THE WONDER OF PRAYER
“Prayer” is knocking at heaven’s door and finding God is home. Effective prayer is making one’s requests known to God and attaining that which one seeks. Our Lord has made Himself completely, and utterly available to His children, anytime, any day, anywhere. We reach Him through prayer, which is a faith-based conversation between His Majesty and His beloved. Regarding the exercise of faithful praying, D.L. Moody said, “Next to the wonder of seeing my Savior will be, I think, the wonder that I made so little use of the power of prayer.” This is true, and it will never be said of any individual that he or she prayed too much.
The Scriptures contain thousands of promises made to believers; and the positive results have kept God’s children on their knees since the beginning of time. Many are often discouraged, however, because they obtain so little results in prayer; but the saying is true: “We expect thousand-dollar answers for ten-cent prayers.” So, what are the ingredients of effective prayer, and how will we know we have the requests we’ve asked for? The following suggestions are short and simplified; nonetheless, they work!
THE RECIPE FOR EFFECTIVE PRAYING
1/ BELIEVE that He is near and available; He rewards those who seek Him in faith. (Heb. 11:6; Jer.29:13)
2/ HUMILITY pleases Him. (Isa. 66:2;) “Humble yourselves and pray, I will hear you.”(2 Chron. 7:14; 1st Peter 5:5,6;Micah.6:8)
3/ CONFESS any known sin, or God will not hear your prayers. (Psalm 66:18; 1st John 1:9; Ps.51)
4/ FAITH in prayer is key, which will accomplish its purpose (James 5:15ff; Mark 11:22ff; Matthew chapters 8&9)
5/ ABIDE in Him, then ask what you will, and it shall be done for you. (John 14:13,14;15:7;)
6/ LISTEN, He speaks. Quiet your heart before Him, sense His presence and hear His voice, (Ps.46:10; Jn.10:27; Ps.38:15)
7/ EXALT His name with Psalms, hymns or spiritual songs (Psalm 95:1,2; Col.3:16)
8/ ENJOY His friendship, “I no longer call you servants, but friends.” (John 14:14,15)
9/ PREVAIL in prayer, with a persistence that will not be denied. (Lk.18:2-8; Lk.11:5-8)
10/ PRAY using His word as promises: “God is watching over His word to perform it.” (Jer.1:12; Matt. 4:4ff)
Positive results in prayer are perhaps fewer than people would like to admit. We readily sing stanzas of His mighty deeds and proclaim that “all things are possible with Him.” But more often than not, great prayers precede great answers – not eloquence, but fervency. Inspiration will bring many to their knees; for others, only desperation will do. Whatever it takes for you, always know that Jesus is still exalting Mary’s posture over Martha’s. Listen to God, wrestle, travail, persevere, believe, and above all, delight yourself in him. Paul admonishes us to “pray without ceasing” because our great Father, Son and Holy Spirit are ever watching over the Word to perform it!