How effective do you feel like your prayers are? Do you feel like you spend most of your time praying for things that never happen? Does it seem like you’re praying for the same things over and over and there’s never any progress being made? Those moments can bring us to a very confusing place in our spiritual lives.
There are times that we pray for something, and it doesn’t immediately happen because God is trying to teach us patience. In those times, God is crafting our faith, refining it, and teaching us the importance of trusting Him, even when it seems like nothing is happening. God’s ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts, and He is not bound by our concepts of time. In those times, it’s crucial that we remember that God is still in control, carefully writing our stories.
However, there are other times where our prayers aren’t answered because we’re not praying effectively. Take a look at this passage from the Book of James:
James 4:2-3 (NIV)
You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
Within those two verses, James, the half-brother of Christ effectively outlined why we don’t get the things that we say we want. The first reason is that we don’t actually ask. God wants us to bring our needs and requests to Him in prayer. When we do ask, we don’t receive because our motives are impure. God doesn’t only hear the words that we say in prayer. He also evaluates our hearts to make sure that we’re asking from a place of pure motive.
Found within this passage is the beginning of understanding why we don’t receive the things that we ask God for. Effective prayer goes beyond simply telling God what we want and Him giving us those things. Instead, effective prayer includes trusting God when He declines our requests like He did to Paul concerning his thorn in the flesh. It also involves trusting God when He tells us to wait like He did with Abraham and Sarah when they wanted a son.
Today, discover more about how to practice effective prayer in your life.
Putting in the Work
Colossians 4:12 (NIV)
Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.
“He is always wrestling in prayer for you.” If you grew up attending church, you may have grown up with a skewed concept of prayer. We’re often told that prayer is simply a conversation between us and God, and in a lot of ways, that’s an accurate summation. However, prayer is also work. This is because of the amount of spiritual warfare that goes on when we pray.
We don’t know much about Epaphras, the man that Paul referenced in his letter to the Colossian Church. However, he was obviously from Colossae. That’s why he “wrestled in prayer” for the people who lived in the area.
Undoubtedly, there were times where Epaphras felt like his prayers weren’t working. Paul and his traveling companions often received updates about the churches that they had planted, and in many cases, those updates weren’t good. Epaphras didn’t give up in those moments. Instead, he continued wrestling in prayer.
Perhaps the most important aspect of effective prayer is found in the commitment to keep praying. When it looks like nothing is happening, pray. When it looks like your prayers are being refused, keep praying. When you commit yourself to fighting in the spirit realm, you are putting in the work that is sometimes necessary to have your prayers answered.
Identifying Your Motive
Matthew 6:6 (NIV)
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.
When we read the passage from James’ epistle, we got a bit of an insight into the importance of motives when we pray. Jesus expounded on that idea in this passage from the Sermon on the Mount.
First of all, God is not moved by our prayers when they come from a place of selfish ambition. If you’re praying for God to bless your finances because you want to have a nicer car than your neighbor, a larger home than your friend, or you want to purchase some other “status symbol,” it’s safe to assume that God isn’t going to be inclined to answer that prayer. God is not impressed by the things that impress our society.
Additionally, Christ spoke about the importance of prayer not being about us. In Biblical times, prayer in the temple was a common sight. Unfortunately, some people, especially the religious leaders of the day, took those opportunities to draw attention to themselves through prayer. Instead of making prayer a private connection between them and God, these individuals wanted their prayers to lead to the applause and accolades of other people.
Motive matters when dealing with your prayer life. If you want your prayers to be more effective, spend some time in self-reflection, determining the motives behind your prayers. If the motives are selfish, make the necessary changes.
Blind Faith
Jeremiah 32:17 (NIV)
“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”
Finally, one of the keys to effective prayer is found in the power of blindly believing that God is really working everything out on our behalf. In the Book of Joshua, we read a story about a man asking God for something that seemed impossible. While battling against an enemy, Joshua and the Israelite army were prevailing. Unfortunately, the sun was setting. Obviously, since this was thousands of years before Christ, these soldiers didn’t have access to the things that would make it possible for them to battle into the night. Joshua knew that losing momentum would be disastrous. So, he asked God to do something unbelievable. He asked God to freeze time, to stop the sun from setting so they could finish the job.
Joshua’s prayer for the sun to stand still is one of the most unbelievable moments in Scripture. After all, there had never been a day that lasted longer than it should have. Joshua didn’t pray and then wonder if it would happen. Joshua prayed and then sprang into action. Remarkably, God did exactly what Joshua asked Him to do.
The sun stood still, and Israel finished winning the battle. The Bible says there had never been a day like it before or since. All because one man had blind, radical faith.
The final key to effective prayer is to believe God is going to do exactly what you’ve asked Him to do. When you know that Your prayer aligns with God’s Word, you can rest assured that He hears you and He is working.
A Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, please help me to develop my prayer life. I know that You answer prayers that align with Your Word and Your will for my life. Help me to seek Your face through Your Word so that I know the best way to pray. Thank You for the prayers You have answered and the ones that I know You are going to answer. In Christ’s name, Amen.