Prayer is an incredible privilege for believers. What is prayer? Prayer is a conversation with God—a loving, all-knowing Father who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). This is amazing because in the days before Christ, only specific people could actually pray and expect to hear directly from God; these people are referred to as the prophets.
What Prayer Does
a. Prayer as Communication
Prayer is conversation with God. What does regular conversation with someone do? It deepens the relationship. Even more so with the Lord. “The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.” Proverbs 15:29
b. Prayer Releases Resources from Heaven to Earth
Prayer invites God’s power and resources into earthly situation.
“Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 18:18-20
c. Prayer Gets God Involved.
Imagine, if you will, thinking of an idea and it may sound good to you but when you bring it to God, He tells you no and He is gracious enough to tell you why. Keep in mind, His no is enough, but He is gracious. And you are able to see from His perspective the consequences of the action, the grief, messed up relationship, loneliness, mental anguish, financial setback, maybe a 10-year, 20-year setback, wouldn’t you like to avoid that? When we invite God into our process, we have a supernatural backing and covering: wisdom, guidance, protection, among many other things. This allows God to give us advice on how to move forward or even if we should move forward, His will in the situation, to avoid potholes, and open doors which may have not opened otherwise.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:5
These are some of the many reasons it is important to invite God into all areas of your life especially those areas that you would rather stay hidden. God sees and knows all about it anyways, why not give it to the one person that can do something about it?
The Importance of Inviting God into All Areas of Life
Prayer helps align us with God’s will, helps us to gain knowledge about God’s plan and wisdom on how to operate in our dealings, avoid unnecessary pain, and gain His perspective. Jeremiah 29:11 backs this, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
You will be told “no” during your walk with God. Don’t forget that God is a loving Father. If He is telling you no, it is not to punish you. It is always for your good even if it hurts in the moment or you don’t understand. His “no” helps us to avoid long-term or even short-term consequences we cannot see at the moment.
How to Pray Effectively: A Guide Based on The Lord’s Prayer
Matthew 6:5-14 records Jesus’ instructions on prayer but we are going to focus specifically on verses 9-13:
a. Verse 9: Acknowledge Who God Is
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”
Begin with worship. Recognize and acknowledge who He is by meditating on His attributes and what He has done. What He has created and how He operates. This can also be done in the form of worship. Psalm 100:4 NLT says, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.”
b. Verse 10: Pray for God’s Will.
”Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Surrender your plans and pray for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. You will never run out of things to pray for in this life. It’s our job as believers to pray God’s will on this earth. Pray for others, pray for your community, for your nation, for the world. Prayer isn’t about your wish list. There are things and plans in this world that will only be stopped with prayer. **
“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people.” Timothy 2:1
c. Verse 11: Ask for Daily Provisions
“Give us this day our daily bread,”
This is where you pray for the things you need in your life. Whether it is healing for your body or mind, or financial help, or wisdom in a tough situation, this is where you pray for it. And trust God to provide it.
“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
d. Verse 12: Repent and Forgive
“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
Ask for forgiveness and ask God for help to forgive others who have sinned against you. Unforgiveness in your heart is like a cancer, it will not go away on its own and it will hurt you.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.” 1 John 1:9
e. Ask for Help with Temptation
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Ask for help and strength to overcome temptation and avoid evil. This is important especially because in the technological age we are in, it is very easy to see and hear things that we shouldn’t. Something that appears to be good could very well be detrimental to your life and journey with the Lord. Ask for a heightened sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and He will advise you on how to move. He is called the Counselor for a reason.
“God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out.”
God Hears Every Prayer
With this being laid out, I would like to clarify one thing: God hears every prayer. The quick prayer over your food, that angry prayer for patience while in 5pm traffic, that grateful prayer that slips out as you drift off to sleep. It doesn’t matter how big or how small. He hears all prayers, and He keeps all prayers. God loves hearing from us.
The breakdown above is for effective and efficient prayer. These prayers get God’s attention because this isn’t only about ourselves and what we want or need. It’s bigger. This tells God that He can partner with us about His business. That we are sensitive and aware of the harsh realities and want to do something about it.
“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are attentive to their prayer.” 1 Peter 3:12
I encourage you to take a step further in prayer. You don’t have to be perfect, only sincere.
Heavenly Father, I thank You for this time together. I pray encouragement over every person who reads this post and I pray that it helped them to understand the power and purpose of prayer and how important it is. I pray that their prayers wouldn’t be small or self-focused but they would be broad and include their families, their jobs, their communities, their country, the world. Remind them that they are not alone in their struggles and You are present every step of the way. I pray that they would have a fire set on the inside of them to spend time with You in prayer each day so that You are able to tell them and help them with the time ahead of them and Your plans for their life. Thank You for this gift we often take advantage of, let us not take it for granted any longer. We love You and thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen!
If you are having trouble building a prayer life, please look at the post called: Building a Prayer Life. I pray that this helped you and would love to hear from you down in the comments!
Terry’ana xx
This is beautiful! Well done Terry’ana!