THE RIGHT WAY TO PRAY

Matthew 6:5-8 (AMPC)

 

“Also when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward in full already.

 

6 But when you pray, go into your [most] private room, and, closing the door, pray to your Father, Who is in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open.

 

7 And when you pray, do not heap up phrases (multiply words, repeating the same ones over and over) as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard for their much speaking. [I Kings 18:25-29.]

 

8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”

 

Dear people of God, one of the greatest tragedies of our time in Christendom is the ease with which Christians neglect to pray the way the Lord Jesus Christ directed and have adopted their own styles of prayer.

 

It is really amazing that despite what the Lord says in verse 7 of Matthew 6 above, it is observed by a number of Christians in the reverse, that is, they spend time in prayer saying the same things over and over again and keep wondering why God is not responding.

 

If you must spend time in prayer, please spend it PRAISING GOD and not lamenting and whining over and over again about your problems because that is praying in unbelief.

 

The Bible says without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God (Hebrews 11:6) so a prayer that pleases God must be made in faith.

 

To understand how to pray, you must first understand that prayer is communication with God Almighty and Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

 

If during communication with important personalities who are mere mortals you do not shout at them but speak with dignity and respect, how dare you then communicate with God in prayer and you raise your voice at Him?

 

Aren’t you aware that God could destroy you in a moment? You must ALWAYS approach God and communicate with Him during prayer with utmost reverential fear for the Majestic and Awesome Being that He is as your Creator.

 

Therefore, ensure you genuinely and sincerely worship, praise and thank the Lord God for all He has done for you including the gift of life.

 

Secondly, you must be in right standing with the Lord before approaching Him in prayer. This is what we are told in 1 Peter 3:12 (AMPC), “For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with God), and His ears are attentive to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who practise evil [to oppose them, to frustrate, and defeat them].”

 

If you are obedient to God’s every command in the Bible as a habit in your thoughts, words and deeds, then you would be in right standing with Him and be able to approach Him in prayer. Otherwise, God’s face would always be against you to oppose, frustrate and defeat you for practising evil as a lifestyle.

 

You must therefore avoid like a plague any thought, word or deed of yours that constitutes an offence to God if it violates His Word in the Holy Bible, repent immediately, ask God for forgiveness and align again with His Divine expectation.

 

On the issue of praying a prayer of faith, again, many of us Christians miss it completely.

 

See what the Bible says in 1 John 5:14-15 (AMPC), “And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us.

 

15 And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him.”

 

 

A prayer of faith is made according to God’s will, that is, according to God’s Word in the Holy Bible. Don’t ever make the mistake of lamenting to God in prayer about your problems and expecting Him to respond because as stated earlier, that is praying in unbelief and that is what pagans or unbelievers do.

 

I cannot emphasize this point enough because many Christians simply do not pray according to the Word of God and struggle to receive their miracles or Divine answers to their requests.

 

Look again at 1 John 5:15 where is states that having prayed to God ACCORDING TO HIS WILL OR WORD and having known that He listens to us, “we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him.

 

If according to God’s Word you know with settled and absolute knowledge that God has granted as your PRESENT possessions the requests made of Him, why do you still continue to ask God in prayer again and again over the SAME matter?

 

Doesn’t that show that in the first place you never believed with absolute certainty that God had granted your request? Is that not praying in unbelief? How then would you expect God to grant a prayer made in unbelief when His Word says you must come in faith to please God?

 

Dear friend, this is absolute proof that no Christian can afford to go a single day without prayerfully studying his or her Bible. Any prayer made to God outside or contrary to what is written in the Holy Bible is just like shooting bullets from a gun at random whilst expecting to hit a particular target.

 

It is simply a wasted prayer.

 

You must therefore study your Holy Bible daily to know what belongs to you by RIGHT as a child of God (John 1:12), meditate on it, believe it, confess it and thank God for it.

 

In summary, to pray the right way in faith, before you go to God in prayer, you must know for sure through study and meditation what God’s Word says about that PARTICULAR matter you want to pray to Him about.

 

Do not assume you know what God says but ensure you know exactly what God’s Word says about the particular matter and pray to God exactly as stated in His Word, confess His Word, thank Him for it and believe you have already received the answer.

 

Anytime you recall the issue, don’t descend again into unbelief by praying to God about it; rather, just maintain your confession according to God’s Word, worship, praise and thank the Lord for it. Before long, the answer will come from Heaven because God is true to His Word and He CANNOT lie.

 

The answer ALWAYS comes to prayers made in faith to God ACCORDING TO HIS WORD but the timing depends on God for sometimes it is immediate, other times it could be hours, days, weeks, months or years but the answer MUST surely come because God is a God of integrity.

 

This is the right way to pray.

 

Dear friend, Jesus Christ is coming shortly to take in Rapture ONLY those who are qualified according to His righteous standards in the Holy Bible.

 

Are you living a genuine life as His disciple? Are you ready for Him? Repent and come to Jesus today, for tomorrow may be too late for you.

 

Once Jesus takes away His children, the entire earth would come under God’s wrath and Divine judgement in a most terrible manner never experienced before.

 

Why do you risk your life in sin and risk the grave danger, pain and suffering ahead and risk ultimately damning your soul forever in the lake of fire?

 

May the good Lord bless you as you heed His Word today, act on it and share with others in Jesus’ Most Powerful Name, Amen.

 

Gabriel Ama.