How to Pray to God.

The second secret to successful praying is to "Pray Without Ceasing". Prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. Acts 12: 5. In the Revised Standard Version of the bible, "without ceasing" is rendered "earnest." Neither one of these two English translations do the Greek word justice. In Greek, the word literally means, "stretched-out-ed-ly." "It is a pictorial word and wonderfully expressive. It represents the soul on a stretch of earnest and intense desire." Perhaps, the closest word in the English language would be "intensely." The point here is that we, as a people, do not normally put our hearts into our prayers. We simply rush into the presence of the Lord, make our pleas', say our thanks, and then abruptly leave. If, an hour later, we were asked exactly what we said, chances are we would not remember. "When we learn to come to God with an intensity of desire that wrings the soul, then we will know a power in prayer that most of us do not know now."

In 1 John 3: 22, it is said by John, And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

However, in 1 John 3: 22 it is clearly stated that ...we receive of Him, because we...do those things that are pleasing in His sight. If we shy away from His commands and hedge on His beliefs, it is most likely that He will not answer our prayers. Look to your self for the answers to unanswered prayers before turning the blame towards our Maker!

Now, let's talk of "Truth" in our praying. Psalm 145: 18 sheds some light on this subject...The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth.

Simple words they are...in truth. Or are they? Many a woman, believing herself (or really being) a good Christian, prays for the conversion of her husband. If she stopped and thought about what true conversion involves, she most likely would not be praying for it to happen. For true conversion may call for the husband to quit his job and actively seek a greater way to please the Lord such as becoming a minister in a foreign country or taking up a ministry in the slums of some city. Truthfully, this upheaval and cut in income is not what the wife desires. A more truthful prayer may be to ask the Lord to make her husband a more caring, God fearing, and respectful person. We must be completely truthful in our desire...in our heart of hearts...for prayer to work. We must also be very specific in our requests.

And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him. John 5: 14-15. In other words, we must pray according to God's will...not in the manner we choose to pray. For example, when I pray to God for wisdom, I know that this is given to me as God's will in the bible. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. James 1: 5. And I fully expect to get results from this prayer. However, only knowing what I consider wisdom and not knowing what God considers wisdom, my expectations are ambiguous at best. I do know that the Lord has granted me the wisdom to make it through school with not just passing grades, but straight A's in my major. To me this is a true gift from God. If we look to the Bible for the gifts and promises of the Lord and then ask for them in total confidence that we shall receive the gift, it will be ours!

The Lord has acknowledged and allowed for the fact that we need to pray for things other than specific gifts from God. In light of this, He has granted us a manner of prayer through the Holy Spirit in Romans 8: 26-27. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered; and He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. I have encountered this type of prayer many times when praying for people whom I counsel over the Internet and ICQ. The groaning comes forth in the form of prayer for I sometimes know not what to say for lack of familiarity with the person or their family. The Lord knows what needs to be said though and the message is sent forth in a groaning, unintelligible utterance from the Holy Spirit within. If you should encounter this in your prayer, do not fear it...embrace it, for truly the Spirit is with you when this happens.

How easily our faith is shaken and how easily we can find ourselves blaming the Lord for not caring or not listening or not answering our cries for help. So, where does our faith come from? The answer lies in Romans 10: 17: So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Jesus loved the persistent people of His time. He was not too concerned whether or not they were Christian for it was their persistence in belief itself that drew His eye. Jesus looked upon these people as being excellent recruits because once converted to Christianity they would be ceaseless in their pursuit of prayer and holiness. This is brought to light in Luke 18: 1-8: And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth? Jesus admired and complimented this woman on her persistency of nature knowing her faith was mighty.

I spoke earlier about "The Word of God" and His promises to us. There is another side to the word of God which involves "Abiding in the word of God." If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. John 15: 7

This is a mighty statement of faith ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. It says there is a way of asking for and receiving exactly what we want. There are, however, two conditions included in this statement. The first condition says, If ye abide in Me. To explain this concept to His disciples, Jesus used a parable once again. He compared His relationship to them as a growing vine. At first there is Jesus, the vine. Then as the vine spreads outwardly it takes on new characteristics and directions that are compared to the disciples. However far they spread, individuate or mutate, they are still a part of the original vine and therefore they "abide in Jesus." What a magnificent concept this is! It is to say that the spreading vine branches (the disciples) had no independent life of their own. They are eternally dependent on the vine (Jesus) for their strength, nourishing and life forces. So, we are all continually dependent upon His inflow of life into us and the outworking of His life through us.

The second condition is, and My words abide in you. The meaning of this statement is that we must meditate on the words of Christ, reading and studying them in the bible so that we not only know them...they abide in us! This is to say that we think like Jesus and therefore we will act like Jesus. It is not enough simply to know the bible's words...we must live them in order to receive their gifts. This brings us to a whole new category...

1. Selfish prayers

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. James 4: 3

"A selfish purpose in prayer robs prayer of power." I will give you an example of selfish prayer from my own history. Many times when I was at a low...usually at the end of a 1-day to 2-weeek binge on cocaine, alcohol, pot and sex...I would try to open my miserable heart to Jesus with prayer asking for conversion back to better, purer faith. Inevitably, my prayer was self-centered at best. I would pray that I could quit drugs once and for all and be a good Christian again so my family would be better and my wife would respect me again. On the surface, this sounds like a fine enough thing to pray for. However, my true desires were to feel better about my self, my life, my family and my health.

The true purpose in prayer is the glorification of God! And He is then glorified in the answer. If my motives in praying for this conversion were so that I could ennoble God in praise and spread His word and the ideals of Christianity, the Lord would have gladly granted my wishes. The other things would have followed naturally with the coming of the Spirit upon me and the fulfillment of God's work on earth.

We need to be totally conscious of the true reasoning behind what we ask for. Another example: The wife of non-believer prayed ceaselessly for the conversion of her husband but never received an answer and he continued on as a heathen. Why? The answer lies in the fact that she wanted his conversion simply to make her life more convenient. So she wouldn't have to hide her beliefs and sneak to church and never have her church friends over to visit. If her true desire to convert her husband had been to give the Lord another vessel to carry His word and another person to sing His praise, He gladly would have granted this conversion to faith.

So, look deep for the true meanings of your prayers and be specific in what you desire so that there is no ambiguity on the part of the Lord as to the purpose of the prayer.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

It happened late on the night of the 12^th of August, 1999. I had been working all day on this paper about the how's and why's of praying and it was nearly midnight. For the last hour or so, I had been listening to my two daughters get louder and louder by the minute. It seemed the more tired they got, the giddier they got. I arose from my computer and walked into the living room where they had folded out the couch to sleep on. You see, the landlord was putting in a new window in the basement where their room is (an egress window) and it was a shambles. I told them it was time to settle down and get to sleep. We said good night and I went to the kitchen to get something to drink before retiring to my bedroom upstairs.

Looking in the refrigerator, I spotted the grapefruit juice and took it out to pour a glass. As I turned to get a cup, my head suddenly began to spin and I felt faint. I remember my knees starting to buckle as I thought to myself, "What's happening to me?" Then I heard the voice of the Lord...not for first time in my life, but for the first time in a long time.

The Lord said to me, "Go back and teach your children what you have learned." It wasn't a loud demand or an ultimatum. It was simply stated in a tone that left no other solution other than to do what was asked. Now, I knew why my head was spinning...the Spirit of the Lord had come mightily upon me with a desire to manifest the teachings of Jesus through me.

I returned to the living room and stood by the girls and asked them if they had said their prayers yet tonight. They replied that they were just about to. I told them I would like to pray with them if it was all right. Then, I said there is a right way and a wrong way to pray. My eleven year old daughter, Jamie, said she was taught (by her mother and I) that you started a prayer with "now I lay me down to sleep..." and, when you finished that, she said you were supposed to pray for others. I told her that I had been reading a book called "How to Pray" and in the book it says you are supposed to sit quietly, eyes closed, and bring Jesus into the room with you.

We all closed our eyes and I said, "just sit quietly for a minute." Then I said, "Imagine that Jesus is sitting with us...imagine God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost all together here with us to pray."

Jamie says, "Dad...I can see Jesus but I can't see the Holy Ghost."

"Look at Jesus" I said. "Now look through Jesus."

In joy she exclaimed, "I see Him now!"

It was all I could do not to start bawling as the tears welled up in my eyes clouding my vision. I began to speak about who we are supposed to pray for...the saints, the world leaders, the ministry and the churches...when suddenly both children started to fire questions at me.

From my eleven year old, "Why do we pray, dad?"

From my thirteen year old, Deana, "What should I say if I want something?"

Jamie again, "How much praying should I do? When do I know I'm done?"

Realizing this wasn't going to be a praying session but rather a learning session, I quickly said, "Whoa there, one at a time."

As we talked, I told them the things I have learned recently about praying and they listened in awe. Entranced by the words and hanging on every sentence, eager to ask the next question. As I spoke to them, I realized that Jesus was sitting with us, speaking through me to the children as He did so many times when He was working for God here on earth. It was as thrilling for Him as it was for me and I silently sang my praises to the Lord God Almighty.

When the questions finally stopped, I beckoned the children to once again look to Jesus for dismissal and to thank Him for sitting with us. Then, the I-love-you's were passed back and forth with a little more meaning than usual and I remember looking at them laying there on the couch and seeing the twinkle in their half-closed eyes. That twinkle of bright shining Inner Light from theHoly Ghost within. I hadn't felt that good in a long, long time.

I praised the Lord mightily that night in my bed as sleep crept over me. I often fall asleep while praying. But, the Lord wasn't done with me yet...! That night I dreamt I was running like the wind. You see, I can't run any more and never will again because of my injuries. But the good Lord treated me that night. I ran, and ran, and ran until I was going so fast my feet left the ground and I was flying. Flying like an angel through the heavens and I felt at home.

 

 

2. Sin hinders prayer

Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save...But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear. Isaiah 59: 1,2

Simple enough to understand...Once again I draw from my own life an example. Throughout my drug life, I prayed for things that are supposed to be the word of God and given unto His believers. I have always been a believer but at that time I was also a sinner. I held in sins from the past that I had not asked for forgiveness from. I cherished sins in my life at the time of the prayers such as alcohol, drugs, gambling and much more.

Sin not only hinders prayer...it stops it dead in it's tracks!!!!!!

"Anyone who finds his prayers unanswered should not think that what he asks of God is not according to His will. Instead, he should go alone to God with the Psalmist's prayer, Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me (Psalm 139: 23-24). Wait before Him until He puts His finger upon the thing that is displeasing in His sight. Then, this sin should be confessed and put away."

3. Who comes first?

Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face: should I be inquired of at all by them? Ezekiel 14: 3. "Idols in the heart cause God to refuse to listen to our prayers."

What, you might ask, constitutes an idol? That's really quite simple to answer. It's anything that holds a position higher than God is in our life. Some men made idols of their wife when they put her pleasure above the pleasure of God. Some women make idols of their children when they put the child's love above that of God's. Some people make an idol of their job by putting their reputation and position in a more important frame of mind than the position they reserve for God. Who, or what, is in the number one spot in your mind and heart?

4. Give in order to receive

Who so stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard. Proverbs 21: 13.

The lack of generosity we show towards the poor and unto God's work is perhaps the one greatest hindrance to prayer. We are to give 10% of our earnings to our church or charity to sanction our wages. Come on folks...how many of you really pay this? Some say this is way to steep a price. So then, what price have you placed on salvation?

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. Luke 6: 38. "The generous man is the mighty man of prayer. The stingy man is the powerless man of prayer."

5. An unforgiving spirit

And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. Mark 11: 25.

Anyone who is holding ill feelings about someone else has deafened the ear of God to their prayers for He "...cannot deal with us on the basis of forgiveness while we are harboring ill will against those who have wronged us." Remember whom judgement belongs to and do not overstep your bounds. We are on this earth to receive from God and give what we receive immediately to others. We should neither harbor ill nor God's gifts. Rather we shall give an outpouring of His will unto others for Christ's sake.

6. Husband and wife relationship

Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with (your wives) according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that our prayers be not hindered. 1 Peter 3: 7.

This passage says that a wrong relationship between husband and wife is a hindrance to prayer. Husband and wife both need to spread their relationship out openly in front of God and ask Him to put His finger on their actions that are hindering their prayers. A loving and respectful marriage on both sides of the coin is needed for a clear passage of prayer unto the Lord.

7. Believe His word absolutely