Prayer is a pulling down of heaven’s resources onto earth. We pray that God’s will would be done on earth, as it is in heaven. When we pray, we are trying to bring God’s kingdom right down to earth.
What does the Bible teach us about how to pray effectively?
1.The Lord’s Prayer is the best place to start.
Jesus says:
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one. ’”
Matthew 6:5-10, 12-13 NIV
What we learned:
- Pray in secret, not in public
- Don’t babble or repeat yourself
- You don’t need many words
- (But that doesn’t mean to cut your prayers short!)
- God rewards us for praying!
You don’t need fancy prayers written by someone else, you don’t need a big vocabulary, you don’t need to use your best “pastor voice”, and you don’t need to say the same prayer over and over again.
Get the superstition of religious traditions out of your prayer life.
Superstition has no place with God. It’s not about how many words you offer up to God, it’s about how much faith you offer up to God!
It’s not about what good works you’ve done, it’s about your faith in Jesus as your savior.
2. Pray that God’s will is done, not your own.
“Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed,
“My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
Matthew 26:38-39, 42 NIV
Here, we see Jesus grieving for his own imminent death. We see Jesus sorrowful. Maybe even afraid.
Yet, even in that state of torment, Jesus teaches us to always pray for God’s will to be done. Not our own will, but God’s will. Even in matters of life and death, seek God’s will first always. The life of this mortal body is nothing compared to an eternity with God. Your priority should always be to spend an eternity with God.
God cannot be manipulated by your emotional outbursts. If you have cried out to the Lord but heard no answer, don’t give up. Emotion doesn’t cause God to move. Faith does
3. Pray in Jesus’s name.
“In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”
John 16:23-24 NIV
Jesus’s holy name is like a signature on a blank check, so to speak.
Not literally — don’t pray for riches. But Jesus promised that whatever you ask in his name will be granted. That’s such a powerful promise! Have faith in the promises of Jesus.
This is the last thing Jesus told his disciples before ascending to heaven:
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20 NIV
Through Jesus, we can access all authority in heaven and on earth.
That is so exciting, isn’t it? In Jesus’ name, we have all authority. Wow. And he is with us *always*.
Jesus says: “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
John 14:12-14 NIV
“I will do whatever you ask in my name” — what a powerful promise that is! Make use of this promise when you pray by praying in the holy name of Jesus Christ. Then you will see mountains move.
4. Pray God’s word back to him.
The word of God is very powerful. In fact, it is a weapon in our hands:
“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Ephesians 6:13, 17 NIV
The word of God is the sword of the spirit. We are to wield this sword to fight all of our battles. To sharpen this sword, read your Bible!
This website has a section devoted to the Sword of the Spirit — verses you can pray back to God in various situations. Make use of it! Add to it as you come across God’s promises in the scripture. Then you will be spiritually powerful, and your prayers will be more effective.
5. Be specific with your requests.
When you make requests of God, it is good to be specific about what you want. How can God fulfill your request if you don’t even know exactly what you want?
“Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.” Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.”
Matthew 20:30-34 NIV
When the two blind men asked the general request, “Have mercy on us”, Jesus asks for more specifics.
“What do you want me to do for you?”
Make sure you tell God what exactly what it is you want Him to do. This will make your prayers more effective.
Examples of specific prayer versus general:
- Instead of asking for money, ask God for $5000 to repair your bathroom.
- Don’t ask God for a chair, ask him for an office chair that swivels.
- Instead of praying for healing in general, ask God to shrink your tumor and make it disappear.
When you make a specific request in Jesus’s name, Jesus promises that God will answer.
Jesus says: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
Matthew 7:7-11 NIV
Your Father in Heaven knows how to knock your socks off with his answers to your prayers. Have faith!
6. Try your best to live holy.
If you want God to answer your prayers, you must first make sure you are right with God.
“The speech of the upright rescues them.”
Proverbs 12:6 NIV
And again:
“Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.”
Psalms 5:12 NIV
God answers the prayers of the righteous.
That means if you are not getting answers to your prayers, that you might not be right with God. Confess your sins to God, repent of your bad behavior and attitudes, and renounce your sinful ways. Then God will answer your prayers.
Jesus says:
“Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.”
1 John 3:21-23 NIV
Did you catch that? “If our hearts do not condemn us”? In order to be able to ask and receive in Jesus’s name, we must first be right with God. Make sure you have been loving your fellow humans. Make sure you have not been engaging in habitual sin. Search your soul for blemishes, then ask to be washed clean by the blood of Jesus. *Then* pray to your Heavenly Father.
7. Don’t undo your prayers by doubting.
After you pray, and don’t receive an immediate answer, are you discouraged? When someone then asks you how you are, do you say “still so miserable” … or do you say “God is working on improving my situation!”
Do you cling to hope, or do you confess defeat with your mouth?
You must *believe* that God is working on answers to your prayers. Make sure the way you talk doesn’t show God a lack of faith.
After Elijah prayed for rain, clouds did not appear right away. Did Elijah doubt that his prayer would be answered? Nope.
“And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.
“Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked. “There is nothing there,” he said.
Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.” The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’ ”
1 Kings 18:41-44 NIV
Elijah told the king to travel quickly before a huge rainstorm overtook him, just based on his faith that God would certainly answer his prayer. He never doubted.
That’s the kind of faith we are supposed to pray with.
8. Learn from how Jesus prays in the Bible.
Jesus says, while praying to the Father:
“I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.
“Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”
John 17:9-11, 14-15, 17 NIV
You know any prayer of Jesus’s will be super effective! So what can we learn from Jesus’s prayer?
- Jesus calls on his Holy Father by name
- Jesus asks God to use the power of his name
- Jesus asks for help for a very specific group of people
You might turn this prayer of Jesus’s into your own prayer thusly:
Heavenly Father, I lift myself up to you. All I have is yours. Protect me from the perils of this world by the power of your holy name. Let me be one with you as Jesus is one with you. Help me on my walk through this world, because I am not of this world. Thank you for the gift of your word. Sanctify me by your truth, for your word is truth. Let your hand be always on my shoulder, guiding me. This I pray in the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.
PS — Worry is counterfeit prayer that comes from the flesh.
When you catch yourself worrying, turn to God and pray instead. Worry does nothing good for us, but prayer does! So renounce worry and take up a habit of prayer.
Stay humble!