Prayer Of St. Patrick

 “Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace;

That where there is Hatred, let me sow Love,

That where there is Injury, let me sow Pardon,

That where there is Doubt, let me sow Faith,

That where there is Despair, let me sow Hope,

That where there is Darkness, let me sow Light,

That where there is Sadness, let me sow Joy.

Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be Consoled, as to Console.

That I may not so much seek to be Understood, as to Understand.

That I may not so much seek to be Loved, as to Love.

For it is by Pardoning, that we are Pardoned.

It is by Giving that we Receive.

And it is by Dying that we are born into Life Eternal.”—-St. Francis

Results In Prayer...

"And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it," (cf. John 14:13-14). 

"If you believe you will receive whatever you ask in prayer," (cf. Matt. 21:22). 

"And this is the confidence that we have, that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us," (cf. 1 John 5:14). 

Note: God doesn't give us carte blanche or a blank check that we get literally anything according to our whims and wish list, but it must be in His name or according to His will that He may be glorified.  You could rightly say that we are praying for what God is already predisposed to do: His will. Thus prayer changes us, it doesn't change God! But there's nothing wrong with trying to get results and answered prayer!  We ought to aim for efficacious prayer and a continued and fulfilling prayer life. 

Christians ought not to just seek the practical or pragmatic, but prayer works and for obvious reasons, there's a God who hears them.  Some would say you can never know the truth of something only its consequences and the test of an idea is whether it works, not its truth.  But this is anti-Christian.  Prayer is not true because it works; it works because it's true--viva la difference.   Our goal should not be just to get results or our will done on earth but God's will done from heaven.  The most perfect prayer we can pray is one of relinquishment: Thy will be done.   The sake of prayer is prayer (per se), not to get what we want from God, but to seek fellowship and dialogue with God.  Sometimes it may seem our prayers are not getting through and are falling on deaf ears. Prayer is a matter of fellowship and sometimes restoration is in order. 

"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the LORD will not hear me," (cf. Psalm 66:18).   Sin always separates us from the holy God.  We must first confess our known and convicted sins before we even attempt to boldly come before the throne of grace.  Many things can hinder our prayers and we may need to be honest with God about it first.   We must be willing to wait for our renewal and reconciliation as we seek God's face in prayer and confession. 

We should never give up on our prayers and always persists for God is listening: He may be answering unawares, like in other ways. He may have something better for us.  Our prayers may lack resolve, purpose, faith, sincerity, or even humility We must always prepare our hearts first before we pray!  In God's economy, the way up is down, emptying comes before filing and confession before restoration.  We must not assume we are in a state of fellowship but humbly acknowledge our weakness and lack of worthiness before the throne. 

In the Bible, we are exhorted to boldly come before His throne and yet approach Him and enter His gates with thanksgiving and praise.  That gives us the right mindset as we have the right priorities. When we realize that prayer is the serious business of heaven and we are entering into His labors and the work of God, we become all the more fucuses and determined in our prayers with purpose. 

Also, we must realize that in prayer it is God's Spirit working His will in us and we can do nothing apart from His grace and power working in us. "I will not venture to speak of nothing but of what Christ has accomplished through me," (cf. Romans 15:18).  When we do get success, just like material success, we must give God all the glory and credit and not our prayer or persistence.  We have entered into His labors as a privilege of being used by God as a vessel of honor.    Soli Deo Gloria!

My Theology On Prayer...

"He told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not to be discouraged" (Luke 18:1, HCSB).   

We don't need to understand all the intricacies of correct prayer etiquette, format, or go by some template to pray effectively; what we do need is faith in God's will and to walk with Him in fellowship--unconfessed sins block prayer.  The better we apprehend God's will, the more we can accomplish with God.--that's the key.  Some people are too inclined to posture out of religiosity and don't realize that we can pray with ease standing on our heads if we so desire.  But there may happen a crisis that may force us to our knees in humility.

We must realize God sees the heart and our motives in prayer too.  It's much better to have a heart and not be able to articulate it than to be fluent and not have a passion for one's prayer life.  Men seem to not be able to overlook the semblance of prayer and the verbiage, but God is able to translate our feeble utterings into divine words on our behalf.  In other words, it's not so much how we address and approach God, as to how sincere we are and the faith we express.

What I'm saying is that there is no prefabricated M.O. or theology on prayer, in that if you know all the answers, it entitles us to answered prayer.   God isn't going to give us a blank check if we pray in a certain methodology.  We can be right and dead wrong in our hearts; for instance, praying to the Lord means we ought to own Him as our Lord and not be paying lip service. The Pharisees were known for being showoffs with long prayers and praying that others may see--flaunting it in public--they might've prayed correctly. 

But the true prayer warrior prays in his prayer closet or sanctuary where there are no witnesses but God. The measure of prayer is how effectual it is in achieving God's will, not our own felt-needs.  We don't come to God with a wish list as if He were Santa or a genie at our disposal.  The closer we get to God, the more we see prayer as an experience with God, gaining entree into His  throne room and into God's dimension, and then realizing the purpose of prayer is prayer!

James 5:16 says that the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much.  This is so and we ought to not trust so much in our own righteousness in times of need but seek out the aid of the body of Christ.  The best of us aren't too proud to ask for prayer.  There is a direct correlation between results and righteousness.  But note that our righteousness is God's gift to us and not our gift to God.  We don't need a sermon on prayer, a lecture, or to read another book on prayer as much as we need to pray and exercise its muscle in our discipline--we need practice what we do know and not be critical or judgmental of other's or too introspective of ourselves.

There is proper prayer etiquette if one wishes to be nit-picky:  Ephesians 2:18 says to pray to the Father, in the name of the Son, in the power of the Spirit.  But that doesn't mean other prayers aren't heard, for God hears all His children.   Actually, all members of the triune God are and ought to be involved.  Jude 21 says to pray in the Spirit--practicing God's presence is paramount.  I have witnessed many types of prayer from attending many churches in my spiritual journey and pilgrimage and have witnessed prayers being answered that I wouldn't pray or not done according to the template of the Lord's prayer:  Our heavenly Father...

Jesus did say we can ask anything in His name and that is the key, but we must have faith and not be double-minded.  Merely saying the wording "in Jesus' name" is no magic formula or guarantee of being heard (neither it is an excuse for unanswered prayer), for it means we are praying His will and seeking His glory, not ours.  Most unanswered prayer may be due to just not continuing in prayer and giving up, taking a "No" too readily.  But we ought not to ever pray amiss for our own selfish desires and not God's will.   Find your voice, be real, know your genre or even the key that fits your talents:  You cannot sing the blues from the back of a limo.  As an illustration, there's no prefabricated prayer for salvation, God must judge the heart.  

Finally, prayer is a litmus test of our faith and heart, not of our indoctrination; that is, when we feel least like praying, we should pray all the more.    Soli Deo Gloria! 

How To Address The Deity

I have heard prayers to every kind of deity imaginable as a Christian, having had fellowship with many factions, sects, and denominations.    The Mormons, for instance, like to think of God just as their "Heavenly Father."  They put God in a box, and fail to see Him as Redeemer, Judge, and Counselor as well.  God is multifaceted like a diamond and we shouldn't just see God as "the man upstairs,"  the "Great Spirit in the Sky" or "the Old Man," for instance.  We don't invoke God like the Greek pagans, who said, "O mighty Zeus, judge of the right, protector of the innocent, power behind the lightning bolt, ad infinitum; we don't try to butter up God, but simply call on Him as He gave us the right to do via Jesus' instruction in the Sermon on the Mount.

Suppose one person addressed the president as President so-and-so, another as John, and another as Dad; who do you suppose had the greatest privilege and intimacy?  There is power in knowing God as Father, and we have the right to be called the children of God (John 1:12).  In prayer, how would you feel if someone prayed in the name of the "Man Upstairs?"  Wouldn't it show more respect and intimacy to use Jesus' name?  Angels don't even have this authorization to pray to the Father in the name of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit--which is our formula for prayer,  Let your prayers show your intimacy with the Almighty and not alienation or unfamiliarity.  We go to the top, and the Most High has an open door policy for us.

"...I write to you dear children because you have known the Father" (1 John 2:14).
"So if you call God your Father..." (1 Pet. 1:7).

God has given us His covenant names to claim and to realize His divine nature, but He loves it when we address Him simply as "[Our] Father" (this is the most honorable appellation He has given us as His children--see 1 John 3:1).  Note:  There is no universal fatherhood of God--only believers can claim God as their  Father.  When Jesus introduced this, it was radical and revolutionary; it was a breakthrough and taking new ground or territory spiritually.  "The Spirit cries out with our spirit, Abba, Father" (Gal. 4:6; Rom. 8:15). Per contra popular thought, Abba doesn't mean "Daddy," though abi does.   We have this divine privilege that angels don't have a family!  We are adopted into God's family and born of the Spirit.  If we pray simply:  "O God in heaven," it sounds like we don't know our Lord very well.

Surely God is in heaven, but He is here too! "Am I only a God nearby, and not a God far away?" says Jeremiah 23:23.   He is the "YHWH Shamah" or "the LORD who is there."  Case in point:  "Surely the LORD was in this place and I knew it not."  God is the Lord and the Spirit of the Lord is upon us to pray "in the Spirit" (Jude 20). The formula (cf. Eph. 2:18), I reiterate, and that the Bible sanctions are to pray in the name of the Son, in the power of the Spirit,  to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Eph. 2:18).   Note that I am not saying we cannot intersperse other forms of address in our prayer, like LORD God, but the primary focus is on His Fatherhood.

We are to "boldly approach the throne of grace" as Hebrews 4:16 exhorts and have faith.  When we take ourselves too seriously and take our eyes off of Jesus it is hard to penetrate His dimension ("Enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise" per Psalm 100:4).   Jesus ushers us into the very throne room of God and we have access or entree and the right to go to the top with God's "open-door policy."  Jeremiah 3:19 says that God was disappointed that Israel didn't call Him "Father"  ("I thought you would call Me Father.") Father is a term of endearment or gesture of intimacy.

When Jesus cried out, "My God, my God," he felt distant from His God and Father. There is no greater honor (every human father is proud to have his son call him Dad and would be insulted if he were called "Mr. so-and-so," or even "Sir");  there is no greater privilege.  We should take advantage of this right and not feel estranged from God anymore.  When we pray we are to "put on the Lord Jesus" and that means to pray as a SON!

In conclusion:  It is not wrong to pray to Jesus or the Holy Spirit (though it is sinful to pray to any saint or invoke the Virgin Mary, which is Mariolatry); but there is little precedent for praying to Jesus (the text in John 14:13-14 is dubious),  or the Holy Spirit it in Scripture and we should really pray as the Lord taught us in obedience.  We are ushered into the dimension of God, His very throne room, and presence, by the virtue of Jesus' redemption on our behalf.

The scriptural formula is expressed in Eph. 2:18, NKJV:  "For through Him we both have access by one spirit to the Father."  Soli Deo Gloria!

What Is Significant Prayer?

The most perfect and ideal prayer we can make is to commend ourselves unto God's care, let His will be done in a prayer of relinquishment, and have the faith to mean it when we say, "Amen!"  We must dismiss the notion that we can change God, but let successful prayer change us.

Jesus rebuked the vain repetitions of the Pharisees and the meaningless long-winded prayers they were wont to do, then He formulated the Lord's Prayer because the disciples asked Him "Lord, teach us to pray," of all things to want to learn.   This prayer was never meant to be a recital or vain repetition, but the answer to the question, "How shall we pray?" (not "What shall we pray?).  It is never wrong to go through the petitions and pray them as long as one comprehends it and meditates on it while doing it.  Therefore, everything we need to know about prayer is in this paradigm or framework Jesus gave us if we understand and apply it rightly.  The vital link is, "How big is our God?" because this affects our prayer life and our faith in the answers--that is why it is said, "Be it done unto you according to your faith."

God's name or reputation is holy and worthy of praise; for He exalts above all things His name and His Word (Psalm 138:2).   Prayer, by definition, is communion or communication with the Almighty and that means it is two-way--not just us doing all the talking.  We have to learn to listen like Samuel who prayed, "Speak LORD, for your servant hears." The more we listen, the more we hear; we must practice this fervently because hearing God, as well as prayer to Him are like muscles one must exercise to be fit--we don't want to become unfit or turn a deaf ear to God by negligence or because we are remiss or derelict doing our part.   The book of Job (33:14) says that God speaks to man, but he doesn't hear.  God always speaks to me when I read the Scriptures because I have trained myself in this discipline.   Sometimes God has much to say and we do all the talking.  One way God speaks to us is by verses we have committed to memory, something a believer told us in edification, or some circumstance.  Being cognizant of His control or providence shows our faith and how we will interpret the answers.

Psalm 100:4 says to "Enter His gates with thanksgiving, enter His courts with praise."  For the LORD "inhabits the praises of His people" according to Psalm 22:3.  The essence of prayer is communication and to change us, not change the unchangeable one!  The purpose of prayer is prayer--we should love to touch base with God and stay in fellowship with Him by keeping short accounts of our sins and confessing them ("If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the LORD would not have listened," says Psalm 66:18)  and we should "pray without ceasing," which means that we keep the conversation going (our attitude and fellowship) as Brother Lawrence, the humble cook and Carmelite monk in a monastery, did in the seventeenth century when he wrote The Practice of the Presence of God, which is a classic on the continuity of daily fellowship  in our labors.

When we do corporate or public prayer one goal is to be a witness to others and teach them how to pray and be an example; and, if possible, to convert any unbeliever by our witness.  All prayer should be in the power of the Spirit, as it says in Jude 21:  "Pray in the Spirit."  We should strive to put our heart into our prayers, but sincerity is not everything if we ask amiss or are wrong.  Just because we can put a lot of emotion into it is no guarantee that God will answer affirmatively.  Prayer is, in summation, acknowledging God for who He is and what He has done; thanking Him for what He has done, and praising Him for who He is.  The better we know God, the better our prayers.

 When we pray we should think of putting on Christ and assuming our role and position as a son of God and having the authorization to use Christ's name and permission to call the Most High our Father--the angels don't have this authority and power to influence God--remember prayer is the ordained means that God uses to accomplish His will and we are acting as vessels of honor, being used for His glory.   This implies intimacy and the more we pray, the closer we get to God--if we don't pray much, it is because we probably don't believe God is listening or answering our prayers.  Finally, our prayers are in the power enabling the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who puts our feeble words and baby talk or lisping into groans too deep for words to the Father. "For we know not how to pray as we ought, but the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us."   We go to the top in our prayer, the Most High, who is the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and He has an open-door policy, which means we are always welcome and God is never inconvenienced.

We should think of the attributes of God when we pray:  His greatness or awesomeness (nothing is too great, nor too small for God--they are all small); His sovereignty (we can be assured that He is in control and we are on the winning side); God is omnipotent or almighty (nothing too big for God--"Is anything too hard for Me?" says the LORD in Jeremiah 32:17);  God is eternal and everlasting (He has all the time in the world to answer our prayer and time is no object, because He is not bound, defined, limited, nor in the time/space continuum that we are slaves to--this means God knows the future from the past and can forgive our sins past, present, and future as an example.   God is worthy of praise, worship is essentially "worth-ship" because only God is worthy to be worshiped--we can't praise God too much, in fact, there is power in praise!

Prayer is where the action is and is the acid test or the so-called litmus test of our spiritual relationship. Many people have weak prayer life because they take themselves too seriously; we should pray as we can and not as we can't.  It is a trick in prayer to learn to pray the Word and claim its promises.   It is not to be seen as a duty but as a glorious calling and honor. Learn to be sensitive to the inner voice of the Holy Spirit and the promptings He will give.  God does speak; it's just that man doesn't listen.  "Indeed God speaks once, Or twice, yet no one notices it"  (Job 33:14).   In sum, the greatest prayer is one of relinquishment, uttering in the manner of Jesus, "Thy will be done!  Soli Deo Gloria!

Does Prayer Work?

Prayer works, the preacher says, so come on up and we'll pray for your needs. The objection I have is that TM works and yoga works, but we don't try them. Just because something works doesn't mean it is true, that is not the criterion. Lee Strobel says that Christianity works because it is true, it is not true because it works.

We should pray even if we don't feel we are getting from God what we want, as it were, that he is our genie giving us what we want. We pray for the sake of praying says Steven Brown not for ulterior motives. Someone has wisely said that we should love God even if there were no heaven and fear God even if there were no hell. Well, we should have the desire to commune with God even if we don't get our way.

The paradigm of prayer should always include "in Jesus' name" (it is for his sake and God's will that we really want to pray). Now, some preachers think their prayers are more "effectual" (James. 5:16) than others but they are not. Any Christian can pray without giving up and "fervently" to get our wills aligned with God's. We don't change God, he changes us. You see, we are all on an equal footing in prayer--that is the beauty, God is no respecter of persons and shows no partiality.

Some say that worry works because 90 percent of what we worry about doesn't happen! Well, with that kind of logic prayer isn't as effective as worry because I don't think anyone can say that 90 percent of their prayers were answered in the affirmative--if they are, they are not very challenging prayers. God can answer in the affirmative, negative or tell us to wait. "Man ought always to pray and not to give up" (Luke 18:1). But we should never give up hope unless God clearly says no like he did to Paul's thorn in the flesh. But remember this: God has arranged it so that we can explain away answered prayers if we so desire--he doesn't force us to believe but wants faith to please him. Well, prayer does work but that is not why we pray!

The Purpose Of Prayer...

In short, the purpose of prayer is prayer!  We don't pray to achieve our will, but God's will; not to incline God to our way of thinking or to get His approbation of our plans, but to seek to align our wills with His and to straighten out our thinking by seeing His side and coming around to His way of thinking.  It has been said that it's better to have a heart for prayer and to be compassionate than to be articulate in doing so without proper feeling.  We don't come to God with our plans, but seek His plan--and He has no Plan B!  God needs no backup plan.  God will achieve His will, with or without our cooperation and input.  A successful prayer doesn't change God, for He cannot change, but changes us!  Your prayer is answered when you feel transformed and make "contact" so to speak!

We are thus transformed by a personal encounter with the Almighty in the throne room of grace.  We have this awesome privilege, yet rarely fully realize the potential, though the Holy Spirit will put our feeble prayers and words into articulate ones fit for God.  Hence, we can be ourselves in prayer and shouldn't try to be what we aren't--we should pray as we feel wont to do and let the Holy Spirit aid in our weakness.  We all have flaws and need to realize our unworthiness in coming to God and how grace makes it all possible.  And so, the successful prayer reaches out to God's will and seeks it to apply to our needs as well as those of others in the neglected ministry of intercession.

We pray to engage in an ongoing fellowship with God the Father in the name of Jesus the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit, but it isn't necessary to be impeccably correct in our doctrine of prayer to be effectual or heard, but if we seek the truth this is what the Bible teaches--it doesn't really matter what we think, but what is taught; however, some prayer warriors do not have a doctrine on prayer at all, but just pray!  The assumption of fellowship is no unconfessed sin:  "If I had cherished iniquity in my heart the Lord would not have listened," (Psa. 66:18, ESV).

The best way to accomplish this is by keeping short accounts with God and not let the sin list accumulate--confess instantly upon conviction and you'll find the closer you get to God, the more conscious of sin!   Not knowing etiquette or procedure doesn't render the prayer ineffectual; however, at the most, it's ignorant but God does still hear it.  God would have us not unaware!  The whole purpose of praying constantly in the Spirit is to stay in touch with God in fellowship and open dialogue.

We ought to be so comfortable and natural in prayer that this is the first place we go, not the last resort!  As they say, when we can't stand life, we kneel!  Our trials are meant to keep us on our knees!  A noble goal is to stay in fellowship with God the Father continually no matter our activity, which is called the practice of the presence of God (per Brother Lawrence, a seventeenth-century Carmelite monk in a monastery). When we realize the potential of the purpose of prayer we can always know we have a friend in Jesus to talk to and someone to sympathize with our weaknesses.  All because He knows that our spirit is willing but our flesh is weak!

Note that the person who doesn't pray has no advantage over the person who can't pray.  We must never feel out of our league or that our anemic prayers aren't getting through!  We all start somewhere and must grow in prayer like a muscle that needs exercise that atrophies without usage but strong as one communes with the Almighty in more and more intimacy.

We must not feel that we have to get our way all the time or our will done and that it's only a matter of faith.  God is only doing the right thing by rejecting some of our prayers because He is wise and is doing what's best for us.  If we only got our way all the time we would foul up our life! We will all thank God for Providence that knows what's best for us!  We must not lose faith that both the efficacy of prayer and the providence of God are both biblical and God has ordained the means to His will as to be accomplished through prayer.  The Greeks sages used to say that when the gods were angry they answered their prayers!

NB:  There are conditions to prayer, such as being in Christ's name, believing, and done according to God's will: God doesn't give us a blank check or carte blanche!  We can celebrate that God condescends to our level and knows our needs and cares enough to promise to meet them. What needs?   God has promised that He will give us everything we need to accomplish His will, and this is the bottom line.

Finally, prayer isn't complete and finished until we have come to the point of relinquishment or full surrender to His will. The greatest prayer is "Thy will be done!"   Even Jesus had to decide whether He was going to go according to His will or the Father's in the agony of Gethsemane.  We all must come to that point of decision, which is not a one-time venture but an ongoing commitment to live for Christ.  We are constantly renewing our relationship, fellowship, and commitment to Christ.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Lord, Teach Us To Pray!

"And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (John 17:3, ESV). 
"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him" (John 4:24, ESV). 

The disciples saw the prayer life of Jesus in action and besought Him to share how they could partake of this privilege of intimate communion with God the Father.  If you will study all of Scripture, nowhere does it teach us the methodology of prayer or how to do it in a godly fashion.  There had been heroes of prayer like Moses, Elijah, Daniel, David, and other prophets, but they weren't teachers of prayer.  Obedient prayer with God is done in protocol with all due respect to any believer's prayer, but God is a God of order and design and Jesus did teach on the subject to give us a precedent.  only the Lord would be qualified to teach us how to pray to the Father because God is His Father.

The Father seeks such to worship Him, those who do so in the Spirit and in truth.  We are to go directly to the Father by virtue of Christ's name and authority--going to the top as it were!  The Father, who sees in secret will reward us.  There is no example of prayer by Paul or Peter of praying to anyone but the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  This doesn't preclude calling on the name of the Lord for salvation or deliverance in any capacity--for He's the Savior.  But our fellowship is with the Father and with the Son (cf. 1 John 1:3).  We must not put God in a box or make Him one-dimensional by limiting the scope of our prayer and denying the Godhead or triune God.  We pray in the name of the Son, in the power of the Spirit, unto the Father (cf. Eph. 2:18).  Jesus reiterated that no one comes to the Father, except through Him.

We have the right to address the Deity the way we choose, but ignorance is no excuse and we must have faith as the missing ingredient; however, corporate and personal prayer follow the template or paradigm of the ideal prayer, as given in the Lord's prayer.  We pray with Scriptural warrant and authority so as not to offend the weaker brethren who may be inclined to judge.  Remember, 1 Cor. 8:12 says we sin against our brother when we wound his conscience and our liberty is limited by his conscience.  The point is that, just because we have a right to do our own thing, it may not be wise but counterproductive.

God is more than a throwback to our need for a father figure, He's everything we need and can meet all our needs--we are never bankrupt when we have Him as an asset!  We all need to embrace God as our heavenly Father and become intimate with the Almighty as a matter of becoming a child of God.

CAVEAT:  WE ARE TO BEWARE OF CHARISMATIC LEADERS THAT LEAD THE FLOCK ASTRAY AND THE FLOCK LEARNS TO TRUST THEM INSTEAD OF SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES ON THE MATTER.  This is how heresies and cults begin--with the flock forsaking the truth and thinking sound doctrine and the truth doesn't matter--only singing kumbaya and being congenial does.  Soli Deo Gloria!  

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The Methodology Of Prayer...

"We both have access to the Father through Christ by one Spirit" (Eph. 2:18, CEV). 
"But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you" (Matt. 6:6, HCSB). 
"... 'I assure you: Anything you ask the Father in My name, He will give you'" (John 16:25, HCSB).  
"When ye pray, say, our Father" (Luke 11:2, KJV).  

In the spirit of the Reformation:  "I dissent, I disagree, I protest!"  We are not captive to church dogma and each of us has a right to interpret Scripture.  

NB:   We all should pray as if it all depends on God, but work like it depends on us!  Both Arminian and Calvinist would concur.  

Christians have the prerogative to pray in Christ's name, using His authority, to access the throne room of the Father (cf. Heb. 4:16), and boldly in the Spirit at that!  Most Christians are timid in their prayers and don't pray like sons but like servants!  Jesus told us to pray like this when praying corporately as His body:  "Our Father in heaven..."  Jesus had the audacity to claim God as His unique Father, even though Jews had considered themselves children of God, this was a bold assertion to claim.  It seemed He was making Himself equal to God, calling God His Father.

"And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba, Father!' So you are no longer a slave but a son and if a son, then an heir through God" (Gal. 4:6, HCSB).  We need to lay hold of our divine privilege as a child of God and enjoy the right to access God's dimension in the third heaven.  "The argument from silence in that the Bible doesn't forbid praying to Jesus is flimsy and flakey at best and almost anything could be proved with such dialectic.  It should be plain that we ought to pay due respects to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, giving Him due honor to whom honor is due as we engage the potential of the full Godhead.

The only biblical template for prayer is the Lord's prayer despite its over-familiarity, it is not meant to be a recitation nor a to make prayer look like a cakewalk.  By and large, there are no hard-and-fast rules for prayer procedure except that it be done in the divine formula of access to God, whether assumed and conscious or not.  Jesus seemed to espouse certain conditions for prayer or protocol and never deferred to the tradition of the elders.  There is no correct or set way or pattern to pray in that God does hear all believers' prayer, but the power is in the equipping of the saints in knowing to whom we are praying and availing ourselves of the rights of sons and daughters of God.  However, there exists proper etiquette with God or S.O.P. for all things are to be done in an orderly fashion per 1 Cor. 14:40.  "For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father" (Eph. 2:18, HCSB).  This means that all three persons of the Godhead or Deity are involved in our prayers! Thus, efficacious prayer avails with the concerted work of the tri-personality (the three personas of the Godhead).

Just like in creation being done cooperatively all three members of the Trinity co-equally involved; i.e., from the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit.  The Trinity accomplished our salvation:  the Father authored, purposed, and planned it; the Son executed, accomplishes, and fulfilled it, and the Spirit applies and makes it known all in concert!  Basically speaking, the Father originates or initiates; the Son reveals and makes manifest, and the Holy Spirit executes, fulfills, and applies.  Likewise, the whole Trinity is cooperating in our prayer life:  we pray addressed to the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit!  We are exhorted to always pray "in the Spirit."  Jesus' involvement means more than attaching His name to the end with the formula "in Jesus' name" for good measure as if it's a magic formula or hokum.

Prayer can be summed up:  we pray to the Father, in the name of the Son, in the power of the Spirit.  We look to Scriptural warrant and precedent for examples to echo in prayer.  Paul showed powerful prayers to the Father.  He went to the  TOP!   In the Old Testament, and we are not living in the Old Testament, they prayed to the LORD God of Israel, for instance, but we have a more revealing person to address a prayer to now that we know Jesus.  Jesus set the example in praying to the Father and the Lord's prayer is likewise.

However, we must not forget that it is in Him that we have such access to the Father and He has given us a license to pray in His authority.  As Eph. 3:12, HCSB, says, "In Him we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him."  Just like knowing a person intimately gives us power in communication and fellowship, even giving us boldness in requests, so knowing the Father and availing our rights as a child of God gives us power in prayer, so it is like putting God in a box to see Him as only one person of the Godhead and not as a triune Being working in synergy.  Sometimes it is appropriate to address Jesus directly in prayer, but He is seated at the right hand of the Father in glory and we have the right to go to the top as it were and use His authority as a passkey to heaven's very throne room of grace.

Famous quotable lines worth noting:    "When you can't stand life, kneel!:  "Crises have kept me on my knees!"  "Pray as if everything depends on God; work as if everything depends on you!":  "Better heart without words than words without heart!"  "I have often gone to my knees, simply because there was no place else to go!"  "When it is hardest to pray, pray the hardest!"  "Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees!"

NB:  The Oneness Pentecostals or Apostolic Pentecostals deny the Trinity and have done away with the Father and have reverted to old heresy of modalism and are pejoratively referred to as the "Jesus only" movement.  This is a red flag that those who value sound doctrine are leary of.  Praying without biblical precedence opens Pandora's box and is highly problematic.  

 A word to the wise is sufficient:  tradition must bow to conviction and we do not interpret Scripture in light of experience or feeling, but experience and feeling in light of Scripture.  One of the battle cries of the Reformation was sola Scriptura or Scripture alone (as our authority); we must appeal to Holy Writ to settle all doctrinal matters and not tradition; the Catholic faith exalts tradition as equal status to the Bible, and this is one thing that distinguishes Protestants.  Tradition must be concordant with Scripture!  

One need not fear they're out of their league or that their prayers are anemic, because God sees the heart and the Spirit translates our prayers!  

NB:  Paul the apostle was always careful to give the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ his due and reverent attention in addressing the Godhead in prayer.  Indeed, the historical orthodox doctrine has been to address the Father in all prayer in Jesus' name in the power of the Spirit.  Paul exhorts us in 1 Cor. 4:6 HCSB, emphasis mine:  "...' nothing beyond what is written.'"  

NB:  People act out their faith for four reasons:  reason--it sounds logical; emotion--it feels good; culture--everyone does it; tradition--we've always done it.  But Christianity is countercultural and challenges us to throw down the gauntlet and cross the Rubicon of the truth based solely on the Word of God.  

CAVEAT:  IGNORING SCRIPTURAL PRECEDENTS FOR THE SAKE OF TRADITION OR CUSTOM IS THE GATEWAY TO HERESY AND EXALTING TRADITION ABOVE OR EQUAL TO SCRIPTURE AS ROMANISM ESPOUSES.   

Jesus Himself taught us how to pray corporately or as a church:  "Our Father who is in heaven...."   And I take His Word at face value.  God is more than a projection or throwback to our need for.a father figure but is our all in all through the Trinity.  It is true that some have rejected God on this account for they had no father figure or thought God was just a throwback to our need for one.  Our heavenly Father knows our hearts and we need to have that more than a doctrine of prayer by all means.  However, we ought to be obedient to the plain teaching of Scripture and realize this is to our advantage to see prayer the way God does.  (The principle for Bible interpretation is that we interpret the obscure in light of the plain and what may be implied in light of what is obvious--the implicit in light of the explicit.)

We all should inquire and do some soul searching as to whether we know the Father and can say that we are His children.  If we pray only to one member of the Godhead without regard to others, we are unduly discriminating and should wonder whether it's warranted or Scriptural and if we know the Father; e.g., imaging the pastor praying thus:  "O God..." Wouldn't this be sufficient to conclude he isn't familiar with the Father or even the Lord and seems estranged or alienated from a distant God--perhaps to a foreign God or unknown God?  God invites us to call Him Father even in the Old Testament:  see Jeremiah 3:19, ESV, which says,  "... And I thought you would call me, My Father...."

"Now to Him who has power to strengthen you ...  according to the command of the eternal God ... to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ--to Him be the glory forever!  Amen." (Rom. 16:25-27,  HCSB, italics and boldface mine).   

There are conditions for effective prayer:  Praying according to God's will; entering His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; abiding in Christ's Word; being thankful, confessing known sin, and having faith that He will answer!  Prayer is successful when it changes you not God, who doesn't need change and cannot change.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Dialogue With God

"For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it.  In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, while they slumber on their beds"  (Job 33:14-15, ESV). 
"All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord's Supper), and to prayer"  (Acts 2:42, NLT). 
"He is there, and He is not silent."  (Francis Schaeffer)  

In our prayer life, we seek intimacy with our Lord, withholding nothing and bringing everything to Him.  In effect, we worry about nothing, pray about anything, and thank about everything.  One will never realize the voice of God in answer to prayer apart from the Word of God, His promised vehicle of communication, though He hasn't retired dreams, visions, or voices--He primarily speaks through the Word--we should learn to be attentive to that voice. Note Samuel attending to God's Word:  "And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD"  (1 Sam. 3:21, ESV).   Also, note that C. S. Lewis is credited with saying, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, and shouts in our pains; it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world."

It has been said that most of us don't need a lecture on prayer, we just need to pray; but this is what the disciple asked Jesus to teach them, of all things!  I don't really have a well-thought-out theology on prayer, I just pray and learn by OJT or trial and error.  George Mueller recorded some 50,000 answers to prayer in his life, and many other prayer warriors have prayed earnestly till they got answers; for example, Cotton Mather prayed for 20 years for revival and the Great Awakening occurred the year he died.  The idea, according to Luke 18:1, is never to give up or to lose heart.

The purpose of prayer is prayer!  That may sound simplistic, but we must learn to enjoy our encounters with the Almighty and realize that prayer changes us, it doesn't change God.  We don't pray to get our will done on earth, but God's will done--God forbid that He would grant us our will and we end up lousing up our lives as a result of our foolishness.  Bear in mind, that God knows best and sometimes He answers "no," but He will always answer--sometimes with something better!  Prayer is efficacious because God has ordained this as the means to His ends, although He is sovereign and knows all things and doesn't need our prayers--it's the plan!  We must learn to boldly approach the dimension of the throne room of God and be attentive and alert to His presence and anointing in our prayers.

If God has placed a burden on your heart, He wants prayer effort and support in return.  We must practice prayer the best we can because it opens doors and changes things; we must always pray as if everything depends on God, while we work and live like it all depends on us.  Prayer is effective according to the will of God, for this is a condition, and the more sensitive and aware of God's will we become, the more effective are the results and answers.  We have a weapon in prayer in that God will always listen and we have clout as believers in Christ and children of God.

Our fellowship is dependent upon our prayer life; you cannot be walking with the Lord without ongoing dialogue and open communication and channels to His will and voice. This fellowship is a two-way street and we must become sensitive to God's will and voice (like it says that if you hear His voice, don't harden your heart--to learn to listen!).  It's the same as any human fellowship (we keep in touch!)--it takes experience and practice to develop prayer muscle and to become adept at the art; for some may have anemic and feeble prayers, but God doesn't judge like we do and it's more important to have feelings without words than words without feelings--for the Holy Spirit is able to put our sighs into words that God can understand on our behalf (cf. Rom. 8:27).

Successful prayer is not one of eloquence or one that's long-winded, or emotional, but one that touches base and is in sync with God's will and has a genuine encounter with God to change us!  You could say that it's an exercise to get on the same page as God and to get charged up for doing His will.  Prayer is reaching out to God and making contact on His terms, submitting to His will and being changed or transformed by the encounter.

Since Jesus said, quoting Isaiah 56:7, that His "house shall be called a house of prayer," it is paramount that prayer be exercised and practiced in the assembling together of ourselves, for OJT is the best way to learn--we learn by doing!   Everyone can participate in corporate prayer and learn from each other.  As we gain confidence in our prayer life, we learn to keep the channel open and conversation going, as seventeenth-century Carmelite monk Bro. Lawrence called it, "the practice of the presence of God."  When it seems like you have nowhere else to go, go to your knees!  Soli Deo Gloria! 

When God Says "No"

"Before they call I will answer, and while they are yet speaking I will hear"  (Isaiah 65;24, KJV)
"Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things, that you have not known"  (Jer. 33:3, ESV).

Ephesians 5:17 tells us not to "be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."  Yes, it has been granted unto us the right to know God's will and it is our esteemed privilege to seek it and our joy to do it even as David delighted in the will of God (cf. Psalm 40:8) and was called a man after God's own heart.  We must know God's will to pray in the Spirit and the only prayers that He is obliged to answer are those according to His will (cf. 1 John 5:14).  James tells us that we ask and do not receive because we ask amiss--not according to God's will, with wrong motives of our own pleasures (cf. James 4:3).  It is a sin to be lax in this godly discipline, a sin of omission.

The whole joy of prayer is prayer in tune with God's will and in sync with the Lord, or being on the same page as the Divinity.  The "whole purpose of prayer is prayer" and to attain to the throne room of God and approach the throne of grace with boldness (cf. Heb. 4:16).  The primary reason many do not pray is that they don't know God's will and are not seeking it.  Also, you will never know God's will if you are unwilling to do it and go where it may lead; thus surrender is a key to prayer as we pray in relinquishment, "Thy will be done [Matt. 6:10]."   The easy yoke Jesus was talking about, as opposed to the Law of Moses, was to know, follow, and do God's will in the filling of the Spirit.

God reserves the right to nix our prayers and to decline any will of our own that is interposed on His divine plan and will.  God isn't in the business of naysaying for naught but must honor the harmony and perfect will that has His glory in mind--the end result of all is to the glory of God.  There are many reasons God may refuse to answer according to the way we see things in our limited reality:  He knows the future and time is no essence to Him; we don't know what is good for us, but our Father does; God is not our "genie" and doesn't exist to do us favors; God's wisdom trumps ours; and sometimes God is just saying "Wait."

Finally, it is the love of God that puts divine restraint on Him to always give us what we want.  God may not answer the way we want because of a lack of faith, because this is the primary condition of prayer along with asking in Jesus' name or what is consistent with His nature and will glorify Him accordingly.  The spirit of unforgiveness closes the door until we seek reconciliation with our brother.

Primary reasons God doesn't answer our prayers are that we fail to meet the conditions of prayer:  Jesus said, "If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you"  (John 15:7).  Familiarity, even continuing in the Word (cf. John 8:31) is a prerequisite to knowing God's will, and thus of prayer! One often overlooked the conditions of prayer are obedience and fellowship, for the Lord will not hear us if we regard iniquity in our heart or are willfully disobedient  (cf. Psalm 66:18; Ezek. 8:18).

It is an exercise in futility to fight or attempt to manipulate God and insist on your own way;  God may grant it and say, "Okay, have it your way!" (Psalm 81:12, NASB, says:  "So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices.")   This is what we don't want, believe it or not, because our way is of chaos and will not result in blessing--the Father knows best and we ought to trust Him!   When  God says "No" we must accept it as the grace of God and His refusal is always merciful, as a doting parent withholds candy from a baby.

The problem we have is that we are captives of time, and "time and tide wait for no man" (Sir Walter Scott); however, God is independent of the time-space continuum and sees and knows all, and is the only one in position to answer prayer wisely.  We must realize that most of our prayers are self-serving if we don't commit to God's will and we pray with strings attached, wanting something out of God.  When God says "No" we shouldn't feel disheartened, for the Father said "No" to Jesus at Gethsemane, much to Jesus' dismay. We all have to accept that God knows best and relinquish ourselves--without being fazed or dismayed in our faith--and we should never react or waver because of a negative answer.

One chief reason that God doesn't answer our prayers is that we give up and resign to accept fate, as it were.  "We should always pray and not lose heart" (cf. Luke 18:1).  That is, persevere or be persistent!  The point Jesus made in the Sermon on the Mount is that we should keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking (cf. Matt. 7:7).  Cotton Mather prayed for two or more hours every day for twenty years, and the revival he prayed for came the year he died.

And so, it seems that sometimes God isn't' saying "No" to us, but testing our patience and waiting till the time is right.  Only He knows when the time is right and the future is in His hands according to His timetable, not ours.  Knowing God's will is paramount; for if you knew that all that happened to you was to the glory of God, and ultimately served to the advance of the gospel, wouldn't you rejoice and be glad?  Aren't you glad that sometimes God had something better in mind for you? If God answered all our prayers as we wanted, we'd soon mess up our lives if God were to always say, "Okay, have it your way!" 

The motivation to pray is not to get something out of God or to get what we want, but to allow God to display His glory.  We don't pray to get our will done in heaven, but God's will done on earth, it is said.  The joy is in praying or enjoying fellowship and in the secure knowledge that He hears us, not that an occasional prayer is nixed or denied.   Nevertheless, rejoice that God hears you and has inclined His ear to your petitions and that He even answers one of them is a "bonus" or fringe benefit of knowing Him.

The essence of prayer, then, is aligning ourselves with the will of God to achieve His glory.  So get in harmony with God and it will be no problem when He says "No." Your prayers will avail with God, and accomplish His glory and will when you meet all requisites for praying in the Spirit.  The miracle and wonder are that He is inclined to hear us and answer any of our prayers, not that He refuses one petition.   We must realize that fact that prayer is not some abracadabra or mantra to get our "wish list" accomplished by following some formula that God is obliged to obey. There is some type of protocol like praying to the Father, in the name of the Son, in the Spirit (per Eph. 2:18) and know that God is no debtor of man and will answer all prayer that glorifies Him and is according to His plan.  Soli Deo Gloria!  

Intimacy With The Almighty

"Worry about nothing; pray about anything; thank about everything!"  (paraphrase of Phil. 4:6-7).
"Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear" (Isa. 65:24, ESV).
"Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known"  (Jer. 33:3, ESV).

Have you ever yearned to have genuine communion with the Father--the real thing, because this is where the action is and is the acid test of your faith in action?  We must all personally enroll in the school of prayer and individually enter the throne room of God, get entree into His presence, and another surreal dimension: "For through Him [Chriist] we have access to the Father by one Spirit," (cf. Eph. 2:18).   There is proper protocol for doing this: we boldly approach the throne of grace (cf. Heb. 4:16) in the name of the Son (John 14:14), in the power of the Spirit (Jude 20, Eph. 6:18), and addressed to the Father (Matt. 5:9; this is the biblical paradigm).  It is good to "enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with joy" (cf. Psalm 100:4).  We all have an innate potential to realize our work in Christ.  "God is with us":  "He is there, and He is not silent!"  (Francis Schaeffer).

God has ordained that prayer be the means to the ends, and both the efficacy of prayer and the sovereignty of God are equally taught in the Word.  Only when we are so vulnerable do we bear our soul to God are we ushered into His presence.  We must have no unconfessed sin that is an impediment (cf. Psalm 66:18).  The way to avoid this is to keep short accounts of our sins and confess them immediately (cf. 1 John 1:9).  We all should be honest with God in our own prayer closet and get personal because nothing is too trivial nor too big for Him to handle; everything's small to Him!

We should take the example of the disciples who "devoted themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word (cf. Acts 6:4).   Keep oriented:  The purpose of prayer is prayer, we don't get our will done in heaven, but God's will done on earth.  We ask God for what He's already disposed to do!  And prayer doesn't change God, it changes us--a successful prayer is when you are in sync with God's will (cf. 1 John 5:14).

We don't need any necessitated or dictated posture, but our attitude is important.  We shouldn't get too comfortable, cozy, disrespectful, perfunctory, or automatic.  A good prayer is always reverent, humble, and sincere, not ever flippant or casual--but not too formal either--God wants us to speak in everyday talk, in plainspoken words from a needy heart, open mind, and willing spirit.  We are created in God's image with the unique ability to communicate with our Maker.

Sometimes we may be unwilling to pray or do God's will; we should then pray for God to make us willing, which He can (cf. Phil. 2:13; Psalm 51:12; Col. 129: Heb. 13:21).  All prayer should end in relinquishment: Thy will be done.  Amen!  This was the motto of Jesus' life!  This is no cop-out, nor excuse to cover our tracks if God doesn't answer the way we want, but Jesus said he would answer all prayer in His name and according to His will (cf. John 14:14; 1 John 5:14).

It is said, "It is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart."  The problem with us is that we cannot pray as we ought and the Holy Spirit must make intercession for us and pray on our behalf in words too deep for us to utter (cf. Rom. 8:26).  Caveat:  The greatest obstacle to God's will is our will!  We must progressively and constantly surrender to the lordship of Christ, and renew it constantly to stay close to the Lord and walk in the Spirit.  We should never get ahead of ourselves, but pray for our provisions daily, and walk with the Lord one day at a time (cf. Psalm 118:24; Prov. 27:1), as we are revealed the will of God one day at a time.   Soli Deo Gloria!   

Hearing God's Voice

"For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it.  He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds.  He whispers in their ears and terrifies them with warnings"  (Job 33:14-16, NLT).

"My sheep hear my voice..." (cf. John 10:27).  Jesus speaks to His children through any means, even the voice of a child, as in the case of St. Augustine.  God speaks once, yea, twice, and man hears Him not, according to Job:  "Indeed God speaks once, Or twice, yet no one notices it.  In a dream, a vision of the night, When sound sleep falls on men, While they slumber in their beds, Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction"  (Job 33:14-16, NASB).  No one can claim they've never been the recipient of God's messages, no matter how limited--when he reacts positively, he opens the door to more opportunity.  C. S. Lewis has said that God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, and shouts to us in our pains!

Mystics claim a special ear to God's messages like Joan of Arc did, and to put some trust in them is not in the one firm foundation--this is how cults begin.  If God speaks to you on a personal level for encouragement, that's between you and God, and is personal--don't feel you should share it.  To prophesy to the church is another gift of communication.  In these last days, the Word of the Lord is rare and, since we have the complete revelation of God in the Bible, it is not needed--the Word is all we need, clear and sufficient!  If God speaks to you, you must test it with the truth of Scripture.  We are not receiving new revelations anymore since God's Word is complete and the canon is closed, and to add to His Word brings on a judgment of God.

Now, to the point of God speaking to everyone:  God woos His elect to open their eyes to the truth of the gospel message and to soften their hearts--no one would otherwise believe.  If you believe that God woos everyone, you must also ask if He woos everyone equally.  If He woos everyone equally, why do some respond and others don't?  You are faced with either believing in the sovereignty of God's grace in salvation or the necessity of some kind of merit of the person getting saved.

The Arminian will not admit that God doesn't even woo some, but he doesn't know why some people respond to the gospel, and others don't!  Romans 5:21 says that grace reigns through righteousness. Grace is sovereign and efficacious, in other words, and that means that God gets the desired effect and it works for His purposes, not being wasted.  God isn't frustrated and doesn't say,  "Well, I tried to save you, but you were too far gone!"  We are all bad, but not too bad to be saved!

Some people do need greater wooing and more intense grace to become believers, but they are not a bigger challenge to God, just more opportunity to demonstrate His grace and how effectual it is.  God doesn't destine people to hell as if they had no choice in the matter like some blind fate or kismet; however, He does let some go their own way without His intervention of grace--He doesn't owe grace to anyone, or it would be justice; God doesn't have to save anyone!

Point in fact:  Distinguish between the inward and outward call of the gospel; the inward one is from God and is effectual, and the outward call from man sometimes falls on deaf ears and can, therefore, be ineffectual.   God's Word says that He's never let the world without a witness (cf. Acts 14:17)--everyone has had the opportunity to hear from God!  Paul says He is not far from every one of us!

In summation, we are not to seek "voices" or special revelation, and we shouldn't feel left out if we have no extra-biblical experience, such as a vision, divine voice, or visitation.  The existence of Scripture as God's written Word does not preclude God's audible voice or any oral communication.  God has promised to speak to us in His Word which is all He has to say to us and need not be improved upon.  We must be faithful to the Word first, though other forms of communication are not retired!  The sheep hear God: "... Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice"  (John 18:37, ESV).   Soli Deo Gloria!

Answering Prayer...

"For God may speak in one way, or in another, Yet man does not perceive it.  In a dream, in a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls upon men, While slumbering on their beds"  (Job 33:14-15, NKJV).  "I love the LORD, because He has heard My voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live"  (Psalm 116:1-2, NKJV).  "He is there and He is not silent."  (Francis A. Schaeffer, philosophical apologist)

Our problem is being spiritually hard of hearing and turning a deaf ear to God, failing to listen to what He does say to us, not that He doesn't speak clearly enough!  Prayer works and Satan laughs at our wisdom, mocks at our toil, but trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees (source unknown).  Lincoln is said to have said that he often went to his knees because he simply had nowhere else to go.  It isn't our posture, but our attitude and we are to work as if everything depends on us but pray as if everything depends on God.  We all have an innate potential, and, though our attempts may be feeble and anemic, they are not ineffectual.

Whenever you can't stand life, kneel, they say!  You really don't need a theology of prayer or another lecture on the subject, but just need to apply what you do know and just pray!  Don't ever get an inferiority complex or feel you are out of your league, God honors the humblest efforts, even from children.  Prayer is a muscle to exercise and the skill atrophies without constant and daily use.  The difficulties and trials of life are only meant to keep us on our knees!

A skeptic might wonder how God can hear everyone's prayer at once and possibly answer them simultaneously.  The reason we believe in prayer is not that we became convinced by argument or someone's testimony, as if second-hand; no, it's because God answers prayer and prayer works!  Billy Graham was asked how he knew God was alive:  "Yes, I'm sure because I talked to Him this morning."  This kind of postulation baffles the unbeliever who is skeptical about such mystical talk, that could be defined as a gut feeling, to a burning in the bosom, to hearing "a voice."  We don't necessarily assert that God is audible, visible, nor tangible to us, but He has revealed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ and God's pet peeve is that we don't seek Him out--He is overjoyed to reveal Himself to those who diligently seek Him (cf. Heb. 11:6).

On the other hand, just because God has put His Word into a book and revealed all we need to know, this doesn't preclude Him from speaking through any means He desires, even visions and dreams, which haven't been retired despite having the Bible--but this isn't normative and we are commanded to find God's will and the answers in the Word, because He has promised He will use that and has elevated and magnified the Word, which will not come back void (cf. Isa. 55:11), above all His name, fame, or reputation (cf. Psalm 138:2).


God's best gift to man is the Bible and He expects us to use it and depend on it, not just read it once and put it back on the shelf!  The Bible is a lifelong journey with God and has all we need to know for a fulfilling, abundant life in Christ.  In it, God speaks to us in sixty-five books, and we speak to God in one book (Psalms)!  Prayer is two-way and that means we must be prepared to listen to what God is saying and have the right mental attitude.  We need a thirsty soul, needy heart, willing spirit, an open mind; we must also be teachable, humble, and obedient to God!  It's not a matter of training or education that brings effective prayer and Bible reading (you don't have to know how to be a good reader, for example), but you must be in the right frame of mind and ready and expectant to hear from God--it is written clear enough that a child can understand its main message and get something out of it.  We are only responsible for what we do understand, so take that by faith and God will cause growth so you can understand the deeper truths later.  Mark Twain said that it's not the parts of the Bible that he doesn't understand that bother him, but those that he does understand!

God can hear prayer universally and simultaneously because He is miraculous and time is not of the essence for Him, who created the time-space continuum.  Time is merely a corollary of space and matter and if those two didn't exist, there would be no time.  Time stops in a black hole, by the way. God is outside time and can use it or manipulate it to conform to His will and desires.  He has all the time in the world to hear everyone's prayer, just like they are the only one praying at that time.  With God there is no such thing as time, which is irrelevant, He existed before time began or in eternity past.  God sees history as one episode a view, not in sequence as we do.  God had no beginning and will have no end because He is timeless and in another dimension, besides the four we live in (length, width, height, and time).  God never tells us to take our turn and never is too busy for us--He's always there, and Christianity is "about the God who is there" according to Francis Schaeffer.

Prayer can be explained away if one is so inclined, and you can always find some excuse not to believe; however, it becomes increasingly incredible to explain away countless prayers as coincidence.  The problem is not that our prayers don't get heard, but that we are not praying His will and also that we don't pray at all or even ask for what we want.  ("You have not because you ask not.")  God wants faith and will not force anyone to believe in prayer, but there is evidence if one is willing to believe, and prayer is only for the believer who has faith in Jesus name, not for some experiment to see if God is out there somewhere--we are not to test God!  (Hebrews 11:6, ESV, says, "..[For] whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.")  God doesn't have to prove Himself to anyone, but He is not anyone's debtor and will reward sincere seekers--He wants to hear from us more than we desire to fellowship with Him.

In summation, if we feel estranged from God and He seems MIA, it is not God who moved, but us--we are to be blamed for the alienation: "Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear, but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear"  (Isaiah 59:1-2, ESV). However, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us (cf. 1 John 1:9).  Don't feel alone if God seems distant; even Job pondered:  "Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat!" (Job 23:3, ESV).   Soli Deo Gloria!

Importunate Prayer

In Luke 18:1 Jesus tells us we ought always to pray, and not to give up.  Jesus said to keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking in Matt. 7:7.  Cotton Mather prayed for 20 years for revival, and the year he died the Great Awakening took place. William Wilberforce fought slavery in the British Empire for 50 years and it didn't happen till he was on deathbed. God has ordained that His plans be executed through prayer with us being partners by grace. Some feel it is vain to pray because God is sovereign and can work without us, but God has ordained that prayer be the means to His ends and to work through prayer blessing us with the privilege to be His partners. Paul says in Philippians 4:6 that we should "not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."   What this means, it has been said, is that we should worry about nothing, pray about anything, and thank about everything!


Gratitude puts us in the right frame of mind and receptive to God's will--it is the fuel and stimulus to pray.  In Colossians 4:2 God says to be watchful (looking for opportunities and needs) and thankful (for answers) in prayer.  Psalm 100:4 says to "enter His gates with thanksgiving."  God expects us to keep on praying and this implies not only when we feel like it.  When we don't feel like it, we should pray the hardest.  "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16, KJV). Don't worry about being articulate:  None of us knows how to pray as we ought, but the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf (cf. Rom. 8:27).

The problem with most people is that when things are going well they feel they don't need prayer, and when they go bad, they feel the situation is hopeless.  We are to pray as if everything depends on God and work as if everything depends on us.  The Bible does teach both the sovereignty of God and the efficacy of prayer--prayer does work (however, it takes faith and usually the answers can be explained away if one is inclined), but it isn't something we do just because it works(e.g., TM, yoga)--many things work that aren't true!  We are to pray at all times in the Spirit and that means God can put a roadblock in our way if we have unconfessed sin ("If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened, " says Psalm 66:18, NIV).  Proper protocol or etiquette is to the Father, in the name of the Son, in [the power of] the Spirit.

We have to learn to stop getting carried away by emotion, sentiment, or wearing our faith on our sleeves, and walk in faith, which pleases God (cf. Heb. 11:6) or we open the door to mysticism. But note that "heart without words is better than words without heart"--the Holy Spirit is able to intercede on our behalf and put it into words.  "And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person ..." (James 5:15, NIV). Remember "Elijah was a human being, even as we are [of like nature, in one version].  He earnestly prayed that it would not rain..."  (James 5:17, NIV). That means he didn't give up and wouldn't take no for an answer, because he had faith it was God's will, and God does promise to answer all prayer according to His will (cf. 1 John 5:14).  Elijah even got depressed after his spiritual high from his victory on Mount Carmel against the false prophets.  The key to focus on is that we don't pray to get our will done in heaven, it has been said, but God's will done on earth.

Prayer is not a blank check or carte blanche but has conditions like being in Christ's name, having no unconfessed sin, according to God's will, having the Word in us, abiding in Christ, and being in faith. When we pray we gain access or entree into the throne room of God and step into another dimension (cf. Heb. 4:16). Saying "Thy will be done" is not a cop-out or sign of lack of faith.  Saying Amen is a word of affirmation and faith that God's will be done.  The finest prayer is of relinquishment like Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane, saying, "Nevertheless, not as I will, but thy will be done."  Prayer doesn't change God, it changes us!  Prayer is a muscle that strengthens with use.  The problem is that our prayer life can become anemic and undisciplined, even though prayer is commanded. The reward and aim of prayer is prayer and enjoying God as Asaph says, "But for me it is good to be near God..." (Psalm 73:28, NIV).  We need the exhortation of the sons of Korah: "Be still and know I am God" from Psalm 46:10 (ESV). Psalm 16 (ESV) says it tellingly:  "... In your presence is fullness of joy, at your right hand, are pleasures forevermore."

It is good to be plainspoken with God and not try to articulate in order to impress Him with Elizabethan English or eloquence.  Mean it when you say "Amen" because that seals the deal and shows your faith--it's not some magic word or formula we tack on for good measure.  Prayer is communion or dialogue with God and is meant to be two-way.  Most people don't listen and Job says that God does speak to us: "Indeed God speaks once, Or twice, yet no one notices it.  In a dream, a vision of the night, When sound sleep falls on men, While they slumber in their beds..." (Job 33:14-15, NIV). Don't become hard-of-hearing spiritually!  God has not retired these alternate means of communication besides the Word.

God does answer prayer: "Call unto me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me" (Psalm 50:15, KJV).  "And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear"  (Isaiah 65:24, KJV). Jeremiah 33:3 (KJV) says, " Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not."  Prayer doesn't waste our time; in fact, it is the great time-saver because our time is in God's hands (cf. Psalm 31:15).  Martin Luther prayed for 2 hours to begin each day, and if he was busy he prayed more. John Wesley was known to devote full days to prayer.  To be effective it is said we are not "overcoming His reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness." We all have an innate potential to be realized and shouldn't let it lie dormant and atrophy by lack of use or neglect.  Philosophical apologist Francis Schaeffer said that "He is there and He is not silent."  "Christianity is about the God who is there;" all we need to do is to enroll in the school of prayer as our privilege--we get to pray!


Posture is not as vital as an attitude of reverence, humility, and sincerity--inner posture.  Lincoln said that often he went to his knees simply because he had no place else to go.  It is said, "If you can't stand life, kneel!" Lincoln also said that crises have kept him on his knees. It has been said that Satan laughs at our wisdom, mocks at our labor, but trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees. Just pray in the Spirit and leave posture to God.  There's no gesture that will impress God (it benefits us, not God), any posture must come from the heart and not just be an outward show of religiosity or legalism.

A word of encouragement: There is no problem too small or too big for God--all things are small to Him and His love cares about all of them and nothing is a match for His omnipotence.  God says, "... [Is] there anything too hard for me" in Jeremiah 32:27, KJV).  Prayer should never be a last resort, but the first line of defense or request.  He never turns a deaf ear to us but is disposed to answer our petitions. "Let us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need"  (Hebrews 4:16, KJV).  If someone says, "All I can do is pray," tell him that that is a high calling!

In summation, some say that prayer is the litmus or acid test of our relationship with God and that prayer is where the action is!    Soli Deo Gloria!

Why Pray?

Is your prayer life anemic?  "When it is hardest to pray, one should pray the hardest," according to Bill Bright.  Are those prayer muscles deteriorating and atrophying? If you start out small in manageable exercise, you will get where you want to be with effectual prayer--"The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much"  (James 5:16).  For some people they know enough about prayer, they just need to pray; for others, they need a little stimulus to get them in the mood or to find a starting point of encouragement.  This post may help you to hone your innate potential as a natural prayer warrior that Satan has just discouraged and you need to get back into the swing of things--I cannot emphasize enough:  Prayer is where the action is!  If you want growing intimacy with the Almighty, read on!

It is said that God is sovereign and will get His way regardless, so why bother?  Don't forget that we are his moral agents representing Him and are the means to His ends. God ordains the means as well as the ends--He has willed or decreed that prayer to be His channel of blessing. The greatest prayer we can pray is of relinquishment ("Thy will be done!").  Jesus prayed this in the garden of Gethsemane--much more should we!  Surrender is the key to an effective prayer life--it has yet to be seen what a fully surrendered life can do!  If you want to be a prayer warrior extraordinaire, and that is where the action is, you must be a fully devoted follower of Jesus (good leaders have first learned to be good followers).

What kind of things should we pray for?  "Let your requests be made known unto God..." (Phil. 4:6). There is nothing too big for God's omnipotence and nothing too small or trivial for His love. Habakkuk complained to God in His book (which is a prayer or dialogue with God)--if we do complain, it should be to God, and we shouldn't become whiners, but be ready to accept His will.   The goal is to pray God's will, but most believers don't know that they just think God is a vending machine and we can go to Him with a wish list of carte blanche (Jesus said in John 14:14, "If you ask anything in My name..."). And the only way to know God's will, and I am not talking about God micromanaging your life, but the divine viewpoint that comes from an understanding of Scripture and a deep relationship with God--knowing God.

Wisdom is the gift of God and freely bestowed on His children who ask and seek for it diligently according to Proverbs. For example: Don't pray for an easy life, but to be made strong!  We shouldn't pray the easy path but the path that Jesus would take (narrow is the way that leads to eternal life--the road less traveled).  Jesus dared to march to the beat of a different drum and upset the applecart, invading the turf and job security of the praying Pharisees.  Practice usually makes perfect, but in their case, they only got showier and didn't even know it!


God is concerned about all our legitimate needs, but has nowhere promised to make provision for our felt needs or wants (Paul says in Phil. 4:19:  "My God shall supply all your needs...").  In my experience, it is good to pray about everything, just to get the prayer muscle in shape and getting used to using that faculty.  For instance, keep telling Jesus how much you love Him and make intercession for every person you see in need if you cannot directly come to their aid.  God wants to give us direction in life but expects faith and common sense and He doesn't want us to ask about every little detail (e.g., "Should I go to bed now, or stay up?" and "Should I skip breakfast or go out to eat?") The  commonsensical and saintly Quaker woman, Hannah Whitall Smith, said she knew of a woman who prayed about every detail so exactly like that she stunted her ability to make decisions.


Prayer is not about a wish list to get our will done on earth but to get God's will done on earth as it is in heaven.  The better informed you are of God's will, the better your prayers--be in step with God and in tune with His dimension!  It is not about praying hard, but smart, and to keep on praying without giving up.  "It is better to have a heart without words than to have words without a heart," says John Bunyan. eloquent with no passion.   The more you see God answering your prayers, the more encouraged you will be to be a consistent and, more importantly, faithful prayer warrior.  It's fun to pray and to see God's answers, but remember, if you are a skeptic, God makes it so that answers can be explained away.

Someone has said, "All I can do is pray!" (I can't help but think of those commercials where they say, "This is all we do, and we do it well!")   I'd like to meet that person!  This is the greatest of all ministries in my estimation because that is where the power is to get God's will done.  Sometimes, God is just testing us to see if we are willing to do His will:  God will grant our request, but we must submit to His will first and be surrendered in spirit. We learn to trust Him and grow in our faith by accepting God's answers and His will.

They say that the way to become a success is to find a need and fulfill it:  The M.O. to effective prayer life is to see need and pray for it!   Talk to God like you know Him!  Exercise your prayer muscles, because prayer doesn't come naturally, but is a divine trait.  To illustrate: Muslims don't really pray, they must prostrate and face Mecca five times daily and repeat rote verses or confessions (called the salat), not even believing they can know God, or that He is a personal God that loves us.

Knowing God is not just a matter of Bible knowledge, because prayer is a two-way dialogue--God mostly speaks to us in the Word and we must keep up the conversation with prayer.  Brother Lawrence, a Carmelite monk in a Paris monastery, wrote a book, The Practice of the Presence of God, in which he demonstrated how to keep the conversation going and the line open to God, no matter what--to pray with ceasing means just that!  There are many things you can pray for if you have a Christian worldview and divine viewpoint and know basic Bible doctrine.  We can see God's will in relationships, circumstances, crises, personal problems, major decisions, et al.

The point in prayer is not to impress us or others, but to impress God!  If you aim to impress others it goes contrary to the Spirit, is counter spiritual, and cannot be Spirit-led. Be yourself in prayer, and not an imitation of a leader. We don't want to pray like the Pharisees, who were very wordy and thought that this was impressive.  We should pray as we are, and not as we aren't--be ourselves and know that God's power is made perfect in weakness.   Let's not assume we know God's will for someone else and try to tell them what we think God's will is, but bring it to the throne room in prayer and boldly approach the Father and leave it to Him to run His universe--we are all wired differently and cannot project God's will onto others--they have their own unique relationship with God.

Only when you are familiar with God in prayer can you say you "know the Lord" and not just because you know what the Bible teaches "about" Him.  We must put our learning into action (turn our creeds into deeds) and learn to wrestle with God at times.  I like Abraham Lincoln who said, "I have often gone to my knees, simply because I had nowhere else to go." C. S. Lewis said, "Satan laughs at our toiling, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when he sees the weakest saint on his knees."  Crises are meant to keep us on our knees--they say that if you can't stand life, kneel!

The main constituents of prayer are praise, thanksgiving, confession, petition or supplication, and intercession.  To neglect prayer is a sin according to 1 Sam. 12:23 because we are all believer-priests called to the ministry of prayer for one another.  We have the privilege to go to the Father without a priest and to represent someone or some cause to God. We are a kingdom of priests in other words and God has called us into fellowship with Him through prayer as the avenue.  God always answers prayer either yes, no, or wait.  Sometimes He has something better in mind:  We would mess up our lives if we had our way all the time--why not trust the Creator?  The Greeks would say that when the gods are angry at us they answer our prayers.  Some of the philosophers said to only pray for good things and let God decide what is good! We simply don't know how to pray as we ought and need the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Yes, prayer is a privilege too and we have the God-given, divine right to go directly to the Father in the name and authority of the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit.  We are "family" and God wants to hear from us, it is not a bother or bummer to Him!   Whenever we close our prayers, we should pray "Thy will be done" and be praying in Jesus' name is actually asserting that it is not a formula to tack onto our prayers--God wants us to know if we have His interests in mind or ours.  Never feel you are out of your league in praying, because God hears all the prayers of the saints and is no respecter of persons and plays no favorites--it is the prayer in faith that can move mountains. In sum, prayer is the acid test or the litmus test of our relationship with God--is it all in our head or do we actually love God?   Soli Deo Gloria!