My last few posts have been about the simplicity of prayer. The importance of intercession; as well as touching on the definition of a prayer warrior. The bible mentions 650 prayers – of which we know how 450 were answered. We serve the same God. Our God who answers prayers. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. (He 13:8) What about those other prayers? Well, we don’t know how He answered them. We can only guess.
When we come to God in prayer it isn’t just the words of our mouth that He hears. It is our attitude and our motivation, which He sees and determines how our prayers are answered. We know, just as any good Father, His answer is in our best interest. He knows more than we do and He sees us fully.
- Hannah, who was barren, prayed for a child and promised to dedicate him to the Lord if He would grant her request. Samuel was born. Not only did God bless Hannah with Samuel, she also had three more sons and two daughters. (1 Sam 1:11)
- When Peter was imprisoned by Herod Argippa, the church prayed for his release. (Intercession). The story tells us that he was freed by an angel of the Lord and went straight to Mary’s house where the prayer was still in progress! (Acts 12:5)
- When Jerusalem was under siege, King Hezekiah prayed to the Lord for deliverance. (2 Kings 19:19) 185,000 soldiers were killed by the Lords angel and the rest of the army fled. God waged war on behalf of His people because they followed Him.
There are also several examples in the Bible that show us how God’s mind was changed through the prayer. One example is when King Hezekiah was dying, he prayed to the Lord (2 Kings 20:3) and God heard his prayer and added 15 years onto his life.
The Prayer of Jabez (1 Chronicles 4:10)
Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh that You would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.
Perhaps you have heard of the prayer of Jabez. One of the things that makes this prayer attention worthy is that the only mention of Jabez is the prayer he prayed and God answered. That’s it. That is the full extent of what we know about Jabez. So, think about this; Jabez prayed a simple prayer. Basically it is a two line prayer asking for five things; to be blessed, to have his territory enlarged (wealth), for God to be with him, to be kept from harm and free from pain. Then the word goes on to tell us that God granted his request.
This prayer is powerful. It is something that is simple to memorize or put on a post-it note. This is a prayer that anyone can pray. Reminder: if God is the same yesterday, (when Jabez prayed it), today (when we pray it) and forever (when future generations pray it) then God will answer it. Here is the caveat; God knows our hearts. If you are saying a prayer, any prayer, and your heart already doesn’t believe it or the reason you are praying isn’t the right one; then the answer might not be granted. In other words, God may say no.
- Psalms 66:18 – If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear [me]
- John 9:31 – Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.
- 1 Peter 3:12 – For the eyes of the Lord [are] over the righteous, and his ears [are open] unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord [is] against them that do evil.
It is important to try to know our own hearts
Anytime we come before God, we need to know our own heart. We need to try and see our reasons. God created us, He knew us in our mother’s womb. He knows us inside and out. However, we struggle to learn ourselves. We often find ourselves in denial of who we are. Why we do things. We don’t accept responsibilities for our actions. We blame others. When we live in sin we don’t think about it. When we become believers, the Holy Spirit will guide us into revelation knowledge. (John 16:8)
Matthew 21:22 – And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
It is important to know what we believe. It is this belief that allows us the certainty to come before God and know that He will answer our prayers. As we think in our hearts so we are. (Pr 23:7) Our thought life is important. We know our words can kill or heal. Just take a look at people/children who have killed themselves after being bullied by other children. The words were driven into their being like stake to the heart. They already weren’t sure of who they were so they believed what others said about them.
Just as important as it is to watch our words to and about others; we need to consider our prayers. Are we being selfish? What has drawn us to the throne of grace. You see it is easy to “forget” to pray when things are going well in our lives. Most often we come to God when things are tough. When we need something. When we want something. God knows our hearts. He understands that we do this. Yet, knowing that prayer is our communication with God. Our conversations become few and far between. Then something like guilt can creep into a believers life when we realize that we have stopped having these personal moments with Him.
We start to think that even though we want to pray, we shouldn’t or can’t because it has been too long in between prayers. This is not true. God desires to commune with us. God wants an intimate, close relationship with us. He went as far as sacrificing His only son to bridge the gap between Him and us. He is patiently waiting for us to want the same type of relationship with Him. So, even when we choose to drift away from God, when we forget or refuse to pray, when we do come back to Him – He is there. For us. Don’t let guilt be the reason you don’t come back to pray.
Prayer is a conversation with our Heavenly Father that we all need
One of the things about praise as well as worship and prayer is that it brings us into the holy of holies and gives us the gift of interaction with our Heavenly Father. Much like when Esther approached the throne, with hesitation, we find ourselves doing the same. God will extend His grace and mercy, as the King did with the scepter, to allow us to speak. As the King did with Esther, God offers us anything we desire because He loves us.
1 John 5:15 “And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.”
It is important to know what we truly desire. Sometimes, we don’t. Which is why, when we don’t know what to pray, we can simply pray for God’s will in our lives. Once we start the conversation, it is easy to continue it. It becomes easier every time we do it. It also grants us a boon, being near to God brings us happiness.
My prayer for you today is that you will learn to draw closer to God. That you will desire to spend time in His presence having conversations with your Heavenly Father. I pray you will understand how it isn’t a one-sided conversation. That no matter the reason you are calling the Lord, He will be there to answer, listen and respond. Let your joy be full.