THE PRAYER LIFE

By William R. Cunningham
September 15, 2993

INTRODUCTION

In this lesson we will examine effective prayer life. Christians have the greatest advantage over everyone else in the world. We have God as our heavenly Father on our side and looking after us. The creator of all that exists is "on our side" so to speak. Therefore, we should live as if we realize the implications of our relationship with God. Christians should not take for granted or realize that God wants to bless us and that he loves us and cares for us.

One of most significant things that a Christian can and should do is pray. Prayer is our way of communing with God on a spiritual level. Of course this means that such prayers must be from the heart. However, we would find that when we consider faith, love, and prayer that we have wonderful access to so much provision that we shouldn't have a care in the world. However, many of us do. Many Christian are worried about a number of different things and we shouldn't be.

We are going to investigate the topic of prayer in this lesson. We are going to look at success and how it relates to prayer. By success I mean how we can prosper according to God's will and enjoy all that God has for us. It is far easier for us to accept the undesirable things that happen to people on this earth then it is to accept and experience the wonderful things that happen to us on this earth. God loves us and he cares for us. Though he is not your genie that you can call on any old time and expect him to beckon to your call, he is however very concerned about you. God provides for us and the Bible says that he will give us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4).

We are going to examine the following areas in regards to having a successful prayer life, which leads to a successful and prosperous life in general.

1. What is prayer?
2. Why should we prayer?
3. What should we prayer?
4. How should we pray?
5. Incorporating prayer in your life?
6. Prayer as it relates to faith
7. Prayer as it relates to the Word of God
8. Praying for the things not specifically mentioned in the Bible

WHAT IS PRAYER?

The word "pray" means to ask very earnestly; to make supplication, and to worship (honor, respect, adore, glorify, idolize). Prayer then is basically how we communicate with God. Prayer is not merely the speaking of words to God and hoping that he will answer your requests or honor your praise. Prayer is the channel that we use to communicate with God. Prayer transcends the mere physical because it connects us to the spiritual realm, that is, to God. Prayer is the number one form of personal communion and fellowship with God.

It is not merely asking Him for things as you might have noticed from the definition. Prayer is also a form of worship of God. It is the medium of personal fellowship between yourself and God. Because of this last point, prayer then originates from the heart. This is one reason that prayer is more than mere words. Prayer is how we express the contents of our heart to God in either requests or praise and worship.

WHY PRAY?

Consider the following scripture.

Matthew 6:8 (NKJV) "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

If God know what we need before we ask Him then why should we pray? What is the purpose for prayer? The short answer is that we should pray because the Bible consistently instructs us to pray. We have numerous examples in the Bible of men and women of God who prayed. So the answer to this question is simply because God says so.

Now there are other reasons why we should pray. First of all, our prayers accomplish much. Consider the following scriptures.

• James 5:16 - The affective fervent prayer
• 1 Thessalonians 5:17 - Always pray
• Matthew 26:41 -- Watch and pray
• Luke 18:1, 21:36 -- Always pray
• Ephesians 6:18 - Pray in the spirit on all occasions
• 1 Kings 20:1-6 - The prayer of King Hezekiah when he was judged to death.

Prayer is mostly for us. After all, God already knows what we need. Prayer helps to rejuvenate our confidence in God or else to continuously refresh it. Through prayer you become more aware of God and connected to God. That is where your faith is anyway, namely, in God. Your faith alone can do nothing. However, if you are standing on the word of God then you can have complete confidence in him to do what he says and to provide what you ask of him. So we pray for our own benefit.

WHAT SHOULD WE PRAY?

Consider the following scriptures.

• 1 Thessalonians 5:17 - Always pray
• John 15:7 - Prayer and abiding in the Word of God
• Mark 11:22-26 - Prayer and faith in God
• Romans 8:26-27 - The Holy Spirit will help us to pray

These scriptures reveal that we should pray about everything and on all occasions. We should have a disposition of prayer.

We should pray about things that we need and want in our normal everyday life. For example, here are some things that we should regularly pray.

•          Health
•          Education
•          Children
•          House
•          Car
•          Decorating tips (I say this because the arrangement of the items in a house do affect us)
•          Our jobs
•          Our businesses
•          And everything else

We can pray for the things that we need and the things that we want. Besides, in the overall scope of things, we really don't know the difference between specific wants and needs. Only God knows what we really need. See Psalms 37:4.

We should avoid coming to the point where we depend on ourselves such as our job or business. We have to always remember that God is in control and it is because of Him that we have the thing that we have. I can recall many occasions in my life where God moved beyond the budget. God orchestrated events so that we were able to obtain what my wife and I heart's desire. So it is important to pray to God about everything and not hold anything back to your own strength.

HOW SHOULD WE PRAY?

• Pray from the heart. Consider Matthew 6:5-15, Mark 11:22-26.
• Pray according to God's will (See 1 John 5:14-15)
• Pray in faith (James 5:15, Jude 1:20)
• Honestly. There is no point in not being honest with an omniscient and all powerful God
• Be candid - It makes no sense to beat around the bush with God. Tell him exactly what you need or want
• Be respectful - God is not your servant. He is the creator of all things and he is the Holy God who deserves your respect. Don't go to God as though he has to do what you say because he doesn't. Don't do like some teach, place a demand on the spirit. Our confidence is what the sovereign God has said and not what we can make him do, since we can't make God do anything.
• Pray out of a desire to interact with God and not out of obligation. Prayer is the result of our personal relationship with God (or at least it should be). It is an act of worship, praise, and fellowship with our heavenly father.
• Pray boldly (with confidence) - Hebrews 4:16 and also Hebrews 13:5-6.
• Pray with the right motive (See James 4:3, Matthew 7:7)

Praying will help you become more sensitive to the presence of the LORD.

WHEN SHOULD WE PRAY

It is very important that we incorporate prayer into our lives. We saw above that prayer is indeed very important to a Christian's life. Therefore, we should make the time to pray. We make time to do so many things but not pray. We tend to focus or give priority to those things that are tangible. However, we should give a high priority to prayer as well as Bible study. Prayer should be a normal and integral part of our lives.

Some people pray best in the morning while others are more night people. It all depends on you. There are no rules as to what time of day you should pray. The important thing is that you get quality prayer time with God. Prayer time with God will surely nurture your relationship with Him.

Pray any time. Don't wait until there is a problem. Be a person of prayer by consistent prayer time with the Lord. Pray to God as you walk around your house, sit in the chair, work on the garden or lawn, or whenever. Just be a person of prayer and pray whenever you want to or need to.

PRAYER, FAITH AND THE WORD OF GOD

Prayer is very closely tied to faith and God's word. Effective prayer demands that we know the will of God, which is revealed in His word, and that we believe in him. The word of God is the glue for prayer working through faith and vice versa. We need the word of God in order to pray according to God's will (1 John 5:14-15). We also need the word of God to build our faith since it is the first step to increasing faith.

Meditating on God's word will affect your outlook on many things and increase your faith (assuming you really give credence to the word of God). Meditating on the word of God and discovering the truths about prayer and faith will give you confidence upon confidence to accomplish those things that you desire or to get you through the things that you have to deal with in life.

The prayer of faith means that we totally rely on God to provide for us in accordance with our prayer, which is or should be according to his will anyway. There is also the act of hoping in God's mercy for those things that are not specifically accounted for in the Word. We will discuss that shortly.

Prayer cannot be affective without faith. Faith is crucial for us to realize the operation of God in our lives.

Faith in Your Life

Put your faith in God and feel free to ask him anything. Trust God to do anything for you. Don't limit yourself by what you think is possible or not possible. Allow God to instruct you on what he will or will not do. Don't look at your situation and limit your prayers according to it. The Bible says that there is nothing impossible to God and that anything is possible to those who believe in God.

What have you asked God for lately? Have you allowed your paycheck or your business salary to dictate what you can or cannot do? Well don't do that. The sky is the limit in a sense. Go to God about all that you desire (we don't really know the difference between a desire and a need). Just ask God in faith. Have you ever asked God for the money to pay off your mortgage or to get a new car? Have you ever asked God for the resources to give to the poor or to honor your parents? Have you ever asked God for funding to help your family, start a business, or fulfill your dreams? Well why not. If God doesn't want you to have something then he will let you know. However, that is no reason not to ask. The Bible tells us in James chapter four that the reason that we don't have sometimes is that we don't ask. Therefore, don't be afraid to ask God for the things that you want.

UNSPECIFIED IN THE WORD

How should you pray for things that are not specifically accounted for in the Word of God? For example, how should you pray to God for a particular house that you really would like to purchase? Should you pray for such things? You can easily believe that God would provide a place for you to live because he cares for you. What about a specific house or type of house? How would you have the confidence that God would provide that for you?

I believe that God's promises are not cookbook so to speak. In other words, we can't go to the Bible to see exactly what God has for us. Therefore, there will be a number of things that we will desire, need, or come into contact with where we will need prayer. How should we proceed? Should you pray to God for a particular car, dress, school, etc.? The answer is yes.

We saw earlier in this study that we should pray to God consistently and about all things. But how can we pray according to the word if these things are not specifically provided for in the Word of God? The specific things are not in the Bible but your relationship with a heavenly father is. Consider the following scripture.

Psalm 147:11 (NKJV) The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy.

God is pleased with those who revere him and honor him. Therefore, you should keep in mind that your perception, and therefore your relationship with God is of utmost important. I say this because there are many who believe that they can coerce God to do something because of their great faith or from some spiritual law that they quote. We should keep in mind that God is interested and wants a relationship with us as his children. Now don't you think that a father would take care of his children? Therefore, we should keep in mind that God is our heaven father whom we should respect and realize that he is looking out for our well being.

Here are some guidelines that I think will help you deal with the biblically unspecified or specific things that arise in your life.

1. Depend on God to guide you

2. Establish an intimate relationship with God

3. Learn how God communicates with you specifically

a. Acknowledge Him in the events of your life

b. Evaluate your path and realize how you arrived at your present place

c. Evaluate your past challenges and notice how God delivered you from them

Basically learn to recognize God's activity in your life. Then you will see how faithful he has been to you. Pray for the things that you desire and stay in communion with the Lord so that you know what to do. You can only move forward in any thing if God has provided it for you. So again, don't be afraid to ask God for anything. Trust him even until the end (even if that end is God telling you no).

BELIEVE IN YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER

Know and believe that God will take care of you. Have confidence in God to deliver you and prosper you. However, don't be deceived into thinking that God will make you rich as some teach. God will prosper you according to his will and purpose for you. We can also count on God to provide for us. For example, pray to God and ask him for a new car, a new house, prosperity in your business, etc. Also, pray for the spiritual gifts that will result in producing fruit for the Kingdom of God. Don't be afraid to assume that God will prosper you as long as you are consistent with His word and that He is guiding you. If there is no provision on your current path then you can assume that God doesn't want you to go that way or do such and such a thing. God's provision is where He has purposed you to be.

I recall many times in my life where I was able to accomplish something or acquire something well beyond my abilities or resources. However, God moved in circumstances so that I was able to do it. God brought opportunity and provision that were well out of my control so that I was able to do what he wanted. My faith in God continued to increase because of His consistent faithfulness in my life and the fact that I am aware that those things happened because of him.

There were times when God reprimanded me because I was doing things that I should not be doing or I wasn't doing what he told me to do. I had to make drastic changes at that point. Sometimes it would seem like I totally reversed directions, but sometimes you need to do that in order to get on the path that God has prepared for you. When we are on the path prepared by God, i.e., are consistent with His will, then we can have much confidence in his provision.

So we can believe in our heavenly father to provide for us as long as we do his will. We have to deal with and work to eliminate, by the power of the Holy Spirit, any secret sins that we have, strife, disobedience, unforgiveness, doubt, and anything else that would hinder our prayers from being answered by God.

Get God involved with your life and learn to trust him. Learn to be excited about the desires of your heart knowing that God will give them to you. Now of course, we do not ask God for trivial things merely to consume on our own lusts. However, we shouldn't think that God won't give us something just for our enjoyment either. Why wouldn't God provide you with a new car, a new house, new clothes, etc.? Those things really don't matter. However, what is even more important than the object is the motive for that object. For example, you could want a new car simply so that you could show off or the like. That is not a heart after God and you should not expect God to give you those desires. However, the heart of a righteous person will be fulfilled. So seek righteousness and allow the Spirit of God to guide your heart as he guides your life.

Pray to God for everything and believe that He will give it to you as you seek after Him. Believe God to take care of you and to provide for you.