Today I want to go over a few important things we must know about prayer if we are going to have an effective prayer life. These are all things found in God’s Word about prayer. So many in the world today pray because they know it is the right thing to do but they are only hoping God will hear and answer them because, in reality, they don’t know if He will. Prayer isn’t to be a “hope so thing” but it is to be a “know so thing”. In other words, you have confidence or assurance in knowing God hears and answers your prayers because you have learned to pray prayers that are based upon His Word and His promises to you.
Here are five things you need to know in order to have an effective prayer life. You could call them fundamentals or foundations of effective prayer.
1) All effective prayer is based upon a relationship with God.
- Jesus made the way for us to have a close relationship with God Himself and part of that relationship is built upon prayer.
- All religions pray, but you need a personal relationship with God the Father and that begins by making Jesus the Lord and Savior of your life.
2) Effective prayer prays to the Father in Jesus’ Name.
- In John 16:23-24 Jesus instructs us to pray to the Father, or ask the Father, in His Name.
3) Effective prayer is based upon a relationship with God and His Word in our lives.
- Read John 15:5,7.
- To “abide” implies a relationship. So, our fruit-bearing is dependent upon our relationship with Him.
- Notice verse 7, “. . . abide in Him and His Words abide in you.” Know the Word and pray the Word.
4) Effective prayer is based upon praying or asking according to God’s will.
- Read 1 John 5:14-15.
- God’s Word is His will.
- Our confidence in prayer comes from knowing what it is His will to do for us.
5) Effective prayer believes it receives what it asks for in prayer.
- It does more than just ask, it is confident it receives.
- Faith takes or receives what it asks for in prayer.
- Possibly the greatest words Jesus taught on receiving in prayer is in Mark 11:24.
- Mark 11:24 says, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
- God gives, but man must receive.
- Jesus tells us when we will have the answers to our prayers, after we pray and believe we receive those things.
- When are we supposed to believe we receive those things? When we pray and before we have it.
- Jesus calls this faith in God, and faith in God is necessary for our prayers to be answered.
These five steps will help you have an effective prayer life and get your prayers answered. So, learn these and start praying in faith today.
– Pastor Chris Morgan