 80's lol.

I was born in 80.

Heh? Then you definitely wasn't around when the movement was going strong in the 80s. The persecution of the movement was just beginning at that time but was not as popularly received as it is now. During the 80s Dave Hunt wrote a book against Charismatics but most people laughed it off. So did MacArthur but his book was actually somewhat sympathetic at the time. He revised it in the 90s and turned it into a blistering critique. McConnell also had his thesis in the late 80s and that was when the ground began to shake for the WoF.

But before all of that, before the Bakker and Swaggart standards (and even a little after), WoF was a bold movement and lively with a lot of miracles evidencing the teaching. Some extremes were there as well, but I remember that the 80s, for me, was the best time being a WoFer. Bold new teaching and revelation and boldness in walking in the gifts. I miss those days. The nineties brought so much change. Some good, some bad.

 

[map4]

I have 'Prayers that Availeth Much' but haven't read it in years. I might have even given it to my sister.

It really helped me when I was younger and didn't know how to pray. But I never felt comfortable 'praying' those prayers...cause I really was just reading them. I suppose sometimes I would read them, then pray basically the same thing in my own words.
OTOH, how many of us pray the same prayers Paul prayed?

One book that helped me more than any other was 'The Master is Calling' by Lynne Hammond. I know that's not a book OF prayers, but it helped me in understanding prayer.

 

[KingZzub]

I became a Christian in 1996, so I find it amusing that you would consider me old school, VW!

I consider that I want to learn as much as possible about the best part of anything. If you listen to the Kenneth Copeland sermons of the first Believer's Conventions, TL Osborn, the Hagin Campmeetings of the 1980s, there you have the Word of God preached with clarity, with confidence and with balance.

A lot of TV ministers have produced a lot of hype and the so-called Third Wave has not helped matters with its non-Pentecostal theology, works-based pragmaticism and use of circumstances to determine the will of God (if you pray and God heals, God wanted to heal, if you pray and God doesn't he doesn't) which has infected the Word of Faith movement in my opinion.

I listen to few others than Keith Moore, Andrew Wommack and Bob Yandian nowadays. They all preach without hype, make it practical and as far as I can see preach a balanced message.

Blessings,
Ben

 

[victoryword]

I have 'Prayers that Availeth Much' but haven't read it in years. I might have even given it to my sister.

It really helped me when I was younger and didn't know how to pray. But I never felt comfortable 'praying' those prayers...cause I really was just reading them. I suppose sometimes I would read them, then pray basically the same thing in my own words.
OTOH, how many of us pray the same prayers Paul prayed?

One book that helped me more than any other was 'The Master is Calling' by Lynne Hammond. I know that's not a book OF prayers, but it helped me in understanding prayer.

Your experience is definitely similar to mine concerning the books. However, I have known people to pray from those books, myself included, and God has actually answered the prayers. I suppose that God looks at the heart and the faith rather than whether He feels that He is being read to, or as Zzub said earlier, He is moved when we apply certain faith principles regardless.

I still give/sell the books on our church book table since many of the people who attend our fellowship are new to this faith thing. Most (if not all) are either brand new Christians who were saved under our ministry and have not been exposed to any Bible teaching or they are people who came from churches that taught absolutely nothing, especially how to pray and get prayers answered.

And yes, I have prayed the prayers of Paul from Ephesians and Colossians many times, especially when interceding for others. I learned to do that in the 80s reading Hagin's book, "The Authority of the Believer." Seems slightly different though when you are reading to God directly from the Bible itself

 

[KingZzub]

What helps me think about it is this: we live in the kingdom of God. The king of this Kingdom is our Father.

I can fellowship with Him at any time. He is my best friend, my Father, my Confident, my inspirer, a wondrous Being. I could not read a pre-written prayer when I relate to Him at times like this any more than I could use a script to tell my wife I love her.

However, when it comes to the business of the kingdom there is a certain protocol that has to be established. Whether I write the prayer myself or use a contract that someone else has written, this is a perfectly acceptable time to use a written prayer as I am creating a record for the purposes of the kingdom of what the King agrees to do for me in Christ.

Hope this helps someone,

Blessings,
Ben

 

[victoryword]

I became a Christian in 1996, so I find it amusing that you would consider me old school, VW!

I consider that I want to learn as much as possible about the best part of anything. If you listen to the Kenneth Copeland sermons of the first Believer's Conventions, TL Osborn, the Hagin Campmeetings of the 1980s, there you have the Word of God preached with clarity, with confidence and with balance.

A lot of TV ministers have produced a lot of hype and the so-called Third Wave has not helped matters with its non-Pentecostal theology, works-based pragmaticism and use of circumstances to determine the will of God (if you pray and God heals, God wanted to heal, if you pray and God doesn't he doesn't) which has infected the Word of Faith movement in my opinion.

I listen to few others than Keith Moore, Andrew Wommack and Bob Yandian nowadays. They all preach without hype, make it practical and as far as I can see preach a balanced message.

Blessings,
Ben

Oh sorry about that Zzub. Thought you were as old as I was. I became a Christian in 1984 but only was exposed to faith teaching about 8 months later. Before then I was in an African American church where people took turns preaching (mostly the hoopin'-hollerin' kind).

Back in those days I listened (besides my own pastors) mostly to Fred Price, Kenneth Hagin and Jerry Savelle (didn't even listen hardly to any Copeland sermons until the 90s). Aside from these main WoF teachers my spiritual diet in the 80s also consisted of Paul (now David) Yongghi Cho, Lester Sumrall, Derek Prince, David Alsobrook, Watchman Nee, E. W. Kenyon, F. B. Meyer, and Andrew Murray. Occasionally I may have read a book by one of the other known WoF preachers of that time, but those were the foundational teachers of my spiritual (and physical) youth.

Back in those days the Word of God was definitely emphasized and taught with clarity. Rhema Campmeetings were the big thing back then (and before the racial thing happened with Hagin Jr.'s ridiculous remarks, Dr. Price was always usually the featured speaker) and people who went to them always came back very refreshed.

The Word was emphasized strongly back then and we would not do or practuce anything that we could not find a valid Biblical principle for. Our motto back then was "What does the Word say." That is also why the Prayers that Availeth Much books became popular. They were Word-Based and soaked in it. After one young lady in our church gave a testimony of how she received an answer to prayer after praying from that book, my pastor had me order a whole box load of them and he gave them away to everyone in the church. We were seeing lots of miracles and answers to prayer back then.

I did see a shift in the Faith Movement in the 90s with some of the in-fighting and splits, the extremes that crept in, the hyper-criticism that led to many WoFers defecting from the movement (including a number of pastors) and many of those actually becoming CRITICS. I don't fault them too much since I almost became tempted in this regard (That's another story within itself).

 

[victoryword]

What helps me think about it is this: we live in the kingdom of God. The king of this Kingdom is our Father.

I can fellowship with Him at any time. He is my best friend, my Father, my Confident, my inspirer, a wondrous Being. I could not read a pre-written prayer when I relate to Him at times like this any more than I could use a script to tell my wife I love her.

However, when it comes to the business of the kingdom there is a certain protocol that has to be established. Whether I write the prayer myself or use a contract that someone else has written, this is a perfectly acceptable time to use a written prayer as I am creating a record for the purposes of the kingdom of what the King agrees to do for me in Christ.

Hope this helps someone,

Blessings,
Ben

Actually, it helps me a lot. Thanks Zzub.

 

[ewkenyon2]

troy,
it is great to see you back on here occasionally, so much unbelief & doubt run rampant on this site, that i don't often post here. so when one such as you ,who is full of faith, & releasing the great resurrection power of the almighty lord jesus christ by daring to speak it out of his mouth in agreement with god's word, puts a post on here,it is like dynamite blasting the futile, dry & barren ground of unbelief & religious helplessness.

i do use some of the books you have mentioned, for me, i use them more for meditation purposes, bringing my soul into harmony with what god has already done in me, building into my mind, by the power that is released when i speak out his word from the scripture prayers in these books the realities of the "christ life'.

thus by building his word into my thought life, i am like a mighty military weapon, at the ready, the trigger pulled, the fuse lit, the launch code counting, exploding into this atmosphere & life, the awesome life & unlimited resources of god through the "great resurrected christ" himself.

here is a prayer from the book of ephesians chpt. 1, that i have put together myself, from numerous translations,

"i pray father, that you will give me wisdom to see clearly & really understand who christ is & all that he has done for me.
i pray that my heart will be able to understand the full nature of your calling & it's aim & expectation, what is actually mine now & in the future because of what jesus has done for me. and how very great is his power at work in me, since i believed. this power working in me is the same mighty strength which you father, used when you raised christ from the death & seated him at your right side in the heavenly world. there christ rules above all heavenly rulers, authorities, powers, lords. he is supreme in every way, above all control in this world & the one to come. in addition to all creation, christ also has full authority over the church, to give it direction. father, you have placed everything under his feet, his church, his body, without which the christ is incomplete as god's cosmic authority. as the body of the christ functioning in human history, the church is the full expression & historic content of the christ, the christ is the full expression of god, & the church the full expression & fulfillment of the christ. and the church is his body. the church has everything christ has. and he has everything everywhere."

when we pray the prayers of the apostle paul, we will receive the (exact) same revelation that he received from the holy spirit, the x-ray behind the scene of christ's redemptive work, he for us, we there "in him', the first adam dying there at calvary, & being done away with by god, & the new man, the last adam, rising up out of hell, the grave & all the glory of god being poured out into us by our union "in christ", filled with all the fullness of god himself.

by the way troy, how is it going with you & the church your family has started.

troy, pray for me, as it grows stronger & clearer in my heart, that i also must lay the foundations of a church, & build up the people of god , by leading his sheep, his people, by caring for them, & teaching them the mighty glory of god that NOW fills them completely by there being "IN CHRST"

your brother "in christ'
scott

 

[peacechild4]

I have the book Germaine Copeland titled "Prayers that Availeth Much."

I have used the prayers before and there is a site on the web where you can search and find prayers that are helpful to your situation from that book itself... often if someone is really struggling in an area I will find a prayer and scriptures for them from that book and copy it from the website and send it to them.. People need to know what GOD says.. and those prayers are grouped together in sections and all the scriptures are listed along with the prayer written out..

I don't think meditating on GODS word could ever be repetitive.. for HE HIMSELF said.. meditate on the word day and night so that you could be a tree planted by streams of water.. I do tend to sometimes change the content of the prayer that is prayed.. make it more personal.. more saying it as done already.. speaking of those things that be not as though they are.. which sometimes the prayers do not come across that way..

I think it is how you come at it.. the state of your heart.. how many times have I been learning Psalm 91 lately.. every day I say it as a prayer but also as a reminder of my posistion in GOD speaking of it as how it is even if I don't feel it.. and every day something stands out.. differently to me.. and I get more comfort and encouragement..

Lately it has just simply been the words.. I am healed.. although you will not find that exactly in the word.. that GOD is the LORD who healeth thee.. so I am just taking that part.. I am healed and saying it over and over.. the great joy it brings to me more then ever before.. It really really does pay us to keep saying what GOD says.. and pray what says.. .. Not looking at the circumstances but straight at GODS word..

Faith does come by hearing and hearing by GODS word..

Long before I knew about WOF.. I started praying Phil 4:6-7. going over and over it.. and I got GODS peace.. the out of this world peace.. Oh wow.. life changing..

As we know and believe.. GODS word works and is absolute truth.. and the more we know it.. the more wonderfully it works for us and we get that wonderful joy GOD promised.. our joy is made complete.. thank you for the reminder of this book.. I must get it out again soon!!

 

[victoryword]

troy,
it is great to see you back on here occasionally, so much unbelief & doubt run rampant on this site, that i don't often post here. so when one such as you ,who is full of faith, & releasing the great resurrection power of the almighty lord jesus christ by daring to speak it out of his mouth in agreement with god's word, puts a post on here,it is like dynamite blasting the futile, dry & barren ground of unbelief & religious helplessness.

i do use some of the books you have mentioned, for me, i use them more for meditation purposes, bringing my soul into harmony with what god has already done in me, building into my mind, by the power that is released when i speak out his word from the scripture prayers in these books the realities of the "christ life'.

thus by building his word into my thought life, i am like a mighty military weapon, at the ready, the trigger pulled, the fuse lit, the launch code counting, exploding into this atmosphere & life, the awesome life & unlimited resources of god through the "great resurrected christ" himself.

here is a prayer from the book of ephesians chpt. 1, that i have put together myself, from numerous translations,

"i pray father, that you will give me wisdom to see clearly & really understand who christ is & all that he has done for me.
i pray that my heart will be able to understand the full nature of your calling & it's aim & expectation, what is actually mine now & in the future because of what jesus has done for me. and how very great is his power at work in me, since i believed. this power working in me is the same mighty strength which you father, used when you raised christ from the death & seated him at your right side in the heavenly world. there christ rules above all heavenly rulers, authorities, powers, lords. he is supreme in every way, above all control in this world & the one to come. in addition to all creation, christ also has full authority over the church, to give it direction. father, you have placed everything under his feet, his church, his body, without which the christ is incomplete as god's cosmic authority. as the body of the christ functioning in human history, the church is the full expression & historic content of the christ, the christ is the full expression of god, & the church the full expression & fulfillment of the christ. and the church is his body. the church has everything christ has. and he has everything everywhere."

when we pray the prayers of the apostle paul, we will receive the (exact) same revelation that he received from the holy spirit, the x-ray behind the scene of christ's redemptive work, he for us, we there "in him', the first adam dying there at calvary, & being done away with by god, & the new man, the last adam, rising up out of hell, the grave & all the glory of god being poured out into us by our union "in christ", filled with all the fullness of god himself.

by the way troy, how is it going with you & the church your family has started.

troy, pray for me, as it grows stronger & clearer in my heart, that i also must lay the foundations of a church, & build up the people of god , by leading his sheep, his people, by caring for them, & teaching them the mighty glory of god that NOW fills them completely by there being "IN CHRST"

your brother "in christ'
scott

Good to hear from you Scott.

The church is going well but, as it goes with all church plants, we have our challenges. But God is good. When you are read y toplant your church send me an e-mail.

 

[victoryword]

I have the book Germaine Copeland titled "Prayers that Availeth Much."

I have used the prayers before and there is a site on the web where you can search and find prayers that are helpful to your situation from that book itself... often if someone is really struggling in an area I will find a prayer and scriptures for them from that book and copy it from the website and send it to them.. People need to know what GOD says.. and those prayers are grouped together in sections and all the scriptures are listed along with the prayer written out..

I don't think meditating on GODS word could ever be repetitive.. for HE HIMSELF said.. meditate on the word day and night so that you could be a tree planted by streams of water.. I do tend to sometimes change the content of the prayer that is prayed.. make it more personal.. more saying it as done already.. speaking of those things that be not as though they are.. which sometimes the prayers do not come across that way..

I think it is how you come at it.. the state of your heart.. how many times have I been learning Psalm 91 lately.. every day I say it as a prayer but also as a reminder of my posistion in GOD speaking of it as how it is even if I don't feel it.. and every day something stands out.. differently to me.. and I get more comfort and encouragement..

Lately it has just simply been the words.. I am healed.. although you will not find that exactly in the word.. that GOD is the LORD who healeth thee.. so I am just taking that part.. I am healed and saying it over and over.. the great joy it brings to me more then ever before.. It really really does pay us to keep saying what GOD says.. and pray what says.. .. Not looking at the circumstances but straight at GODS word..

Faith does come by hearing and hearing by GODS word..

Long before I knew about WOF.. I started praying Phil 4:6-7. going over and over it.. and I got GODS peace.. the out of this world peace.. Oh wow.. life changing..

As we know and believe.. GODS word works and is absolute truth.. and the more we know it.. the more wonderfully it works for us and we get that wonderful joy GOD promised.. our joy is made complete.. thank you for the reminder of this book.. I must get it out again soon!!

Good post. Thanks Peacechild4.