13/12/2012
ESSENTIALS OF WINNING PRAYER
"And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. «Luke 11:1
Jesus Christ, our perfect example, owned up to being absolutely dependent on God's help (John. 5:30; 8:28). As we see from the above scripture, He was a man of prayer, which is our principal access to divine help. Jesus' disciples desired to be taught the art of prayer
and He granted their request, not considering it as being foolish or unnecessary.
To pray successfully like Jesus did, there is a need to learn the things that matter most in order to win in prayer.
BE CONFIDENT
Coming to God in prayer is not enough; how you come and the manner you approach Him determines what you get. "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
To be confident means to be bold. I don't mean putting on a bold face, I mean inner strength, steadfastness and stability, based on an assurance that God is going to help you. Some scriptural examples of confidence in God are seen in the lives of Daniel, the three Hebrew boys (Daniel. 3), Hezekiah (2 Kings. 20) and Paul, to mention a few. God does not expect you to come before him like a miserable battered beggar. He is not a wicked Father. On the contrary, He is ever willing and ready to bless you (Romans. 8:32). So when you approach Him with confidence, He rewards you for it (Hebrew. 10:35).
There are three major ways of building up your confidence in God. The first is
righteousness-consciousness, as opposed to sin-consciousness (Proverbs. 28:1). If you are saved, the blood of Jesus confers on you the grace of righteousness or right standing before God, resulting in unlimited access to His help (2 Corinthians. 5:21). Christians who don't appropriate this provision are sin conscious, and so are always wretched, broken and beaten; their lack of boldness disconnects them from divine help.
The second means of cultivating boldness is by knowledge. It strengthens the inner man. The more of God you know, the more persuaded you are of His help, and the more you can confidently ask Him for it. (Daniel. 11:32; 1 John. 5:14; 2 Timothy. 1:12).
Thirdly, the Holy Spirit helps to build boldness. For example, the transformation of Peter the weakling to the fearless rock was the effect of the manifestation of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost.
BE KINDGOM-MINDED
When the things of God's kingdom matter most to you, you commit God to your welfare even without asking. "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33
When you favour God's kingdom, you turn His favour (help) loose upon your own life (Psalms. 102:13-15). King Solomon (1 Kings. 3) and Nehemiah (Nehemiah. 1) are examples of those who enjoyed God's marvellous help, because of their great love for His kingdom. Their prayers were not self-centred, hence God gave them abundantly more than they asked for. When you win God's love, you have automatic access to His best, because He will manifest Himself to you (John.14:21).
Do you really love God? Do you have a passion for the progress of His kingdom? Does He turn you on? If yes, then show it in your words and deeds. The things you are chasing after desperately in life should be following you naturally (Matthew. 6:33; Psalms. 23:6). The easiest way to triumph is to be kingdom-minded, because even before you ask, He will answer (Isaiah. 65:24).
BE SPECIFIC
When in need of help, frantic crying to God alone will not deliver it to you. You must be able to tell God exactly what type of help you need. Blind Bartimeaus for instance cried to Jesus for help. When Jesus stopped, He asked him to be specific (Mark. 10:46-52).
God responds to what you say in prayer. So, although Jesus saw Bartimeaus' blind eyes, He did not help him until a specific request was made.
When Jesus cursed the fig tree, He did not first discuss the matter with the disciples or report the issue to God. He cursed the fig tree, saying exactly what should happen to it (Matthew. 21:19-21).
Don't just pray for help, be specific about the kind of help you want. God is not an ambiguous God, neither can your needs be a challenge to Him. All things are in His control, so you can afford to be specific.
Note, however, that when you present your specific needs to God, it is necessary to reinforce your requests with His will, that is, His Word (1 John. 5:14). This way, you are not begging in prayer, but asking for what is yours as stated in His will.
HAVE FAITH
When it comes to winning prayer, faith is a must. It is not optional. Any prayer not backed up with faith is not a true prayer. It is unrealistic to even presume to want to receive anything from God without faith, for His Word says:
"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. »Hebrews 11:6
When two blind men asked for help to see, Jesus told them His help was dependant on their faith (Matthew. 9:28-29). Divine help does not come to you based on your tears, prayer posture, length or volume of prayer, but according to your faith. As long as faith is involved in your prayer, the arm of God is stretched forth to help you.
The truth is that the stronger your faith, the shorter your prayer would be, because response from heaven hinges on your believing. There is no mountain on earth that faith cannot overturn (Mark. 11:23-24). Faith is a must, and it is expected to increase so build it up
in you (2 Thessalonians. 1:3; Jude :20).
The major source of faith is the Word (Romans. 10:17). So, if you have a specific need, the first thing to do is to consciously build up your faith from God's Word on that issue.
God has given us the opportunity to ask, seek and knock, with the assurance of getting what we desire (Matthew. 7:7-8). Divine help is not only available; it is obtainable, if you know how to get it. Simply fulfil these conditions, and He is fully committed to helping
you.
God bless you