The Bible has much to say about prayer. There is Scripture giving instruction on when to pray, why to pray, what to pray, and how to pray. Prayer is important part of our relationship with God. It is our communication link with Him. Just as with your husband or wife, the key to success in the relationship is communication. No prayer goes unheard or unanswered. The key to answered prayer is to remember that God will answer it in HIS timing, not yours. James 5:16 says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective”. The operative word in the Scripture is “righteous”. If you are praying for your own selfish wants and desires, and praying outside of the will of God, your prayer will not be effective. God will hear it and answer it, but you likely will not be happy with His answer. Sincere heartfelt prayers with pure motives, driven by love, are likely to be answered with your desired outcome. In 1 Timothy 2:8, the Apostle Paul says, “I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing”. Keeping anger, dispute, strife, cursing, and selfishness out of your prayer life will yield greater joy and peace from the Lord. God’s will is that we all spread the Gospel, and He does not seek division and strife with those who spread it, who are His sons and daughters. What He seeks is a joyful, faithful heart, seeking His guidance as a child seeks the guidance of their parents. He is a patient, loving Father, just waiting for His children to ask for His help, which He will give freely.
When we seek God in prayer, we should seek with our spirit. Sometimes you approach God as Alpha and Omega, the Great I AM, or the Lord Almighty, then other times you approach Him like a child asking to go out with friends, “Daddy, please?!” No matter what your approach is, three things should be there when you approach God; they are love, reverence, and thankfulness. He created you to worship Him, keep that in mind as you enter your prayer closet. You would be well in following the example of Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”. Everything belongs to God, so thankfulness is a necessity. Just as your earthly parents teach you manners, so does your Heavenly Father. Though He is merciful and forgiving, it is not wise to learn His lessons the hard way, by being an ungrateful brat. He will bring you low, teach you, and bring you back up. But lets be honest, the lows are no fun. So, when petitioning and praying to our Lord and Savior, remember your manners. Colossians 4:2 also reminds us of this by saying, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful”.
God gave promises and commandments in His Word concerning prayer. He instructs us when to pray. “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints”, Ephesians 6:18. Praying in the Spirit is a highly effective form of prayer, because the enemy can understand when you pray in your native tongue, but he is 100% clueless to what you speak when you pray in the Spirit. That is a blessing of the power of the Holy Spirit. He always commands us to be faithful in prayer in Romans 12:12, which says, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer”. If we are faithful in prayer, He will remain faithful to us; if we are not faithful in prayer, He will remain faithful to us. I suggest remaining faithful to Him, as a small sacrifice for the Sacrifice that He made for you. Jesus tells us that if we believe, we will have what we ask for in prayer. He says this in Matthew 21:22. Your prayers must line up with the will of God for you to get what you ask for. He will give you things outside of His will that you ask for in prayer, only for you to learn that you really did not want that anyway. I have a family member who wanted to get back together with a woman after they divorced, he prayed and prayed and prayed. God told him she was not the right woman for him. Still he prayed, and God gave her back to him. They were separated permanently a few months later. I use that as an example to earnestly pray for and tune into God’s will. He will make His wants known to you. Fasting is an effective method of tuning into God’s voice. Fasting is not necessarily always food related. You can fast from anything, the important part is, it must be a sacrifice. Ezra 8:23 says this about fasting, “So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer”. It is my prayer that this article clarifies some issues and helps you in your prayer life. I pray that each prayer draws you closer to God and conforms you to His image.
Until next time may God bless and keep you, and may His face shine upon you. To our Lord be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever. Amen.
May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. Psalm 141:2
When we seek God in prayer, we should seek with our spirit. Sometimes you approach God as Alpha and Omega, the Great I AM, or the Lord Almighty, then other times you approach Him like a child asking to go out with friends, “Daddy, please?!” No matter what your approach is, three things should be there when you approach God; they are love, reverence, and thankfulness. He created you to worship Him, keep that in mind as you enter your prayer closet. You would be well in following the example of Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”. Everything belongs to God, so thankfulness is a necessity. Just as your earthly parents teach you manners, so does your Heavenly Father. Though He is merciful and forgiving, it is not wise to learn His lessons the hard way, by being an ungrateful brat. He will bring you low, teach you, and bring you back up. But lets be honest, the lows are no fun. So, when petitioning and praying to our Lord and Savior, remember your manners. Colossians 4:2 also reminds us of this by saying, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful”.
God gave promises and commandments in His Word concerning prayer. He instructs us when to pray. “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints”, Ephesians 6:18. Praying in the Spirit is a highly effective form of prayer, because the enemy can understand when you pray in your native tongue, but he is 100% clueless to what you speak when you pray in the Spirit. That is a blessing of the power of the Holy Spirit. He always commands us to be faithful in prayer in Romans 12:12, which says, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer”. If we are faithful in prayer, He will remain faithful to us; if we are not faithful in prayer, He will remain faithful to us. I suggest remaining faithful to Him, as a small sacrifice for the Sacrifice that He made for you. Jesus tells us that if we believe, we will have what we ask for in prayer. He says this in Matthew 21:22. Your prayers must line up with the will of God for you to get what you ask for. He will give you things outside of His will that you ask for in prayer, only for you to learn that you really did not want that anyway. I have a family member who wanted to get back together with a woman after they divorced, he prayed and prayed and prayed. God told him she was not the right woman for him. Still he prayed, and God gave her back to him. They were separated permanently a few months later. I use that as an example to earnestly pray for and tune into God’s will. He will make His wants known to you. Fasting is an effective method of tuning into God’s voice. Fasting is not necessarily always food related. You can fast from anything, the important part is, it must be a sacrifice. Ezra 8:23 says this about fasting, “So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer”. It is my prayer that this article clarifies some issues and helps you in your prayer life. I pray that each prayer draws you closer to God and conforms you to His image.
Until next time may God bless and keep you, and may His face shine upon you. To our Lord be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever. Amen.
May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. Psalm 141:2
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