Did you know you can learn how to pray and have an effective prayer life and you can start learning today? Effective prayer, or prayers that are answered, start with us praying God’s Word. Jeremiah 1:12 (NKJV) says God is ready to perform His Word. That means He is waiting for us to know what He said He wants to do and then ask Him. You could say it like this: we are to find what God’s will is and ask Him for it. For whatever is God’s will, you can have. We must learn that God’s will is not mysterious nor is it hidden from us. God’s will is His Word. Knowing this makes prayer clear and simple, and enables us to pray effectively. 1 John 5:14-15 is a powerful verse which illustrates this for us. It says, “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us: and if we know He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions (prayers) that we asked of Him.” Notice how God’s Word tells us we can have confidence in knowing He hears and answers our prayers. All we have to do is find scriptures that cover our need and then ask Him to meet it.

Mark 11:24 also gives us helpful insight into effective prayer.  It says, “Whatsoever you desire when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”  Jesus tells us we must pray in faith, which means we must believe God hears and answers our prayers before we see them come to pass. This is not hard to do when you understand that your confidence in prayer must come from the Word of God. In other words, if God said He would do it (something He said in His Word) then faith fills your heart from His promise and you believe that you receive it. You believe it is yours; you believe God has heard and answered your prayer.

So, remember your confidence in prayer will come from knowing God’s will or His Word. Now you can learn to pray effectively and receive answers to all your prayers.

– Pastor Chris Morgan

Earlier in this series we found in 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 (AMP) that putting and keeping God first in our lives is key for us to overcome temptation. In part 3 of this blog I began covering the four fundamentals that will help us do this. The first being: we must take time to read and study God’s Word. The second fundamental was prayer. Prayer will have to be a part of any growing relationship with God. Today I want to cover the last two in this series.

In my last blog I began by sharing a vital truth every Believer must learn in order to overcome temptation. That truth is: we must learn to put and keep God first in our lives. So then, the real question is, how do we keep God first in our lives? We found there are basics or fundamentals that we can’t afford to neglect. They will not only help us keep God first in our lives, but they will also help us to win over the temptations that come our way. There are four fundamentals that will help us do this. In this blog I will share two of them.

God’s Word tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 NLT, “If you think you are standing, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure”. We also found in part 1 that temptation is any trial regarded as enticing one to sin. Sin not only hurts us spiritually, it deceives, desensitizes, and it hardens us to God and the things of God. It is designed to destroy our relationship with God and our confidence in God.

Today I want to share with you the first step or key to overcoming temptation, it is found in 1 Corinthians 10:14. The Amplified Bible translates this verse, “Therefore, my beloved, shun (keep clear away from, avoid by flight if need be) any sort of idolatry (of loving or venerating anything more than God)”. Wow!  There is a ton of insight to overcoming temptation in this verse. Most people would never imagine idolatry being a problem in their lives until they really understand what it is. Idolatry is anything that takes the place of God or the place God should have in your life. So what place is God supposed to hold?  You know the answer – first place. So we find the first step or key to overcoming any temptation is to keep God first in our life. We simply cannot win over temptation without God being and staying our first priority or number one in our lives.

Recently in my office, the Holy Spirit reminded me of a few topics that as a Pastor I need to go over again with the congregation. One of those topics was about temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 NLT says, “If you think you are standing strong, be careful, for you, too, may fall into the same sin. But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.”

With the world at its worst, the church needs to be at its best. With all the reasons many un-churched find not to come to our churches, the church needs to make sure when they do show up, it is doing what draws people to Christ. We must remember God wants to help and change people’s lives no matter where they are in life, what they have done, or what was done to them. People will come from all walks of life; hurting, feeling dirty, sorrowful, empty, and confused. Others will come high minded, impressed with themselves, and not even feeling like they need God. The question is will we each be ready? We must realize in spite of all their hate and dark things, Jesus still love them.