Prayer 101
Prayer is cooperating with God.
It’s our part. “We have not
because we ask not.” (James 4:2). So, one of our responsibilities in prayer is
to ask.
What exactly is it that you want?
If you can’t answer that quickly and decisively, you may not be get your
prayers answered. At least not quickly.
When we ask, we need to be specific.
Specifically, according to God’s will.
And, I’m glad I’ve learned that God’s will is God’s Word—the Bible!
So, back to step 1: Ask. We do that by deciding what we want or
need. It seems to be a strange religious
thing that people tend to talk all around what they want in prayer. But if they talk with a friend they might
say, “I sure do need a better car.
Mine’s broken down three times this month and I’m having a hard time
just getting to work on time!” But
that’s not often how we talk with God. In
fact, many people aren’t talking to Him at all.
Or, beating around the bush. Even
Christian people! We need to tell Him
straight out. God honors our honesty.
Then, step 2: Ask
specifically. We find specific scripture
for what we want/need. That scripture is
God’s will in the situation. God cannot
lie (Titus 1:2). So, if we ask according
to what God has promised in His Word, He cannot lie. That means he gives what He promised. That also gives us confidence that we are
asking for something that’s right and good (because He’s promised) and then it
gives us confidence that He will answer our prayer because He keeps His
Word. Jeremiah 1:12 says, “…I will
hasten my word to perform it.” The
Common English Bible says, “I’m watching over my word until it is
fulfilled.” When we pray the scripture,
then God is watching that Word to perform it.
He wants to perform His Word on our behalf!!
So, we have to ask ourselves:
Are we asking? Are we asking
specifically according the Word of God?
Then, if we are, we can rejoice because our God is watching that Word to
perform it. And we know that He is not a
God that lies!! He keeps His Word—that
same Word we put in our mouth to pray!
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