Effective Prayer
James 4:3 (NKJV) You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
Do you ever wonder why your prayers are not answered and your dreams and desires are not fulfilled? Do you pray according to His Word and use scripture to back it up? There are so many that cover every subject imaginable. If Jesus used the Word of God in His battle plan against the enemy so should we. His defense always began with, "It is written..."
What does the Bible say about your particular situation? If it's healing you need, there are many scriptures to hold on to, trust and decree. God's Word declares His desire to heal you and Christ's torn flesh confirms and seals the deal. There are many promises in His Word that are unwavering. If He said it, He will do it according to your faith. On the other hand if it's a particular plan or desire you want fulfilled, you need to seek God and find out if what you want lines up with His will for your life. There's been times that, just for the sake of teaching me a lesson, He answered my prayer of faith and I quickly realized that what I thought I had to have, made me miserable and was obviously not His desire for me. Those lessons have been invaluable in making me realize that there's no peace or pleasure outside of His will for my life. So, my prayers have changed from selfish ambitions to complete surrender to His desires and plans. I still pray and rebuke the devour from the situation, but I seek to know His will in the midst of it.
The only way to have effective prayer is by knowing the Word of God, believing it and desiring His will above our own. Prayer is an incredibly powerful tool when used correctly, but the results stem from the faith that comes from knowing scriptures and a relationship with Christ that allows us to trust Him completely. Let your prayer life become centered on blessing God and seeing His name lifted up and His desires fulfilled.
Isaiah 55:8-11 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Matthew 9:28-29 And when He was come into the house, the blind men came to Him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched He their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
Romans 10:14, 17 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
1 John 5:14-15 (NKJV) Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
