How to pray when your prayer must be answered

Answering prayers is what God wants to be doing for His children. He said in Matt 7:7,”Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:”  (NKJV) Furthermore, to prove His willingness to answer all our prayers, He said in Matt 7:1,”if ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”. (NKJV) As a child does not need to do anything special for his father to meet his needs, so also we do not need to do anything special for our father in heaven to meet our needs.

However, the challenge is that many do not see God as their father, but as that man up there in heaven waiting to hit us with the sledge hammer any time we do wrong. If this were so, we would all be gone by now. He is merciful and loving, bearing our weaknesses and sometimes chastises us so we can be better children. An understanding of the father – child relationship between us and God will eliminate the tension, doubts and fears that crowd our minds when we approach God in prayers. We ought to come with confidence, with expectation to receive whatsoever we ask of God. This is assuming your position as a child not as a servant. God is a good God and Father.

Murmuring and complaining, coupled with anxiety also limit answers to prayers. We are expected to approach God with thanksgiving, reminding Him of His words concerning those issues that need His intervention. In the multitude of words that we say to God in prayer, God is itching to hear us declare His words (scriptures) back to Him. God says in Isaiah 43:26 that we should put Him in remembrance that we may be justified. Christ, when He was tempted in the wilderness, overcame the devil by declaring what was written in the scriptures concerning the temptations presented by the devil. Therefore, it’s not ‘how many words’ but ‘what words’ were declared in prayers that matters. Read more...