This is written to help you understand answers to some basic questions about prayer. Prayer is not a method to get what you want, like rubbing a lamp and out pops a genie to give you your wish. This should also help you to be more effective in your prayer life.
SOME BASIC QUESTIONS:
1. Why doesn’t God answer my prayer?
* What is your spiritual condition? If you are unsaved, you need to confess you are a sinner and accept the gift of God’s Son as your Savior.
* If you are a child of God, is there sin in your life blocking God from responding? Your first prayer should be confession. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
* We don’t understand the person and work of God. If we do not pray for things are in the will of God, then we will not receive the answers we are asking for.
* Wrong reason for our request. If we pray to get what we want, He is not inclined to answer us.
2. God does answer prayer.
* His answer is sometimes not what we want. We do not understand the divine design that God is weaving in our lives. There are lessons that we have not learned yet such as patience, faith, spiritual growth, and His will.
* Yielding to God’s will above ours. Even in the agony of the garden, Christ could pray,“Not My will but Thine be done.”
* Asking in faith. Mark chapter nine describes a young man with a “dumb spirit” and a father who brought him to Jesus. He asked for compassion and help. Jesus asked him about his faith and his reply is found in verse 24, “I believe, help thou my unbelief.”
3. When should we pray? Here are some suggestions:
* When the Lord has blessed us. Ephesians 5:20, “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
* When we come in worship. Psalm 95:2, “Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms.”
* When interceding for others. I Timothy 2: 1, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks, be made for all men.”
* When out of fellowship and need restoration. I John 1 :9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.“
* When there are special needs in the lives of others or ourselves. Philippians 4:6, “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
4. Where can we pray? Is there a sacred spot or posture in prayer? Can you pray while driving a car (with your eyes open) or in the face of imminent danger?
* Private prayer Matthew 6:6, “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou has shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”
* In our place of residence Acts 12: 12, ”And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark: where many were gathered together praying.“
* In prison Acts 16:25, “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God and the prisoners heard them.”
* In church Acts 3:1, “Now Peter and John went up together unto the temple at the hour of prayer …”
* In the midst of a storm Acts 27:25, “Wherefore sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God that it shall be even as it was told me.”
No matter where you are, God can hear your prayer and will answer.
It is obvious that we need to pray to show our dependence on the Lord. We can pray in any circumstance, in any posture. We need to understand that God always answers our prayers but not always in the way we have prayed or according to our heart’s desire. He answers our cry according to His will in His time frame.
Luke 18:1, “And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;“