Have you been asking yourself "How can I pray effectively?"
If you have, the Bible contains teachings which show us how to do this. These tips include:
Ask In Faith
Ask in faith, without doubting, for the person who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. Let not that person suppose that they will receive anything from the Lord because they are double-minded and unstable in all their ways. (James 1:6-8)
If you want to pray effectively, you must ask in faith. This means that you have to pray while being sure that God will answer your prayers and while seeing yourself with your mind’s eye receiving your answer from Him since Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
Therefore if you are praying for God to give you a spouse, you have to see yourself walking down the aisle with them on your wedding day.
If you are asking God for a baby you have to feel yourself cradling your child in your arms.
Even if what you are praying for seems impossible to receive because of your human circumstances, you still have to believe that God can grant it to you because God is Able to do more than we could ever ask for. (Ephesians 3:20)
In addition to believing with your mind that God will answer your prayer, you also have to speak your faith. We can see that when King Jehoshaphat and the Israelites were attacked by multiple armies, as he was praying, he expressed confidence in God’s ability to help them for he said, “Are you not our God who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people and gave it to the seed of Abraham forever?” (2 Chronicles 20:7)
Therefore believe with your mind and confess with your mouth the thing that you are asking God to give you.
If for example you are praying for the healing of your body, believe with your mind and declare with your mouth that since God is the One Who created your body, He is also able to heal it.
If you are praying for your marital problems to be resolved, believe with your mind and declare with your mouth that since God is the One Who joined you and your spouse together, no one should separate you. (Matthew 19:6)
If fiery darts of doubts enter your mind and one part starts thinking, “My prayer will be answered” while the other thinks, “My prayer will not be answered”, decide to believe that God is able to answer your prayer because With God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26) Use this Scripture as your shield of faith so that you quench those darts before they stop you from receiving anything from the Lord.
If your emotions try to destabilize you by tossing you to and fro between “I don’t feel like my prayer was heard” and “I feel I will get an answer”, cling to With God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26) until your emotions settle and you are once again certain that God has heard your prayers and He is answering them.
Ask According to God’s Will
This is the confidence that we have in Him – if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us and if we know that He hears us whatever we ask, then we know we have received what we have asked Him. (1 John 5:14-15)
If you want to pray effectively, you have to ask according to God’s will for you. Therefore first pray to know God’s will for your situation so that you can pray more effectively by aligning your prayers to His will.
Ask In Jesus’ Name
If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. (John 14:14)
God has highly exalted Jesus and given Him the name which is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, those in heaven, those on earth and those under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-10)
If you want to pray effectively, you must ask in Jesus’ name.
You can do this by beginning your prayers with “Father God I ask you in the name of Jesus to ...”
Or you can conclude your prayers by saying “... I ask this in the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.”
This blog post is an excerpt of the book How to Pray Effectively.
To learn more read How to Pray Effectively which teaches 15 principles from the Bible that help you achieve more with your prayers.
I read a book a few years ago that helped me to pray effectively and that is to pray "Thy will be done" at the beginning of my prayers, instead of tacked on at the end like an afterthought. This concept has changed my praying and I have seen two things happen: my faith has grown and my prayers are prayed with the focus on Him and not my selfish desires. My prayers are answered! God is good!
ReplyDeleteThat is a great principle - beginning our prayers with "Thy will be done" - because if we are truly focused on living for God, we should be seeking to do His will regardless of our feelings and wants. Thanks for sharing.
DeleteGreat insights on the prayer of faith. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank your for your encouragement and comment.
ReplyDeleteWhat a difference prayer makes. It can feel illusive at times, but it's the most effective thing we can ever do. So much power in prayer. Thanks for sharing, Miriam. :) ((hug))
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome and I agree that there is a lot of power in prayer. We just have to tap into it by praying effectively.
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