Text: Matt 7: 7, 21:18-22
God wants to bless and increase His children but He would always follow the principles in His word to do so. He cannot bless you outside the provisions or covenants in the scriptures. He is eager to bless you but he wants you to pray appropriately and follow his principles for your prayers to be answered. In this edition, I will like to discuss some principles of effective prayers.
Ask for things according to God will
The first assignment for every Christian who desires something from God is to find out if that thing is God’s will; otherwise all the period spent praying on it will be a waste. Even if you cry and shout for hours, if what you desire from God is outside is will, your prayers may not be answered. In 1 John 5:14, the bible says that we are certain, that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us. If your prayer is not according to His will, then He will not hear you.
Know that as you are asking, God is answering.
It is very pertinent to know and believe that as you are praying God is hearing and answering you. He answers prayers, he doesn’t store them. He is eager to bless you, therefore the moment you begin to pray in line with His plans and purpose, He begins to answer you.
In Isaiah 65:24, God says “It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear’ this is the promise of God to his people. If you are born again and believe that you are a spiritual Israelite, then God is telling you that as you are praying, he is hearing and answering you.
Sometimes, even before you pray, He has already done what you want. I remember my experience about choosing a life partner after secondary school. I was not praying about a life partner seriously, even though it had been my habit from age twelve to commit my marriage into God’s hands. When I realized that I was receiving marriage proposals, I had no choice but to start thinking and praying about the correct response to give the brothers though I didn’t think God would give me my partner at that time. Then one day I was holding a vigil in our apartment for general prayers and God spoke to me about whom I should get married to. Later, on another day, I saw a vision of someone in white apparel, praying for my husband and me, while we were kneeling down. A few days later, my husband proposed though I didn’t give him a response immediately.
I kept on telling God that I was not yet ready to receive a life partner or start a relationship since I had not gained admission into the university but He told me that he had to tell me then so that I would not be confused. I could delay the response for some time. Indeed God answered me before I called on Him.
Pray with faith.
Jesus told his disciples in Mat 21:22 that they should have faith for whatever they make request for in prayer. God is watching your heart, if you don’t have faith in Him that He will do what you are asking for the chances are high that you will not get what you want.
In Mk 11:24, Mark gives a clearer account of what having faith means. He says you should believe that you have already received what you are asking for and you will have it. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Heb. 11:1). This means that there should be a picture of what you want in your heart as if it had already happened and you are completely convinced about it.
If you are praying about something and you have not reached such a level of conviction, you should study the bible passages and verses that deal with such issues and meditate on them thoroughly until you are fully convinced and the picture is real in your heart.
It is true that sometimes, God does some things you have not prayed about to reward your labour for him, just like the story above; but many times He expects you to mention the specific thing you want and trust him for it.
Be specific
Another important principle of effective prayers is being specific. In Psalm 37:4, David said that if you delight yourself in the Lord (if you enjoy his presence), He will fulfil the desires of your heart. This means that you must have specific desires in your heart. If your style of prayer is ‘bless me’, ‘bless me’, ‘increase me’, ‘increase me’ or ‘have mercy’, ‘have mercy’ God will be wondering whether to bless you with more children, cars, degrees or friends? Or what sin he should pardon you for in order to have mercy. What specific blessing do you want? Tell Him clearly and in details. Sometimes early this month, I was praying that God should cause my finances to improve and this question came to my mind, ‘How’? Then I prayed that I would be able to sell my books in the places I took them to and I sold books worth N16 000. I came back home happy but tired. The following day I told God that, that method was too slow, He should make people to order for the books and pay into my account. I thank God because two people ordered books worth more than N40 000 within three days. God is waiting for you to tell Him exactly what you want. Stop praying in a vague manner.
You may need to seek to collect what you want.
In the book of Matthew chapter 7 verse7, Jesus said if you ask, you will be given, if you seek, you will find, if you knock, the door will be opened. This means that praying may not end at asking. You may need to search in some places or knock at some specific doors before you get what you want. You can think about it like someone who ordered for some goods from abroad. He makes a phone call to the company to ask for the goods and he is told that they have arrived at the Nigerian sea port but not told the specific part of the port. On getting to the port, he needs to search for the place and on getting to the door of the specific room he needs to knock at the door to be able to enter and pack his goods. If he sits at home without going out to search for the goods, though he has been given by the company, they are not yet in his possession.
The fact that God has answered your prayers may not automatically mean that you have received the goods, you may need to seek. Seeking involves making effort to search for the things you want believing that you have received them.
In the book of Ruth chapter 2 verse 2, Ruth who had followed Naomi and her God by faith, believing that life would still be all right for them, decided to go out and seek for a field where she could glean heads of grains which had dropped on the ground, while the reapers were working. She did not despise this lowly job, she went out with dignity ready to do what her hands could find to get provisions for herself and her mother in law. God looked at her action and directed her steps (Ruth 2: 3) to the field of a rich man who was qualified to be her husband and solve her financial problems permanently.
If you are praying for provision and enlargement. Part of seeking would mean that you get up, and do whatever your hands can find doing within the context of the word of God. It may look lowly but while you are doing it, you will find some provisions and God will direct your steps to the permanent solution.
One day I was seeking for where I could speak on health to be able to sell my health books, then I saw an advert of a Christian gathering on Facebook and I felt directed to call and ask the Pastor who posted it if I could speak on health at the meeting. Guess what! The coordinators of the programme decided to invite me to speak on marriage. I would not only sell books on health, I would be preaching and selling books on marriage which is an important aspect of my ministry. God has indeed enlarged my coast and I feel fulfilled.
It was not only Ruth who understood that one should not just ask God for something and sit back watching; Naomi also knew about seeking. In Ruth chapter 3:1-4, she decided to seek for rest and security for Ruth and thereby gave her a strategy. You may also need to seek for strategic wisdom from mentors and elders as part of your seeking for solutions to your challenges or seeking for enlargement. However, you must always ensure that God is the one directing you in your seeking effort.
You may need to knock to get some specific doors of blessing to open: Mat 7:7
Knocking involves application of strength and force at the spot of what you want. Applying force may involve praying specific prayers that will deliver the exact thing needed. Knocking is not an easy venture; it could be tasking and painful. It may also involve swallowing your pride to follow God’s instruction, but what is important is that the door is opened and you get what you want.
In the book of Ruth chapter 3 verse 8-9: Ruth obeyed her mother-in-law and went to lie at the feet of Boaz to propose marriage. It is not common for a woman to be the one to propose but that was the instruction from God through her mother-in-law in her own situation. This is an example of knocking at a specific door. She knocked on the heart of Boaz and he responded in a kind manner by blessing her (v10). Eventually, after confirming that the other qualified person was not interested in her, He married her and her financial problem became permanently solved. This is the kind of experience you will get when you knock (by faith) the specific doors that God directs you to.
Speak in line with what you want.
Effective prayers involve speaking to the situation and declaring what you want. (Mark 11:23). Even if the situation is not like a mountain, just keep confessing what you want. Remember that death and life are in the power of the tongue. As you keep saying it, it will register in your spirit, your faith will be strengthened and God would act on your behalf.
Note that it is not just enough that you are saying what you want; it is also very important that you don’t utter anything against what you want. If you do, you have cancelled the positive confessions.
Forgiveness
If you really want God to answer your prayers and enlarge your coast, forgive everyone who has offended you. If you don’t forgive, God will not forgive you (Mark 11:25) and if there’s sin in your life, your prayers cannot be answered.
Conclusion: God is a prayer answering God. Start praying specific prayers and watching out for the answers from today. Don’t just keep asking alone, search in the spirit and physically for what you want believing that you have received it. You may need to listen to the direction of the Holy Spirit to know some specific doors to knock at for your expansion and answered prayers. Do whatever the word of God says no matter how odd it looks in your environment and God will surely enlarge your coast.