It is real simple, either God is a God who answers prayers, or he doesn't. If He doesn't answer prayer it is foolish to pray, and if He does answer prayer then it is foolish not to pray. I believe He answers prayers!
Do you ever feel like you see God only as the giver and you as the receiver? I know I do. This is why we miss the true meaning of prayer and faith! Did you know that prayer and faith are how we become givers to God? Prayer is a way for us to become instruments for God to do what he wants. We have to become aligned with God's purpose, then our prayers will be able to move mountains. They shouldn't be used just to get things from God. Prayer and faith should be used as a way to give to God and please him.
We spend so much time asking for things in prayer that will change our circumstances instead of allowing prayer to change us. But if you are like me you might not know how to pray! To be effective in our prayers we have to meet certain condition's for approaching God in prayer in a way that will bring answers:
First you start out by praising him. Thank him about everything in your life. Praise him for the sunshine, anything that comes into your mind praise him. If it is a serious prayer always pray with your bibles open. Read scripture to him. There are lots of scripture that describe His attributes, look for them and read them aloud to Him. Remember that the Spirit of God and the Word of God ALWAYS work together! The power of the Holy Spirit works through our prayers ONLY if they are in line with the Word of God. This means that to pray effectively we must know what the Bible says. We must bring the Word and the Spirit together in our prayers because then the whole creative power and ability of Almighty God is available to us.
Then you want to make sure that you ask for forgiveness for all your sins. Spend some time doing this. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you any unconfessed sin. Unconfessed sin creates a barrier between you and God. It even short-circuits faith and assurance. Failure to repent will cause estrangement from God. For example when Jesus was about to take his last breath and he cried out "Father why have you forsaken me?" At that moment Jesus had taken all the sins of the whole world upon himself. And at that moment Jesus could sense God had turned his back on him. God cannot get near sin! The minute we confess our wrongdoings, God is right back flooding our hearts with peace, joy and assurance. I have always laughed with Beth Moore whenever she says she stays "prayed up for forgiveness". Don't let to many hours pass without asking the Holy Spirit's help with revealing to you any unconfessed sin. Pray without ceasing.
After repentance, then align yourself with God's will. I want you to think about this prayer that we are all familiar with:
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." This is the Key to unlocking God's Will in your prayer life. This is how you align yourself up with God's will and not your own. We address God as our Father and that is who we are praying too. Hallowed be Your name, is a sign of worship. It is an attitude of reverence. Notice the next lines "Your kingdom come" and then "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Notice you aren't praying for what you need! Then the prayer continues with "Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses." Always start with God's purposes, what is important to God. We have to get out of our prayer pits where we sit and wonder why I can't get what I want? Who is going to help me? What do I get out of this prayer? By aligning ourselves with God's will instead of what our inner man (aka the flesh) wants, we will start to see the powerful impact of our prayers. A powerful prayer life that can changes lives! Don't you want that? There is so much that God has for us and we are cutting ourselves short of the many blessings God has for us because we are so wrapped up in our lives and it is all about me, me, and more me.
God is not some magic Genie in a bottle who is here to grant us three wishes. It is so easy for me to be happy with my prayers and think they are just fine when things are going my way. But let me hit a bump in the road and all of a sudden, what I wanted isn't coming to me. I start praying God you are bound by your word. You are supposed to do this ....... is your word really true?
These are only some of the reasons we miss how Prayer and Faith can affect our lives. The most beautiful thing I can share with you today is: We cannot sin our way out of God's Grace! Nothing can pry us from our Fathers hand!
Father thank you for loving me even when I have accused you of not living up to my expectations. Help show us how to have a powerful Prayer life. Align us Father with your will for our lives. Renew our minds Father, teach us to be humble and not proud. Father I pray that we, your children, will release the aroma of Christ in our lives. We pray for your will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Trying to align myself with His will,
Robbie
