God gives us amazing gifts, including a mainline connection to Him through prayer, which is our communication with God. This connection is vital for our relationship with Him once we are born again.
Just as we use different avenues and means to communicate with others, such as texts, phone calls, notes left on our kitchen counters, our tone of voice, and body language, prayer has several techniques and strategies to connect with God, bare our hearts, and open ourselves up for His divine input.
Let’s dig into this beautiful subject of prayer and look into the Word of God for deeper understanding.
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16 (NIV)
The Foundation of Christian Prayer
During Jesus’ life and ministry, we don’t see Him performing miracles by making a show. He didn’t wave His arms while thunder roared and lightning flashed across the skies as He worked miracles or cast out demons. Instead, onlookers would more likely see Him spitting in the dirt and making mud to rub in the eyes of a blind man, or taking a young boy’s lunch to feed a hungry multitude. Nothing flashy, just taking care of the needs before Him. Likewise, He doesn’t desire sensationalism that draws attention to us. The glory belongs to Him.
Is God okay with enthusiasm? Yes.
Is He okay with insincerity that desires personal spotlight to ourselves? No.
Jesus prefaced His instructions for prayer by first telling His disciples how not to pray, followed by an example for effective prayer in Matthew 6:5-13:
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”
Jesus’ example laid out the important areas of life we should pray about, while also exposing the hypocrites and telling us avoid praying the same way.
Recognizing how amazing the gift of salvation is should cause us instant humility. Our prayers and actions should draw people to Jesus, unlike the hypocrites who drew attention to themselves.
The Lord’s Prayer
The outline Jesus presented is still perfect for us today. He didn’t desire a verbatim script, but our personal communication and expressions spoken with His example as a guide.
Let’s talk about the example He gave us, with a verse-by-verse breakdown and explanation of the prayer.
Our Father in heaven
Beginning prayer by addressing God as our Father reminds us of our close, intimate status with Him and His children. He loves us and is ready to help when we have a need.
Hallowed be your name
While He is loving and approachable, we must remember God is worthy of honor for all that He is as the King of kings.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven
Romans 14:17 tells us about the kingdom. It is “…righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,” and comes through surrendered hearts who allow God to be God. We should desire spreading the kingdom message throughout the earth. Wanting no one to perish, righteousness is His will.
Give us today our daily bread
It isn’t greedy to ask for God’s provision. We can approach Him with our needs, trusting Him to provide.
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors
Oh, the importance of mercy! We all make mistakes and need forgiveness. Being merciful allows us to ask for mercy.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Abundant life comes through a healthy, spiritual relationship. Our prayers should ask for guidance and protection from temptation. Deliverance from evil is ours when we ask.
What might the Lord’s prayer look like when we pray?
Something personal and heart-felt. Maybe something like this:
I love You, heavenly Father! Thank You for Your goodness in my life! Thank You for Your Spirit and loving me! You are holy! You are magnificent!
Father, please have Your will in me. I am surrendered for your use and purpose. Help me be a light in this dark world. Let righteousness, peace, and joy reign! Fill hungry souls with Your Spirit!
Thank You for providing my needs. I ask You, Lord, to help me make my car payment this month. Thank You for restoring my health from sickness. Missing work has caused me to run short on money this month. You are my great Provider and I ask for Your help.
Thank You for washing my clean from my mistakes, Please forgive me for my wrong attitude today, and thank You for helping me overcome my hurt from my friend who wronged me.
God, help me to follow Your path for my life. Let Your Word speak to my heart. Please protect my heart from temptation. I am trusting Your grace for victory today!
I love You, Lord. Please be with me today and I will praise You for all You are doing and all You are going to do!
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This example will help us get started. Make it personal and from the heart.
Remember, Jesus understand how it feels to be hurt, to cry, to be betrayed, mocked, and hated. He loves and cares for us and He truly understands and invites us to take our burdens to Him.
Practical Techniques for Effective Prayer
God’s invitation to pray is available for everyone. However, not all experience powerful prayer because of non-commitment.
James 5:16 says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
How thrilling! Let’s explore beneficial techniques found throughout the Bible that can be implemented in our prayer time with God.
- Having a consistent prayer routine. Choose a time of day when you are not rushed and are fully awake. Whether first thing in the morning, or winding down after dinner, make prayer non-optional and at the same time daily.
- Find a quiet and conducive environment for prayer. The principle Jesus laid our for prayer was to find a private place. This takes away all distractions around us. Uninterrupted prayer that leads to a deep place with God is beautiful and something special to strive for.
- Practicing gratitude and thanksgiving in prayer. Salvation alone gives us more than enough to be grateful for. However, we are blessed in many additional ways. Gratitude should be expressed each day.
- Utilizing scripture in prayer: praying through Psalms, the Gospels, and other Biblical passages. Reading certain passages while we spend time in prayer help us learn more about the God we serve. Psalm 23 can remind us to be thankful for our Shepherd, and that we lack nothing. Reading about Jesus calming a storm can help us when we face a storm of our own.
- Engaging in personal and communal prayer. Personal prayer is vital to the child of God. He loves us and wants to be connected to us. He beckons us to bare our hearts, share our fears, ask forgiveness for sin, and lift others up to Him for their salvation and needs.He invites our joyful faith as we pray with expectation. Communal prayer has the potential to become explosive! Gathering with other Christians and praying fervently will break chains, renew struggling souls and strengthen the body of Christ!
Both types of prayer are effective and powerful when carried out by the righteous children of God!
- Emphasizing the importance of faith and trust in God’s goodness and faithfulness. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Faith is non-optional in our walk with God-we must have it before we can have a relationship with Him. When we make Jesus our choice, we must exercise our faith and make it grow.
Our heavenly Father is trustworthy. God will not take away things that are good for us. Having faith says, “Whatever happens in my situation, I trust God will do what is best for me.”
Strategies for Deepening Prayer
While techniques focus on how to pray, strategies help us maintain our commitment to prayer. By implementing practices to create an effective prayer time, we in turn benefit by a natural deepening that occurs because of daily commitment. This is a win-win for us! Let’s talk about it!
Developing intimacy with God through prayer
Healthy relationships with our earthly fathers should include admiration and respect for who he is, gratitude, and anticipation for time spent together. We can take our problems to him, share our fears, and ask for his help when situations are too big for us. Being our heavenly father, our prayer time with God should share such closeness too. He is approachable and always there for us. These things cause intimacy to grow naturally.
Cultivating a heart of worship and adoration in prayer
As our intimacy increases, worship and adoration will also naturally grow. Express it in prayer. Tell God how He is adored and wonderful. Worship Him from the heart! Thinking of His goodness makes it hard to not worship and adore Him!
Seeking guidance and direction through prayer and discernment
God’s credentials prove we can trust His judgment for our situations. We need to ask His guidance. Our Lord can prompt us to know what to do when we listen.
Psalm 119:11-16 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, Lord; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.”
Knowing the Word will help us discern what is right and wrong. Knowledge and prayer are a great shield of protection against many pitfalls.
Praying for others: intercession and supplication
Man’s relationship with God, and man’s relationship with each other are the Bible’s main themes. Praying for others is an act of love. Intercession fervently presents our subjects to God with our whole heart. Supplication brings specific needs or requests for spiritual profit to those we pray for. By praying earnestly for others, our measures of love and compassion toward humanity increases.
Incorporating fasting and other spiritual disciplines to enhance prayer life
Spiritual disciplines coupled with prayer will always benefit God’s children. Whether we physically see the results or grow spiritually because of them, disciplines will bless us.
- Fasting is a form of self-denial. It causes us to be disciplined and aids in difficult situations.
- Worship is carried out in our everyday lives by reflecting salvation in our actions.
- Serving others as the hands and feet of Jesus remind us to care for others, which requires humility and care.
- Obedience lets God direct our path instead of following our heart. By obeying His Word and letting Him lead, trust and surrender grow in us.
- Bible study is essential in knowing God. Prayer will lack depth if we never learn what moves God, what He despises, the things He is passionate about, and why we may feel He is distant from us.
- Acknowledging we’ve sinned and repenting “clears the air” when we pray. Admitting our humanness to God and turning from sin removes any obstacles. We don’t need to try to hide it from Him. He already knows.
- In-person church services have power when everyone focuses on Jesus and has one purpose-to seek Him. Communal prayer can be like lighting a match next to a rag doused in gasoline.
- Solitude and silence enhances prayer time by letting our minds rest from all the noise. Silence aids focus and allows clarity to surface for direction in life.
- Gratitude should be an overshadowing theme in our lives during every spiritual season, whether good or bad.
Overcoming Common Challenges in Prayer
Challenges during prayer can be countered by taking practical steps to deal with them. Let us discuss what they are.
Dealing with distractions and wandering thoughts in prayer
Before praying, write down anything we need to address after prayer and don’t want to forget.
We can also write down our needs and those who need prayer. Closing our eyes when not reading our prayer list can block out distractions.
Addressing feelings of unworthiness or inadequacy in prayer
When our heavenly Father has changed our lives and put His Spirit in us, we must remember we are a new creation in Him. We are loved and forgiven.
If our child approached us with fear and a head hung low because they worthless, would it not break our hearts? Humility and gratitude are important attributes, but to stay beaten and downtrodden is to ignore what God has done in each of our lives. None of us are worthy of what He did for us by our own merit. However, Ephesians 4:1, which says, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”
Handling periods of spiritual dryness or doubt
Everyone will face spiritual dryness and doubt at times, making discipline crucial. It makes the difference that will sustain us.
When doubt clouds our minds, a look back over our lives will remind us of all the Lord has already done for us. He doesn’t fail. Fighting our way through doubt will ensure we don’t fail either.
Finding encouragement and support through Christian community and fellowship
Being actively involved in a church family will lift and encourage you. Practicing discipline by being faithful to a body of believers connects you with others who have faced the same struggles, and people who want to help you.
Conclusion
There is no better time to blend knowledge and sincerity in our daily communication with God. Being equipped and believing God is working on our behalf is what we need to experience power and effectiveness in prayer.
A prayer routine based in faith, sincerity, and Biblical guidance produces growing intimacy with God. The longer we are disciplined and put these things into action, the easier it becomes to find a deep connection with our Lord.
All of us can glean from learning useful ideas that enrich our prayer time. Are you ready to experience prayer on another level? Are you ready to claim its transforming power personally and live out God’s specific purpose for you? These things are within reach for God’s children! If we are willing to put in the efforts outlined above, deeper connection with our Lord will be ours!
Let’s Pray Together
Lord, we are so grateful for your love, kindness, and grace to Your people. Thank You for the living Word that is relevant today as we learn more about You in our desire to draw closer to You.
We desire to connect with You deeper and deeper, knowing you will bless us with spiritual abundance that will guide us in life. We want to recognize You and the loving, caring Father that You are and discard the doubts and false ideas we’ve accumulated along the way.
We want to develop a deeper relationship with You that introduces us to the beauty You hold in ways we have yet seen. We are ready to experience transforming power by trusting in You and allowing our faith to grow!
Thank you for all that You are going to do through your people, both collectively and personally. We love You, Lord! You’re our good, good Father.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
