Prayers are powerful tools for believers, under the right circumstances, but they can also be words that fall to the floor, or thoughts that never get past our skulls. We want our prayers to be meaningful, but we must become aware that our spiritual condition must be right for them to be heard.
For prayers to be heard, we must have all known sins confessed, and we must be current in our daily study of the Bible. If these conditions are met, the Holy Spirit will be our partner in prayer. He will pray for us (by interceding) and in our place (by actually substituting His prayer for ours, when we are not sure what to pray).
If we are right with God...and studying His Word consistently and praying often...our faith will be getting stronger. Faith is important in prayer...meaning faith in God's instructions and promises...and faith in His trustworthy character. Surely there's no doubt about His ability. He's God, after all.
When we "believe" as we pray, with faith the size of a grain of mustard seed and all that, we must distinguish the outcome we pray for from the One Who determines all outcomes. Our faith is in Him. He knows what is best, and what our needs REALLY are, and He knows what fits His great plan. If we have faith in Him, rather than an outcome, we will be expressing surrender to Him, and acknowledging that He will work everything together for our good.
This is why we are told to pray "according to His will", because His will is divine and His plan is perfect. As we mature and faithfully seek Him, the outcomes we pray for will be refined...and will be so attuned to what He wants, that we will be asking Him to do the very thing He wanted to do all along. Our prayers will match His will. When we reach this point, what we pray will be, not only what He wants, but what He has already planned.
Prayer requires preparation. It is not just a firebox we keep handy for emergencies. God does not favor you because you're cute and smart, or pity you because you aren't. God looks at the heart, and if your heart has been purified by the honest confession of your sins to Him, and your mind has been renewed by the teaching of His Word, then your prayers will have the desired effect. You will be thankful at the outcome, and God will be pleased to meet your needs.
For a complete study on prayer, see the book at this site, Studies on Being Devoted to Prayer, available for free download at the "Descriptions and Downloads" page.
For prayers to be heard, we must have all known sins confessed, and we must be current in our daily study of the Bible. If these conditions are met, the Holy Spirit will be our partner in prayer. He will pray for us (by interceding) and in our place (by actually substituting His prayer for ours, when we are not sure what to pray).
If we are right with God...and studying His Word consistently and praying often...our faith will be getting stronger. Faith is important in prayer...meaning faith in God's instructions and promises...and faith in His trustworthy character. Surely there's no doubt about His ability. He's God, after all.
When we "believe" as we pray, with faith the size of a grain of mustard seed and all that, we must distinguish the outcome we pray for from the One Who determines all outcomes. Our faith is in Him. He knows what is best, and what our needs REALLY are, and He knows what fits His great plan. If we have faith in Him, rather than an outcome, we will be expressing surrender to Him, and acknowledging that He will work everything together for our good.
This is why we are told to pray "according to His will", because His will is divine and His plan is perfect. As we mature and faithfully seek Him, the outcomes we pray for will be refined...and will be so attuned to what He wants, that we will be asking Him to do the very thing He wanted to do all along. Our prayers will match His will. When we reach this point, what we pray will be, not only what He wants, but what He has already planned.
Prayer requires preparation. It is not just a firebox we keep handy for emergencies. God does not favor you because you're cute and smart, or pity you because you aren't. God looks at the heart, and if your heart has been purified by the honest confession of your sins to Him, and your mind has been renewed by the teaching of His Word, then your prayers will have the desired effect. You will be thankful at the outcome, and God will be pleased to meet your needs.
For a complete study on prayer, see the book at this site, Studies on Being Devoted to Prayer, available for free download at the "Descriptions and Downloads" page.
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