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How Should We Pray?
By Mike Taylor
James 5:16-18
Confess your
trespasses to one
another, and pray
for one another,
that you may be
healed.
The effective,
fervent prayer of a
righteous man avails
much. Elijah was
a man with a nature
like ours, and he
prayed earnestly
that it would not
rain; and it did
not rain on the land
for three years and
six months. And he
prayed again, [The
implication is just
as earnestly.] and
the heaven gave
rain, and the earth
produced its fruit.
Mark 11:23-24, “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to
this mountain, "Be
removed and be cast
into the sea," and
does not doubt in
his heart, but
believes that those
things he says will
be done, he will
have whatever he
says. Therefore I
say to you, whatever
things you ask when
you pray, believe
that you receive
them, and you will
have them.”
How do we pray to
Almighty God? Or do
we pray at all? Let
me ask, as a
Christian, if you
have accepted Jesus
Christ as your
personal Savior, do
you talk to your
Father in heaven?
Would you ignore
your best friend
here on earth, or a
family member that
loves you deeply,
and never call them,
speak to them, or
acknowledge that
they mean so much to
you? Of course, we
would not. If you
did, how would that
make them feel?
Neglected, unloved,
undesirable, or
abused might be some
of the adjectives
that they may say by
not hearing from us.
So how does God
feel? I don’t mean
to speak for Him,
but scripture says
He desires
fellowship with His
children. But how do
we pray? Matthew
chapter 6 :
6:5 And
when thou prayest,
thou shalt not be as
the hypocrites are:
for they love to
pray standing in the
synagogues and in
the corners of the
streets, that they
may be seen of men.
Verily I say unto
you, They have their
reward.
6:6 But
thou, when thou
prayest, enter into
thy closet, and when
thou hast shut thy
door, pray to thy
Father which is in
secret; and thy
Father which seeth
in secret shall
reward thee openly.
6:7 But
when ye pray, use
not vain
repetitions, as the
heathen do: for they
think that they
shall be heard for
their much speaking.
6:8 Be
not ye therefore
like unto them: for
your Father knoweth
what things ye have
need of, before ye
ask him.
When you are alone
with God, what then?
Do you ask of your
Father and become
timid?
We realize
that we as nothing
in His sight apart
from His Son, Jesus
Christ, but as a
child, how do we
approach Him? There
is a parable about
the persistent widow
women approaching
the unjust king.
It’s found in Luke
chapter 18,
18:1 And
he spake a parable
unto them to this
end, that men ought
always to pray, and
not to faint;
18:2 Saying,
There was in a city
a judge, which
feared not God,
neither regarded
man:
18:3 And
there was a widow in
that city; and she
came unto him,
saying, Avenge me of
mine adversary.
18:4 And
he would not for a
while: but afterward
he said within
himself, Though I
fear not God, nor
regard man;
18:5 Yet
because this widow
troubleth me, I will
avenge her, lest by
her continual coming
she weary me.
18:6 And
the Lord said, Hear
what the unjust
judge saith.
18:7 And
shall not God avenge
his own elect, which
cry day and night
unto him, though he
bear long with them?
18:8 I
tell you that he
will avenge them
speedily.
Nevertheless when
the Son of man
cometh, shall he
find faith on the
earth?
This woman
approached this King
with boldness,
without fear, and
unbridled faith that
he would give unto
her, her heart’s
desire. There is an
old Hebrew word that
describes what this
woman exhibited.
It’s called
“Chutzpah”. In
Hebrew, chutzpah
is used indignantly,
to describe someone
who has over-stepped
the boundaries of
accepted behavior
with no shame. But
inYiddish,
chutzpah has
developed ambivalent
and even positive
connotations.
Chutzpah can be
used to express
admiration for
non-conformist but
gutsy audacity.
Jesus compares God,
not with a good man,
but with a godless
man to emphasize the
vast difference
between this unjust
judge and the
righteous God. The
conduct of the
unjust judge exposes
the chaotic and
corrupt judgments in
which he had
prostituted himself.
No one can compel
him to do anything
because he feels no
regard for anyone,
including God. He
acts purely out of
self-interest. Yet,
if this unjust judge
could avenge a widow
whom he distained,
how much more will
the righteous God
avenge his elect?
In our bible we find
many instances of
this gutsy audacity
(chutzpah)
when asking God for
our hearts desire.
One example is when
Moses stood in the
gap between God and Israel.
Israel had sinned against Jehovah,
Moses had the
audacity, yes the
chutzpah to get a
hold of God in bold
prayer. It’s found
in Exodus chapter
32:
32:11 And
Moses besought the
LORD his God, and
said, LORD, why doth
thy wrath wax hot
against thy people,
which thou hast
brought forth out of
the land of Egypt
with great power,
and with a mighty
hand?
32:12 Wherefore
should the Egyptians
speak, and say, For
mischief did he
bring them out, to
slay them in the
mountains, and to
consume them from
the face of the
earth?
Turn from thy fierce
wrath, and repent of
this evil against
thy people.
And because of his
”Chutzpah” his
unrelenting
boldness, God
withdrew His hand
from what He had
thought to do.
32:14 And
the LORD repented of
the evil which he
thought to do unto
his people.
How many of us would
approach the creator
of the universe with
this much boldness,
audacity, or
unrelenting faith in
a righteous God that
will do as we ask,
within His Holy
Will? Moses was
persistent,
unmoving, and was a
type of Jesus Christ
standing in the gap
for the people
reminding God of His
promises. Moses was
asking boldly for
what God had already
promised to their
fathers before them.
Likewise, God has
made promises
through Jesus
Christ, even to us.
And what are some of
those promises? John
Chapter 14:
14:13 And
whatsoever ye shall
ask in my name, that
will I do, that the
Father may be
glorified in the
Son.
14:14 If
ye shall ask any
thing in my name, I
will do it.
God will meet your
every need that you
require to live a
productive, healthy
life. Now know, He
is not the tooth
fairy, or the
grandfather in the
sky who will give
you that Mercedes
you wish for, or
that big house, or
all the gold you can
stash away. That’s
why the “prosperity
gospel” is so
antagonistic to the
ways of God. What
would we learn, if
we had untold riches
in this life? It
would tie us even
more tightly to this
world, to its
riches, and then to
our eventual
downfall. We have
seen it too many
times of the TV
evangelist who had
proclaimed they knew
Jesus Christ, but
lived like kings,
and were caught in
some evil of the
flesh that brought
them down to the
pit. They did not
continue to live
righteously, but got
caught up in this
world and its evil
lust. This type of
boldness is not what
I’m referring to.
What God wants is
the
faith,
the unbridled
audacity
to ask of a
righteous Judge of
something He has
already promised us
and cannot lie. God
already knows what
He promised, but He
wants to hear that
you believe it and
will hold onto it
with both hands and
not let go.
When Jesus spoke of
“that
men ought always to
pray, and not to
faint;”
in
verse one of
the parable of the
persistent widow, He
was speaking of not
losing heart. Some
people only pray in
a crisis and forget
to pray also in
times of good, and
provide a prayer of
thanksgiving for
what God has already
provided. But what
are some of the
things in our life
that can prevent
answer to prayer?
There are several
major causes:
defilement, doubt,
danger,
distractions, and
delay.
» The
defilement
of sin kills
interest in
spiritual exercises
like prayer. Sin
does not promote a
good prayer life—in
fact, it will stop
it dead.
"If I regard
iniquity in my
heart, the Lord will
not hear" (Psalms
66:18).
» Praying with
doubt is
faithless, making
the prayer useless.
Doubting the
inspiration of
Scripture and the
power of God hinders
prayer.
I
Timothy 2:8
“I will therefore
that men pray every
where, lifting up
holy hands, without
wrath and doubting”.
As prayer and faith
go hand in hand, so
does unbelief and
not praying.
» Prayer must
sometimes be done at
dangerous
times. Danger weeds
out the coward from
the courageous.
Daniel faced real
danger in praying,
but kept on praying,
even though it led
to the lion's den
(Daniel 6). Today,
our dangers are
varied, but the
danger of
embarrassment often
affects people more
than danger of
physical harm.
» Satan is a master
of causing
distractions,
especially during
prayer time.
Probably every saint
has experienced his
mind wandering,
causing him to think
about everything
except what he
should be praying
about.
» Few things cause
us to lose heart in
praying more than
delays in
answers to our
requests. Jesus uses
this parable of the
persistent widow to
teach us that,
though answers often
appear to take a
long time in coming,
we should persevere
and not grow weary
in praying to God.
Jesus emphasized
this when He spoke
of asking in prayer,
found in Matthew
chapter 7:
7:7 Ask,
and it shall be
given you; seek, and
ye shall find;
knock, and it shall
be opened unto you:
7:8 For
every one that
asketh receiveth;
and he that seeketh
findeth; and to him
that knocketh it
shall be opened.
7:9 Or
what man is there of
you, whom if his son
ask bread, will he
give him a stone?
7:10 Or
if he ask a fish,
will he give him a
serpent?
7:11 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?
The lesson in all
this is that God has
assured us that He
hears and answers
prayer. We must
carve out a
consistent time in
our lives to talk to
our Heavenly Father
as we would talk to
our best friend. He
yearns to hear from
you and speak with
you through His
Word. We must have
the faith of Christ
that God can provide
what we need as He
enjoys hearing us
ask according to His
will, and desires to
give us abundantly
what we should have.
Going boldly before
God in prayer, shows
to our Father that
we have the faith in
Him that what we
understand His
promises and
believes what He
says.
As the old hymn of
“Standing on the
Promises” says:
Standing on the
promises of Christ
my King,
Through eternal ages
let His praises
ring,
Glory in the
highest, I will
shout and sing,
Standing on the
promises of God.
Standing on the
promises that cannot
fail,
When the howling
storms of doubt and
fear assail,
By the living Word
of God I shall
prevail,
Standing on the
promises of God.
I urge you to find a
time in your busy
schedule to find a
quiet place in your
mind, or your
physical prayer
closest and say a
word of prayer, or
thanksgiving to God
our Father, praying
in Jesus name. As
times in this world
grow more and more
evil and we see the
time of the end of
the age fast
approaching, we must
be seeking God in
our daily lives,
even more fervently.
We can’t always be
in prayer all day
long as we wouldn’t
have time to work
out what He has
called us to do, but
we should be in a
state of meditation
where God is but a
thought away from us
any time of the day.
To be in a constant
state of prayer will
move the mountains
in your life and be
a source of faith
and strength. Pray
with boldness,
audacity, power, and
unrelenting faith,
as God has said it,
He will do it.
The effective,
fervent prayer of a
righteous man avails
much.
If there is anything
I can help you with,
or pray with you
about, or just
listen to your
needs, drop me a
line to
realteam1999@sbcglobal.net,
or visit my website
for more biblical
teachings, at
www.churchofgod-usa.org.
This is Mike Taylor,
wishing you well,
till we meet at
Jesus feet. God
bless you all.
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