Our Christian book for this month is How to Pray Effectively since the National Prayer Day is observed on the first Thursday of May and will be held on May 2, 2019 and May 7, 2020 and May 6, 2021.
How to Pray Effectively is a Bible study which uses practical examples from the Bible to show you the things you should do to ensure your prayers are answered. This Christian prayer book also answers the following questions:
*Who can
pray effectively?
*How can
I pray effectively?
*When
can I pray effectively?
*Where
can I pray effectively?
*What
can I use to pray effectively?
How to Pray Effectively Book Excerpt
How Can I Pray Effectively? Part 4
To pray effectively, you have to do the following:
Praise God
The Bible tells us that At midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and
praising God while imprisoned. Suddenly there was an earthquake and the
foundations of the prison were shaken. All the doors were opened and all the
prisoner’s chains were loosed. (Acts
16:25-26)
If you want to pray effectively, you
have to praise God because we can see from Paul’s example that combining praising
God with prayer can achieve great results since God is enthroned in the praises of His people. (Psalm 22:3)
We
can also see that when King Jehoshaphat was praying after his country was
attacked, he begun by praising God for He said, “O Lord God of our Fathers, are You not God in heaven? Do You not rule
over all the kingdoms of the earth? In Your hand is there not power and might
so that no one can withstand You?” (2 Chronicles 20:6)
By
asking these questions in his prayer, Jehoshaphat was praising God for being in
control in heaven and in all the kingdoms on the earth. He was also praising
God for being so powerful that no one could resist Him including the Ammonites,
Moabites and people from Mount Seir who had attacked the Israelites.
King
Jehoshaphat also placed the choir that was singing praises to God in front of
the Israelite army when they were going to position themselves in the
battlefield. As a result of their praises, God caused the enemy armies to fight
each other and the Israelites won.
Therefore
make it a point to always begin your prayer sessions by singing praise and
worship songs because we are to Enter
His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. (Psalm 11:4) Then,
continue to praise God as you pray by enthroning Him as God over your situation
by declaring that He is still in control of your situation even if it has left
your control.
Thank God
The Bible tells us that In every situation combine prayer with
supplication and thanksgiving as you make your requests known to God. (Philippians 4:6)
So, if you want to pray effectively,
you have to thank
God after asking Him for what you need.
Emulate Jesus Who thanked His Heavenly Father when He was praying for
Lazarus’ resurrection for He said, “Father
I thank you because You have heard me.” (John 11:42) His prayer was
answered and Lazarus woke up and walked away from his tomb.
Jesus also thanked God before He miraculously fed 5000 men with 5 barley
loaves and 2 fish. (John 6:11) His thanksgiving worked wonders because 12
baskets of leftovers were collected after these men and their families were
fed.
Therefore as you pray, thank God for the blessings that He has already
given you in the past and for those you are expecting to receive in the future.
Thank Him also for listening to your prayers and even when you are waiting for
your answers to come, Continue earnestly
in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. (Colossians 4:2)
Remind God
The Bible tells us that, Remember now O Lord I beg You how I have lived
before you in truth and with a perfect heart and how I have done what was right
in Your sight. (Isaiah 38:3)
If you want to pray
effectively, remind God of the good things you have done.
We
can see that when King Hezekiah became sick, God sent his Prophet Isaiah to
tell him to set his house in order because he was going to die. Hezekiah then
turned to the wall and prayed, “Remember now O Lord I beg
You how I have lived before you in truth and with a perfect heart and how I
have done what was right in Your sight.” (Isaiah 38:3)
God
responded to his prayer by sending Isaiah back to Hezekiah to tell him that He
had heard his prayer, seen his tears and added 15 more years to his life.
(Isaiah 38:1-5)
We
can also see another example of this from the centurion whose servant was sick
because when he sent Jewish elders to ask Jesus to come and heal him, they
reminded Jesus of the centurion’s good works for they said, “He loves our nation and he has built us a
synagogue.” (Luke 7:5)
Therefore,
when you are praying, remind God of the good things that you have done not
because God needs to be reminded, but because it serves to boost your faith.
For
example if you have been helping the less fortunate members of your society,
remind God of your acts and what His Word says for it is written, “Blessed is the person who considers the
poor because the Lord will deliver them from trouble, preserve them and keep
them alive. They will be blessed on earth and God will not deliver them to the
will of their enemies. God will strengthen them when they are sick and sustain
them on their sickbed.” (Psalm 41:1-3)
In
addition to reminding God of the good things you have done, you can also remind
Him of the good things He has done for you especially if they are relevant to
the problem you are praying for.
We
can see this after King Jehoshaphat and the Israelites were attacked because he
prayed, “Are You not our God who drove
out the inhabitants of this land and gave it to the seed of Abraham your friend
forever? And they dwelt here and built You a sanctuary?” (2 Chronicles
20:7-8) By reminding the Israelites that God is the One Who had defeated the
people who had been living in their Promised Land, Jehoshaphat was also telling
them that God was also able to defeat those who were attacking them.
Therefore,
also remind God of what He has done for you in the past with regard to the
issue that you are now praying about. Do this not because God has forgotten,
but to strengthen your faith in Him.
To learn more read How to Pray Effectively which uses practical examples from the Bible to teach you 20 things that you should do to ensure your prayers are answered. This Christian prayer book also answers the following questions:
*Who can pray effectively?
*How can I pray effectively?
*When can I pray effectively?
*Where can I pray effectively?
*What can I use to pray effectively?
This blog post is part of our Prayer Series. Click on the links below to read other blog posts in this series.
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