Category Archives: Prayer

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How do you pray to have God answer you?

by Glen R. Jackman

“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” (1 John 5:14 ESV)

Pray according to God’s Will

The practical question that follows John’s assertion is: How can we know if we are praying according to God’s will? That is an intensely practical question to ask as we take the initiative to pray with a desire for God to hear us.

To properly understand 1 John 5:14, we must connect the words “anything according to his will” with “ask”– not focusing only on the word “anything” without condition. A prayer is not an all-inclusive abracadabra as if it is a word spoken by a magician when performing a magic trick. We cannot ask for anything outside of His divine will. God won’t be used as if we’re making a wish to a big genie in the sky.

Similarly, let’s connect “he hears us” with “the confidence that we have toward him”. Not only the thing asked for, but also the attitude and trust of the one who is asking must be in line with God’s will. Both the thing asked for and the spirit of asking must be in a committed, respectful, harmony towards God regarding His will expressed in the scriptures.

Jesus’ teaching continually connected the answer to prayer with a life that was being lived according to God’s will, bearing evident godly fruit: trusting, forgiving, merciful, humble, peaceful, believing, asking in His name, abiding in His love, observing/keeping His commands, and having His words abiding within and being born anew and led by the Holy Spirit. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15 ESV) A life in line with God’s will, can and will ask according to God’s will.

When you live according to God’s will, you are spiritually able to discern what to ask for. A life yielded to and molded by the will of God will know what and how to pray. “For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” (Rom 8:26 ESV) Boldness in prayer comes from the assurance that the way – the disposition of asking and the thing asked for are both according to the will of God.

Prayer

How to pray effectively like Jesus

glen001-sm By Glen R. Jackman

“And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.” (Luke 2:47 ESV)

Let the Word of God fill your heart While Jesus walked on earth, He both knew the scriptures well, and He treasured the Word of God in His heart. In the temptation in the wilderness and on every opportunity that presented itself until His death on the cross, He met every situation that arose against Him with the Word of God that filled His heart.

“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11 ESV)

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Pray over the promises of God’s Word In Jesus’s prayer life, He taught us two things: first, God’s Word supplies us with material for prayer right in the Bible, encouraging us to expect every solution to come from God’s direction and intervention. Second, it is only by prayer that we can live such a life so that every Word of God can be utilized for overcoming obstacles, temptation, antagonistic situations, and know God’s purpose for our lives day by day and fulfill the Spirit’s influence over our life to glorify God, while serving Jesus Christ.

“For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” (2 Peter 1:4 NASB)

How can we come to the place where the Word and prayer may each have its undivided right of guidance over us? There is only one answer: our lives must be entirely transformed to live by the same methods that Jesus did — dependency on the Word of God as we pray over the scriptures.

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5 ESV)

Our schedule must include time for Bible study We must assess our priorities, and assign actual time to learn how to read, study and bring the power of the Word of God into our life. By faith, we read a verse and pray over its application to our life, and our close family’s lives.

We must, by faith in what God will do in us, appropriate the heavenly life of Christ just as He related directly to the Father to find out God’s will for everything He did as He lived here on earth. We can and must have the certain expectation that the Spirit, who filled Jesus with the Word and prayer, and guided Him daily, will also accomplish that work in us.

“You search the Scriptures…it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39 ESV)

Let us understand that God the Holy Spirit is essentially the Spirit of the Word and the Spirit of prayer; He is also the Spirit of the Lord Jesus who is in us to make us truly partakers of His life. If we firmly believe this and set our hearts upon it, then there will come a change in our use of God’s Word and believing prayer such as we could not have thought possible.

Why not begin by asking the Father in prayer “Lord Jesus, by your Holy Spirit, live Your life through me. Fill me with your Word and with prayer. Make me a partaker of Your life — transformed into your likeness as the scripture reads: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5 ESV)