No man is greater than his prayer life. That statement is so true, and yet so elusive. You can ask most people if they know how to pray and they will say "yes". They pray over their food. They pray when they are having troubles. But, they only know how to pray instant prayers. They're like instant coffee, they'll do but, they aren't as good as a freshly brewed cup!
The church of God began in the Upper Room with a bunch of people agonizing. Christ spent time in the garden praying before He went to meet His destiny. Saul (Apostle Paul) spent 3 days in prayer before God sent Annanias to heal him.
The disciples asked Christ to teach them to pray. Christ took them to the garden with Him, and yet when He went to check on them they were asleep. They weren't use to praying, because they hadn't been practicing what He had taught them. Three times He came back and all three times they had fallen asleep!
Prayer is such an important part of the Christian walk! And yet, there aren't any courses in Christian schools on how to pray. People graduate from Christian colleges by droves without ever having studied the art of prayer. Our churches are dying because the power of prayer has been lost!
One man with God is a majority! Elijah shows up from nowhere and says that there would be no rain except by his word. His prayers were so powerful that God stopped the heavens for three years! Then, he prays and God sends a torrential rain! His prayer life even had God talking directly to him when he was hiding in a cave in a destitute disposition.
The first step of a powerful prayer life is to confess our sins. Confession is needful to seek the Savior. It removes the barriers that block our hearts true desires from the Lord. It restores our relationship with our Father in Heaven. He already knows what your sins are. You need to know what your sins are. You need to see them how God sees them. Look deep and realize what it is that stands between you and your walk with Christ. I have sinned against heaven and before thee.
Your success depends entirely on the Lord. We need to get rid of anything that has to do with self. God can't fill an already full cup. First we have to dump out all that is in there for the Lord to fill it with what He has. It isn't in us, because of us, or from us that the power of God will fill your life. It is when we allow the Lord to control the situation that we will see the results of the power of God's provision. I am poor and needy.
We can then plead with God for the things that burden us. We can plead the attributes of God. We can plead God's relationships. We can plead God's promises. We can plead our necessities.
If we remind God that His attributes are the reason that we pray to Him. We should base our prayers upon the truth of God's character- mercy, forgiveness, love, justice, etc. We can bring the ancient mercies of God before Him and plead for them in our prayers. Have mercy upon mine iniquity for it is great!
Remind God that He is the Creator. He is our Father. The woman who the Lord called a dog accepted this title because she realized that the dog is still a member of the family, and it was her humility and recognition of this that allowed God to grant this Gentile's request. Although He is a great king and infinitely glorious, a child can always be bold with his father. We can pray, Abba, Father!
Reminding God of His promises has been used many times successfully through the Bible. If you remind God of His promises He will either go against His Word and be unfaithful, or He will confirm His Word and answer you. Thou art faithful!
God has promised to supply all our need. Sometimes, we don't really acknowledge what our need actually is. But, when we take the time to plead for our needs, it shows us what we think our needs are. And, if we listen we will soon understand what He knows our need is.
Thirdly, we should be urgent with God. We never know when our time on earth will be over. God won't get upset when we realize that we need His help immediately. We need His help now! When we can live no longer without Him, He will come to you. Make haste, O Lord, to deliver me!
If we saw ourselves the way God sees us. If we realized what our need actually was. If we humbled ourselves and let go of our strength then we would know that we need the Lord as urgently as we actually do. I am poor and needy! Make no tarrying!
Lastly, we need our souls to grasp God. This is the hardest part of prayer. To understand that He is our help. He is our deliverer. He, alone, is the answer to our requests. Jacob understood this when he clung to the angel and said, "I won't let go until you bless me!"
Christ died on purpose to save you. Trust Him to take care of your prayer requests. We take our list to God and then we get up and walk away with that list thinking about how we can take care of it. Leave the list at His feet and let Him take care of it. We should take care of His business here on earth (witnessing, praying, preaching, etc), and in so doing we will see Him take care of our desires, requests, and lists. Thou art my help and my deliverer!
He who knows how to master prayer will see the Lord move in every area of his life. Prayer moves the arm that moves the world! We need more wrestling on our knees. We need more prayer warriors. We need to realize that it is our weakness that makes us strong. We need to be resolved to get an answer for our prayers.
Hold on. Be steadfast. Discouragements will come. Brethren will fall away. This should make us more fervent, more eager to pray for them. Still hold on, when all hope seems lost is when the victory is near. I will not let thee go except thou bless me!
The blessing that costs the most prayer will be the most satisfying!
