By Pastor M. Isi Eromosele
In Luke 11:1 Jesus' disciples
asked, "Lord, teach us to pray." Christians today also need to learn
to pray. People who are new in the faith may have never studied about how to
pray. Some members do not pray properly so their prayers are not even answered.
All of us can improve in this aspect of worship.
We need to learn what to pray
about. Should we make requests, be thankful, offer praise, intercede on behalf
of others, offer petition? And what power does prayer have? Does God really
answer prayer? If so, how should we pray and what conditions must prayer meet
in order for God to hear and answer?
What is prayer? Note Acts 4:24,31.
Prayer is simply man talking to God, expressing his thoughts to God Rom. 10:1;
Matt. 6:9. Hence, it is a form of communication similar in many ways to simply
talking to our earthly father, except that we must remember whom we are
addressing and must meet conditions of acceptable prayer.
How To Pray To God - What Does The Bible Say?
Jesus shares some tremendous insight regarding how to pray to God in
Matthew 6:5-13.
In the above verses, Jesus shares how not to pray.
- Verse 5: We are to pray in
secret, not the way people did in His day -- praying out loud publicly,
primarily to just be seen and heard.
- Verse 6: Jesus asks us to go
to a private place since our Heavenly Father already knows what we are
going to pray about.
- Verse 7: Jesus tells us not
to ramble on and on, as people of other religions do or be repetitious
with words. God, our heavenly Father, would have us be specific about our
prayer.
- Verse 8: Jesus reiterates
that the believer is not to pray repetitiously like the heathen
Other New Testament writers describe other
ways to pray.
Paul,
in Philippians 4:6, says that we should pray for everything
with thanksgiving. Paul, who wrote several books of the New Testament, often
began and ended his letters in prayer for the saints. Specifically, Paul prays
for God’s grace, peace, love and faith among believers.
Peter, in 1 Peter 5:7-8, exhorts us to cast all our care upon God, because He cares
about us. In verse 8, Peter warns us that Satan seeks to devour the believer.
James 1:5
says we can pray and ask God for
wisdom, but this should be done in faith. James 4:1-4 says that when we pray, we often pray or ask out of our own
selfish ambition. James 4:15 exhorts that we need to pray for God’s will to be done in our
lives.
In the Old Testament, Moses
prayed to God almost constantly on behalf of the Israelite for God’s mercy and
graciousness in dealing with their sins. Abraham prayed persistently for his
relative Lot, who lived in Sodom that God would spare Him. 2 Chronicles 14:11 says Asa cried out to the Lord. Prophet Jeremiah prayed for
God’s guidance and correction of the Israelite Jeremiah 10:23-24. David prayed for the peace of Jerusalem in Psalm 122:6.
The protocol on how to pray
covers several ways of prayer. The primary focus of prayer is the intent. Does
the prayer honor God and exalt His name? What is the purpose behind the prayer?
Is it for personal gain or ambition? Do you pray for others to be blessed and
encouraged? Are your prayers done in secret and in humility? Are your prayers
focused on obtaining godly wisdom, counsel and direction? God is pleased with
these prayers and answers them.
How often are we to pray? The
Bible says pray without ceasing 1 Thessalonians 5:17. What should we pray for? What if we do not know how to
pray? The Bible says the Holy Spirit will help us pray Romans 8:26-27.
How do we pray to God? Prayer is essentially
putting your request, concern or issue before the Lord and trusting Him to
answer them. Matthew 18:3 says we need to pray with the heart of little children,
simple, reverent, specific, and trusting.
Why Should We Pray – To Whom
Do We Pray?
Before we can answer, “why should we pray,” we
must know to whom we pray.
There is only one Supreme Creator and Sovereign God.
There is only one way to Him and that is through His only Son, Jesus Christ.
God, our Heavenly Father, is the only one we can be assured of who hears and
answers our prayers. He is the God of amazing love, mercy and forgiveness.
- By Him, all things are
possible. Jesus says in Mark
10:27, "Humanly
speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with
God."
- Daniel 9:18 tells us: “We do not ask
because we deserve help, but because you are so merciful.” (Mercy means
showing favor, compassion and kindness.)
- God’s ultimate demonstration
of love is forgiveness of the sins each of us have committed. “For God so
loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes
in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son
into the world to condemn it, but to save it” John 3:16-17.
He is the only God who has done this and is the only God
able to do so. But His enemy, Satan, has sent many false gods to deceive
mankind. Do not be deceived nor allow anything or anyone to take priority over
the only true and living God.
Why Should We Pray - For What Do
We Pray?
Prayer is the key to the heart of God. Prayer is the only way to a real and
personal relationship with God.
- Pray acknowledging He is God,
and that you accept His gracious gift, Jesus Christ as your Lord
and Savior Genesis 17:1, Romans
6:16-18.
- Pray confessing your sins and accepting His
forgiveness Romans
3:23-26.
- Pray that His will be done in
our lives, that His Holy Spirit guide us, and that we be filled with the
fullness of all God has for us.
- Pray for spiritual
understanding and wisdom Proverbs 2:6-8, 3:5.
- Pray with thanksgiving for
all the ways He blesses us Philippians 4:6. Pray when we are ill,
lonely, going through trials or interceding for others James 5:14-16, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.
- Pray to worship Him Psalm
95:6-7.
There is nothing we can’t pray about. There are abundant
references to prayer in the Bible. The Bible tells us to “pray
without ceasing” and “in everything give thanks to
the Lord.” When we choose to have a positive attitude, we realize we
have received many blessings for which to give God praise.
We find intimacy with God through communicating with Him in prayer. We go to
Him in faith, knowing that He hears and answers all our prayers 1 John 5:14.
Be confident that God knows and wants what is best for you; so ask that His
will be done in all you seek from Him. Then, thank Him for it, even though it
hasn’t happened yet.
Pastor M. Isi Eromosele is a part of the Leadership Pastors
at God’s Intervention Center in New York.
He is also the Founder and CEO of Oseme Group, a global management
consulting company based in New York City.
