HOW TO PRAY EFFECTIVELY

Prayer is a key part of a believer’s life and therefore it is important to know its value and purpose.

Not only will you learn the purpose of prayer but also how you can pray effectively. 

Let’s go!

What is prayer?

Prayer is simply talking to God. It is a way for Christians to communicate with their Heavenly Father; the human soul (it is where your personality, emotions and will are) communicating with God, the Creator of the soul. It is one of the best ways for believers to fellowship with God. 

In the Bible, prayer is described as seeking God’s favour (Exodus 32:11), pouring out one’s soul to the Lord (1 Samuel 1:15), crying out to heaven (2 Chronicles 32:20), drawing near to God (Psalm 73:28), and kneeling before the Father (Ephesians 3:12).

When should we pray?

God wants to be in conversation with His children all the time and every single day, that is why scripture tells us that we should pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and that we should be persistent in prayer in reference to ‘ask, seek and knock’ (Matthew 7:7). Praying without ceasing and being persistent in prayer means that you show full faith and dependence on God. 

When you “ask” God for something in prayer, it requires faith to believe that you will receive what you ask for. 

When you “seek”, you are seeking God, Himself in prayer (Psalm 27:8), you seek Him with your whole heart (Psalm 119:2), and you know that you lack nothing when you seek Him first (Matthew 6:33). 

When you “knock” it is a metaphor for the action of what you desire in prayer. If a person needs something for the person behind the door, you will knock, and you will keep on knocking until they opened the door – the desire was met. We see this similar persistence demonstrated through Jesus’ parables teaching us that when it comes to prayer to never, never, never give up (Luke 11:5-8, Luke 18:1-8). 

It is imperative as believers of Jesus Christ to be in continual prayer because it is a demonstration of continually being in the presence of God.

Why do we pray?

Prayer develops our relationship with God and shows that we trust and depend on Him. It enables Christians to pour out their emotions (1 Samuel 1:15), present their requests and draw near to God (Psalm 73:28) through their faith in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (James 1:6) who is the Mediator between them and the Father (John 16:23) and through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives inside believers (Romans 8:11). 

Prayer is a great way to utilise the time to show our appreciation to God by giving Him thanks and praise (Psalm 100:4). It is also a way to increase our faith in Jesus Christ, as you pray you can see the move of God in your life (Luke 17:5-6).

In human life, we are going to be worried, anxious, fearful and helpless and the best Person to turn to during these times is God. Therefore, prayer is the solution to our problems because when we confide in God we invite Him to intervene and give us peace to handle whatever we are going through (Philippians 4:6-7).

We pray because as Christians we want to align ourselves to the will of God that He has for our lives (Psalm 37:4). So we don’t ask things based on what we want but on what God wants for us (1 John 5:14-15, James 3:4). Our lives belong to God and it is important that we are led by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14).

How to pray?

Prayer doesn’t always have to be this formal thing where you have to be on your knees (Ephesians 3:14), hands in a prayer position and say eloquent words. God wants you to come to Him as you are. Speak to Him as your Friend but at the same time have honour and respect for Him as your Father.

Although prayer is a conversation with God, there is a wrong and right way of praying, so we don’t pray like the hypocrites Jesus was talking about in Matthew 6:5-8. 

We should pray with genuine hearts not to impress others and look holier-than-thou. This is where the term “prayer closet” derives from (Matthew 6:6) which means to pray directly to God, not towards others.

We should also acknowledge our position before God in our prayers. God is our Heavenly Father, and we are adopted into His family as His children (Romans 8:14, Galatians 4:6-7, Ephesians 1:5). So when we address God in our prayer recognise that He is our Heavenly Father whom He loves; there is a sense of security in knowing this and praying accordingly with this knowledge (Matthew 6:9). 

There are various types of prayers:

• Adoration = Praising God for His greatness and owning up to your dependence on Him.
• Confession = Admitting your sins and asking God for His mercy and forgiveness.
• Thanksgiving = Thanking God for His many blessings and provision in your life.
• Petition = Asking/requesting God for something.
• Intercession = Praying on behalf of someone else. Asking God for His help for them.

Jesus gave us a model prayer on how to P.R.A.Y. (Matthew 6:9-13):

• Praise = Start off prayer by giving praise, thanks and glory to who God is and how good He has been to you. Set the tone of the prayer that you are praying according to God’s will (V.9-10).
• Repent = Confess your sins to God and ask for forgiveness with a repented heart. Make sure you have also forgiven others also (V.12).
• Ask = This is where you present your requests to your God. Petition to God that He may provide for you all your daily needs, that includes your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs (V.11).
• Yield = End your prayer by surrendering every trial and testing you go through in the hands of God (V.13). 

Jesus gave us a teaching on how to pray (Matthew 7:7-8):

• Ask = Asking is verbal, therefore you are to use your mouth and petition God for your needs and desires. 
• Seek = You are to seek with your mind. This requires more than asking, it is a setting of priorities and a focusing of the heart.
• Knock = To knock involves physical movement, it requires putting faith into action.

As you can see, although prayer is simply talking to God there is however a greater sense of value, power and purpose behind it all that as believers we should not take for granted but learn to understand to apply in our walk with Christ Jesus. 

Comment below what you have learnt about prayer and how will you apply what you have learnt to your prayer time. Share this with anyone that you know so that we can all grow in our prayer lives.

Stay blessed,

Divine L.