Prayer – Part 1

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24

When you pray: 1) Use your faith. William Ward says: ‘We stamp and address an envelope and send it on its way with complete confidence that it will reach its destination. Yet we wonder and even doubt if our prayers will be heard by an ever-present, ever-loving God.’ Wrap your prayer in expectation. God doesn’t respond to your need, He responds to your faith. 2) Don’t worry about using the right words. Jesus said of the Pharisees, ‘They think they will be heard because of their many words’ (Matthew 6:7). Ever heard the lawyer’s version of ‘Give us this day our daily bread’? (Matthew 6:11). ‘We respectfully petition, request and entreat that a due and adequate provision be made, this day and date first above and inscribed, for the satisfying of petitioners’ nutritional requirements, and for the organizing of such methods of allocation and distribution as may be deemed necessary and proper, to assume the reception by and for said petitioners of such quantity of cereal products (hereinafter and herein called “bread”), and shall in the judgment of the aforesaid petitioners constitute a sufficient amount.’ That’s eighty words! Jesus used only seven! Sometimes the most effective praying is brief and to the point. 3) Be specific. Jesus said, ‘You will be given whatever you ask for in my name’ (John 16:23). The great thing about being specific is that whenever God answers, you know it. The loved one you prayed for was saved. The illness was cured. The more explicit you are, the more alert you’ll be for answers—which means you can be more specific with your thanks to God.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help my prayers to be short and honoring to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen