THE KEY TO EFFECTIVE PRAYER

 

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective, and that the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayer. Praying according to the will of God is essentially praying according to what He wants. The strength of your faith not the length of your prayers, that pleases Him to whom you pray, so you don't need to impress God with your eloquence or intelligence. After all, God knows what your needs are even before you ask.

Prayer is a channel of communication with God, and for you to communicate effectively with Him, you need to determine who He is to you. If you see God as a master, you treat and talk to Him as a tough boss. But if you see Him as a father, you will treat Him and talk to Him as a child would talk to his father. It is very important to determine your level of relationship with God, because this will affect your state of mind and the way of approach in prayers.

In addition to knowing your relationship with God, you need to know and practice the following steps on how to pray effectively:

1.  Pray in faith: Without faith, it is impossible to please God who alone can do the impossible. Refuse to doubt, if any. Many times after prayers, the enemy will come to test your faith. He will send thoughts of scepticism to make you doubt whether God will do what you have requested Him to do. At this stage, you need to steadfastly resist the devil's suggestions for as long as he persists.

2.  Pray persistently: In fact, pray without ceasing. One of the conditions to effective prayer is that you don’t give up. Believe that God will answer you. Doubting that God's will to answer you will not produce any result; no matter how long you pray and cry out to Him makes the prayer ineffective. So, you have to trust that He will answer you in order to get results. If you persist in prayer, you can be sure that it will be heard. It may be answered in the way you hoped for, or you may find that God has a different plan, more consistent with the coming of His kingdom.

3.  Meditate on God’s words: You need to know and meditate on what God says about that issue you want to pray about. This will strengthen your faith in God and His willingness to answer you. The Word of God concerning this matter will become very real to you. Also, it will drive away any form of fear, doubt, or disbelief that will try to keep you from getting answers.

4.  Pray from a righteous heart: A clean conscience is a condition to answered prayer. It is important that you confess your sins to the Lord. If you see evil in your heart, the Lord will not hear. Get rid of hindrances to answered prayer. You need to deal with everything the devil can use to accuse you before God. These include unforgiveness, bitterness, unconfessed sin, etc. God is a just judge, and if you harbour any of these, you will not get your answer.

 5. Pray from a grateful heart: Start prayers with thanksgiving and praise. You must enter God's presence with thanksgiving and praise. Do not rush to begin to declare your request to God. First appreciate God for who He is and for His goodness to you. You must first praise and glorify God before asking for anything from Him.

6.  Pray according to the will of God: An important condition to prayer is that it is prayed within the will of God. You can pray all you want, with great sincerity and faith. God wants you to remind Him of His words, not of how badly the devil worked against you or your loved one. When you pray according to the will of God, He hears you, and whatever you ask, He will do for you.

 7. Pray for the Sovereignty of God and for all human beings: Pray to the divine Father. You don't pray to false gods. Giving priority to the Kingdom of God is one of the conditions of prayer. The promise is that God will supply all your needs, not all your desires. There is a difference. Pray for good things. You don’t always understand or recognize what is good, but God knows, and He is eager to give His children what is best for them. Always pray first of all that the will of God be done on earth, and also for all people. This is good and acceptable in the eyes of God. This condition of prayer might seem obvious, but it is important.

8.  After making your request known, believe that you receive: When you have made your requests known to God, you must believe that God has already answered you. Believing that you have received before you see the result shows that you actually believe in God and His ability to give you the desired results. This is an important step in how to pray effectively and get results.

9.  End with thanksgiving and expect a physical manifestation of your answer: Thanking God at the end shows that you believe everything is decided and done. Your expectation should not be interrupted. You will get what you expect. So, wait for the manifestation of what you have asked of God.

10. Declare your victory: Announcing your victory draws God's attention and puts nature to work in order to secure your results. Say as often as you can and to as many people as possible who will listen to you that you believe that God has answered your prayers.

Many people get frustrated and disappointed when they pray and don't get results. And it's not God's will for you. By following the steps above on how to pray effectively, you will be sure to get results. God wants to answer your prayers. Even when the answer seems to be delayed, God will surely fulfil it. So the next time you talk to God, practice these steps and the answers will knock at your door.