#178: An Effective Prayer

By Dawn - November 07, 2021

And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him. (I John 5:14-15)

What a blessed gift God has given us in prayer - an avenue to make requests. But why are all my prayers not answered? Why do I get the exact opposite of my requests? I pray for God to preserve the life of a loved one, and after many days of sincere uproars, the person still dies. Let us face the truth, this has definitely been our story at one point. So what happened to our open cheque (prayer)?

You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:3-4

I believe that every request will be granted but there is a condition: the only requests that get granted are the requests that are in accordance with the will of God. Our key text says that if we ask anything according to His will... Making requests outside of His will is making a request to spend on our [selfish] passion.

Prayer is a very spiritual exercise and should be treated as such. When we pray, we do so in Jesus' name. However, Jesus will never approve a request to His Father that is contrary to His will. If we want something outside of the will of God, then the prayer should be made to another God and not in the name of Jesus.

Prayer then becomes an exercise that we engage in to proclaim the will of God on earth. That is why the model prayer that Jesus taught says:

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10

In praying, you are synchronising yourself with the eternal will of God for the earth. Effective prayers therefore can only be made by someone who knows the will of God; and how can we know the will of God?

If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. John 15:7

Only through the Word abiding in us and we abide in the Word can we know the will of God and pray correctly. so even in believing what we pray in order to receive, I believe that means trusting God's will which has just been proclaimed in prayers that they will get answered. so when God says:

"I am the LORD and there is none like Me,

declaring the end from the beginning

and from ancient times things not yet done,

saying, "My counsel shall stand,

and I will accomplish all My purpose"" Isaiah 46:9-10

We pray these counsels and believe that they will come to pass. The Word of God abiding in us transforms us (John 8:47, John 14:24; John 15:3; John 17:8&17; I John 1:10; I John 2:14; I John 3:22):

Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Once again, there is a condition - to delight in God. I am not the best believer out there, but I have known God long enough to know that the desires of my heart before and after delighting in God are not the same. Delighting in God will actually change many of our prayer points; we will end up praying the mind of God in whom we have made our delight.

Prayer is not a magic moment for us to create our world. We pray to God; we trust Him for the answers; the answers come from Him. We cannot separate God from our prayers - the link is praying in accordance with His will. Jesus is our perfect example; at the moment of His agony, He was subject to God's will and in His prayers, you could hear the echoes of His heart cry: nevertheless, Thy will be done O LORD (Luke 22:42).

If I have no interest in obeying God and bringing my life to conformity to His values and getting my desires from His desires, [then] prayer is not my business.