Communication with God – How to Pray and Receive Answers (22)

Prayer is effective, powerful and necessary for a follower of Christ. It is the breath of the soul, without which the soul would die, and to pray is to open the heart to Jesus, as to a friend. But there are certain conditions for receiving answers to prayer. We’ll see clearly what they are as we continue.

God can read our hearts and therefore knows what we need, why then is prayer even necessary? Luke 1:53
“He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.” (See also Hebrews 4:12, revealing that God knows our hearts.)

How are the hungry and the rich represented by Jesus? Matthew 9:12
“12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. 13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

What is the true condition of those who live without God? Revelation 3:17
“17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:”.

What are we encouraged to do? Philippians 4:6-7
“6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (To be careful is to anxious.)

Will such a prayer be answered? Matthew 7:7
“7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:”

When we ask, and God answers with what is best for us, what is that relationship symbolised as? 1 Corinthians 3:8
“9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.”

How much can we pray for; is it for big things only? Luke 11:2-4
“2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”

Prayer doesn’t draw God closer to us, it draws us closer to God; so what effect does prayer have on those who experience it? 2 Kings 6:17
“17 And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”

We know that we are speaking to God our maker, and provider; what other relationship can we enjoy when we pray? Proverbs 18:24
“A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” (See also Psalm 28:7, which reveals the trust we can enjoy in our conversation with our friend Jesus.)

Oh, What a friend we have in Jesus, He hears and answers our prayers.

Did God’s own Son, He Whom we pray to, feel the need of prayer? Mark 1:35
“35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” (See also Psalm 119:147-148, where it is clear prayer is coupled with devotion.)

Jesus taught that fellowship and family prayer are both important, but what form of prayer did He emphasise to be especially essential for spiritual life? Matthew 6:5-6
“5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

What is the indication that there is science to prayer? Luke 11:1-4
“1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. 2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”

Because there is science to prayer, it must come with conditions and the first condition is feeling our need.

What was David’s attitude towards God? Psalm 63:1
“1 A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;”.

How did Jesus express the needy’s reward beyond doubt as in David’s case? Matthew 5:6
“6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” (See also Judges 10:15-16, which illustrates how our need is our greatest argument with God.)

Sometimes we are blind to our real needs, how does God help us realise them?Psalm 107:12-13
“12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help. 13 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.” (See also verse 5-6 showing a similar experience.)

Confessing every known sin to God and fault to fellow man.

If God convicts us of a specific transgression of His Law and we are unwilling to surrender, will God hear our prayers? Psalm 66:18
“18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:”

What will God, instead, consider our prayer to be? Proverbs 28:9
“9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.”

What does God do when we are willing to confess our sins? Psalm 32:3-5
“3 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. 4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. 5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.”

To who else should we strive to confess our wrongs or resolve disputes? Matthew 5:23-24
“23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” (See also James 5:16, which brings to view that resolving matters will contribute even to our healing.)

Forgiving others.

To what degree will God forgive us? Mark 11:25-26
“25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

Does being forgiven mitigate the consequences? Micah 7:9
“9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.”

To whom should we commit our case and feelings of revenge and of being hurt, when we forgive? 1 Peter 2:23
“23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:” (See also Romans 12:17-21, which tells us God will perfectly sort it out.)

Forgiveness does not mean excusing the sin, finding some good traits in the offender, nor does it mean there are no consequences of the offence, or you remain best of friends. It means to admit that the act was hurtful to you, to let go of feelings of bitterness and revenge, and commit your case to Him who judges righteously, Jesus.

Exercising faith.

What must we, as children towards their parents, actively do in prayer if we would expect an answer? Mark 11:24
“24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”

What is the effect of the of unbelief? James 1:5-7
“5 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. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” (See also, Hebrews 11:6, confirming that without faith we can’t expect God to be please with our prayers.)

We can thank God that we have already received an answers to prayer, although it may not be exactly the thing or timing as we hoped for, but He always gives us what we would have needed if we could see the end from the beginning.

Exercising perseverance or being persistence.

What should we do in prayer? Colossians 4:2
“2 Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;” (See also 1 Thessalonians 5:17, which tells to have a ceaseless open soul communication with God.)

What should we not do concerning prayer? Luke 18:1
“1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;” (See verses 2-8, which Christ gives as a demonstration of the lesson He taught.)

How many times did Elijah pray for rain? 1 Kings 18:41-45
“41 And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, 43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. 44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. 45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.” (See also James 5:16-19, which shows how perseverance in prayer can change varied difficult circumstances.)

In the very struggle between good and evil, Daniel set himself to pray; how long did he have to persevere before the angel brought him word? Daniel 10:1-3, 12-13
“1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision. 2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. 3 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. … 12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.”

The last condition; praying according to God’s will.

What is the result of selfish prayers? James 4:3
“3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

What pleases God that He would hear and answer us? 1 John 5:14-15
“14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”

Friend,

All relationships require communication, therefore, beside the Bible, prayer is our communication with God. When we pray, we may open our hearts to God as to a friend.

Is it your desire to pray according to God’s will, applying these principles and enjoy knowing that He will answer?