Prayer
Why do you pray?
John 15:16
You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed
you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain,
that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
NKJV
Matthew 7:7-11
7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! NKJV
In prayer, we should understand Who we are praying to. It is the power of God we are calling upon. We should learn to understand why God would answer us. That He will answer is made clear from Scripture, but why?
God knows the conditions of
our hearts.
1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not
look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused
him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward
appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." NKJV
True prayers are answered because God looks into our heart and discovers the real reasons behind our requests.
- Are we grudgingly trying to coerce God?
- Do we mock God?
- Are we walking our lives as we should?
- Is prayer the manner of negotiating with God, of winning the argument?
No, No, and No again.
We need to learn to know God.
We need to learn to understand God&s character and attributes. Then, we
will come to appreciate His generosity and love for us.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward
us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
NKJV
This knowledge should not, then, relieve us from the intensity of our prayers, but should show us that we truly pray to a God Who is generous and loving and merciful and full of grace. We pray to a God Who wants to answer our prayers. As we move close to God in our studies, we will gain more and more spiritual understanding. In this fashion we will learn more and more to recognize God&s Will for each situation in our lives. We will, thus, truly be able to pray,
