Dearly Beloved in Christ,
Greetings to you in the sweet name of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ hears our prayers. He hears and answers us. He is alive in our midst. Therefore, we are bound to thank the Lord God. We read: “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matt. 7:8). Dear Brother/ Sister, your prayer life is powerful to establish a relationship with the Lord. If you commit to this blessed life of prayer, you would inherit a number of blessings, and exaltation in your life. This prayer life is important to gain spiritual blessings. First you should know from the Bible how to ask.
HOW TO PRAY?
1. Pray with Faith
“And the prayer of faith will save the sick...” (James 5:15).
First faith is essential. Without faith, prayer is ineffective. Lack of faith is the reason for being not able to achieve anything. When Jesus Christ preached to those of the place where He grew up, they did not respond because of their lack of faith and therefore He did not work many miracles there. In Christ faith matters most. We should learn to pray with faith. Prayer of faith not only saves the sick but also leads to several other blessings. Lack of faith in our prayer is the reason for our failures. We wallow in the sludge, not being able to ferry across it.
How do you pray? The Bible teaches us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:17). You should train yourself to pray incessantly. Through such a practice you can see transformation coming at all levels. Elijah was a man who stood before the Lord at all times. There would be a sea-change in the lives of those who develop this habit of standing before the Lord. They would have a victorious life over their enemies. They would know the will of the Lord and serve Him. Therefore, we should strive to develop this habit of prayer with faith.
Faith comes by hearing the word of the Lord. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). It makes its beginning there. For this faith to grow, you should continue to meditate on the miracle Jesus Christ performed. He transformed water into wine and it was known only to a few. Those of His disciples who saw that miracle grew in faith in Him and in His power. Thus, they began to trust Him and make their appeal to Him with faith for their needs. To grow in faith, thus needs our hearing. Secondly, we need to experience Jesus’ miracles in our lives. Thirdly, we need to be filled with His Spirit. It is called the Spirit of Faith in 2 Cor. 4:13. Thus, when we grow in faith and are filled with His Spirit, all our prayers made with the Spirit are readily answered. Prayer with faith is the way to reach His presence for blessings.
2. Pray with Tears
“So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat.” (1 Samuel 1:7).
In situations being heavily oppressed, we turn for help to the Lord. Here is one such prayer with tears. Hannah cried as she lacked a child. She was barren and was insulted and provoked by her rival. She wept bitterly. She went to the presence of the Lord to pour her heart before Him. The Bible says, “And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish” (1 Sam. 1:10). The Lord hears prayers made with tears. The Lord told Hezekiah, “I have seen your tears” (Isaiah 38:5). He hears our prayers made with tears. Very often we are distressed and discouraged seeing the magnitude of our problems. But if we approach His presence with burden and tears, He is sure to respond to us through miracles and wonders.
Dear Brother/ Sister, as you read this message, you may be shedding tears because of trials and tribulations in life. Instead of being confused, go to the presence of the Lord with tears and make your requests known to the Lord God. He will work a miracle and wipe away your tears. Many lack this prayer with tears. Many a time we weep, worry, and lament. But how long do we pray with tears in the presence of the Lord?
3. Pray According to the Will of God
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (1 John 5:14)
We should know the will of the Lord. Without knowing His will, we do several mistakes. Even our prayers are not according to His will, but it also goes against His will. Therefore, we are not able to receive our expected answers from Him. Apostle Paul counsels, “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17). We should pray according to His will only. When we do not pray according to His will, we fail to get the intended results. In everything we should know what the will of the Lord is. It may be buying a house, or arranging a marriage, or joining a course of study. Whatever be the purpose, first give room for knowing the will of the Lord. Sit at His feet, and know His will and then act accordingly. Then everything in life will proceed without any impediments or delay. Therefore, let us learn to pray according His will.
We do meet with failures and difficulties, when we act without understanding the will of God. We incur loss. Let us commit to act according to the will of the Lord. Once a family was praying intensely for the settlement of their daughter. They used to come to church regularly. Another family had approached that Pastor for arranging the marriage of their son. As he knew both the families, he made them meet. The bridegroom’s family said that they liked the girl. The girl sought time to know the will of the Lord and she contacted another servant of God. Then it came to light that he was a drunkard. So that family rejected the offer. But the Pastor insisted that he would not drink. On further inquiry it was known that he used to drink occasionally. Thus, the girl escaped marrying a drunkard. Let us submit to do things according to the will of God. The Lord answers our prayer requests when they match His will.
4. Pray with Repentance
“...Yet when they returned and cried out to You, You heard from heaven; And many times You delivered them according to Your mercies” (Nehemiah 9:28)
The Lord God answers prayers made with a repentant heart, because our sins prevent us from reaching the Lord. But when we humble ourselves before the feet of Jesus Christ to be cleansed with His sanctifying blood, for all our sins to be forgiven, He cleanses us and removes the wall of sin that stood between us and God. We are reconciled with Him. Now He hears our prayer requests and works miracles to solve our problems.
Dear Brother/ Sister, you should confess all your sins, the things which are abominable to the Lord, and be prepared to give them up. “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” (Prov. 28:13). For your prayers to be answered, take time to examine yourself, to see for yourself whether you have gone astray from the path of the Lord. When you realize your sins and commit to live a new life, the Lord works on your behalf. He performs miracles in your lives.
In Psalm 25:7, David pleads: “Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, for Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.” He realizes his mistakes and with repentance he pleads. Therefore, all his prayers are answered by the Lord. In our lives also, we should do the same thing. The sins that prevent us from reaching God should be removed with prayers of repentance. You should humble yourself to do that. Only when we do that, the Lord God is always good to do good things for us. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin. He is with us, and He does not shun any sinner. If you forsake sin and come back to Him, He will take you into His fold and does everything you need in your life. He is mindful of you. Acknowledge and confess and determine to give up the sins that He reminds you. With such a repentant heart, turn to the Lord for help in prayer. He will definitely do a miracle hearing your prayer.
5. Pray in the Spirit
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 1:20).
It is also important to pray in the Holy Spirit. Many times, we are not prepared to pray in His presence being filled with the Spirit. As you pray in the Spirit, His presence and joy fill you and you would have new spiritual experiences. In the beginning of my ministry, as I prayed with a family in the Holy Spirit, the Lord worked wonders and multiplied blessings.
Dear Brother/ Sister, if you give room for praying filled with the Spirit, the Lord will bless you bestowing on you good things and exaltation in life.
BLESSINGS OF ASKING
1. Joy Abounds
“Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:24).
When we pray in the presence of the Lord in the name of Jesus Christ, the Most High will bless you with fulness of joy. Joy is the most sought-after thing by mankind. Lack of joy leads to the breaking of the spirit. The sorrow of the heart leads to the breaking of the spirit. To earn this joy, we need to pray with faith and humility as repentant sinners according to the will of the Father. In Philippians 4:4, we read: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” The basis for this type of life is prayer. All the time you pray to the Lord, you enjoy the joy of His presence. It is an exalted experience.
Once a teacher on his retirement took a lot of money, his retirement benefits, with him home. One of his colleagues who was his friend and a neighbour borrowed from him a sum of money. After a few months, he needed the money for his own use. So, he requested his friend to return the money he got from him, but that friend refused to do so and to his shock retorted that he had never taken his money. So he was grieved at heart. He sent a person to me and called me. When I went to him, I only counselled him to pray in the presence of the Lord and not to worry. The Lord would change his heart and he would return the money seeking him in his house. As he started praying, he could see a joyful thing happen. That person came to his very house and returned the money. He asked for his forgiveness. His prayer turned his sorrow to joy.
2. Wisdom Abounds
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).
The Bible talks about various types of wisdom. The Lord supplies it in an abundant measure to those who ask for it. We should ask the Lord, for He gives. Daniel and his three friends prayed to the Lord, and the Lord gave them special wisdom. Among them, Daniel was given the special wisdom to interpret dreams and visions.
Today you may think that you lack wisdom. Dear Brother/ Sister, you may lack the wisdom to do your work properly, or the wisdom to talk and move with others smoothly. Ask the Lord with faith and He will supply the wisdom you need in an abundant measure to exalt you. As Daniel had it, he was placed next only to the king in the land. He was exalted. It is written that Jesus Christ became wisdom from God for us (1 Cor. 1:31). He is full of love. He gives wisdom liberally and without reproach to those who ask Him. Thus He would bless you. Only ask with faith.
3. Healing Effected
“...I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years” (Isaiah 38:5).
King Hezekiah was sick to the point of death. He began to pray in the presence of God. He pleaded with the Lord and as a result he received a miraculous healing. Dear child of God, when you pray, you would receive healing from Him. As we do not ask the Lord God in prayer, we are not able to receive and enjoy His healing. Many a time we are not mindful of our health and we do not regard Him as our Healer. In my life, I can bear testimony to the goodness of the Lord at times of several illnesses. Whenever I had to go through struggles of accidents and certain types of illness, I clung to Him in prayer and He healed me by having mercy on me. So I can say with authority that through prayer we can have miraculous healing. This prayer of faith can also work miracles in others suffering around us in diseases. Whatever be that, you ask in prayer, the Lord who hears prayers is bound to answer you and He will work accordingly. As you pray, He makes a new healthy life bloom in you by putting to rout all the evil works of the devil.
4. Peace Abounds
“and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus ” (Philippians 4:7).
We should offer our prayer with thanksgiving. When we do so, we have peace in our boundary and we can also guard our hearts and minds through Christ. It will protect our hearts going astray in vain thoughts and fears. Thus prayerful life creates in us faith and the consequent peace to rule in our hearts in the midst of circumstances that prevail contrary to our interests. Nothing would disturb us. We will not stumble. We stand on the solid rock of faith. Lack of such a prayerful life with trust in the living God and His steadfast love would make life miserable and would toss us with no hope resulting in wrong decisions.
Dearly beloved in Christ, the Lord God came as the Prince of Peace. He wants to restore peace in our life, and boundaries. Not only that He wipes out all those struggles that come through children, and gives peace and comfort in our lives. Through His teachings, this peace is seen in the lives of children. This is important for us. He creates peace for us, gives it and is alive in our midst.
5. Victory
“So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.” (Daniel 6:28).
The Lord God helps us to run a victorious race. Daniel was keenly involved in prayer even in a hostile atmosphere. Through prayer, he had success in all that he did. In your life also this prayerful dependence on God will give you a victorious life. This victory over the designs of our enemies is essential in our day-to-day life. Elijah always stood before the Lord in prayer and therefore the Lord gave him a plan to act upon. God wanted the people to know that He is the only God before the prophets of Baal. He acted according to the plan of God. As he did so, he made a prayer in the midst of people and before Baal’s prophets. Then the Lord God sent fire from above and consumed all on the altar. This made people shout with certainty that the Lord alone is God.
Prayer not only brings the answer to our prayers but also makes us have victory over our enemies. Dear Brother/ sister, in your life if you want victory or healing, or peace or wisdom or joy, commit to pray. If you pray, you would receive. Ask and it shall be given to you. He will work wonders listening to your prayer. So let us offer our prayer to the God of love and see miracles.
May the Lord God bless you so!
In the service of Jesus Christ,
Bro. C. Ebenezer Paul.