What Is Prayer?

Prayer is conversation, communication and fellowship with God borne out of love and with a consciousness of what God has already done in the sacrifice of His son Jesus.

It is important we understand that the effectiveness or efficacy of prayer doesn’t have much to do with it’s length, how often we pray, or the intensity of our shout but rather it is our faith in God and His word that matters (Hebrews 11:6). Importantly effective prayers must be in line with God’s will, plan and purpose for us.

Talking about length of Prayer, Jesus was a bit disappointed that Peter, and the other 2 disciples couldn’t pray with Him for at least an hour(Matthew 26:40). While this doesn’t in anyway mean that God doesn’t have ears for shorter prayers, it might guide minimum time spent in prayer.

And ofcourse we remember Jesus’ story of the widow who wearied a king with repeated request for same thing (Luke 18:5). So praying about one thing over and over may not guarantee it will receive the expected response, but praying without ceasing is an admonition from scripture we don’t want to forget in a hurry (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Below are five guides for effective prayer.

Prayer Guide #1

• Pray and ask in faith.
  Praying in faith means our expectations are based on God’s Word and trust that we will have them. It involves making request to God and speaking to circumstances in order to make them conform to our desires, without doubts in our heart (Mark11: 22-23). A prayer of faith is backed up by actions (works) and also followed with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving here is an affirmation that we believe we’ve received answers to our prayers.

Prayer Guide #2

• Ask according to the will of God.
  I John 5:14-15 gives us the exclusive privilege that God hears us always when we pray according to His will (His written word). It also means He answers us if we pray according to His stipulated pattern. For example James 5:16b talks about an effectual fervent (heartfelt, specific in purpose, filled with zeal (energy) and fervency, continuous) prayer. Isaiah 43:26 says bring forth your strong reasons. Some prayers require a petition, an agreement, a command or an intercession etc.

Prayer Guide #3

• Pray in the name of Jesus. In John 16:23-24 Jesus said ‘whatever you ask the Father in my name He will give you’. We can alter circumstances, cast out demons and demand for something due us by the authority we have in the name of Jesus.

Prayer Guide #4

• Pray prophetic prayers.
  This refers to the prayer in which you speak the will (mind) and purpose of God into being by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. An example is Jonah’s prayer to God when he was in the belly of the fish. (Jonah 2:1-4). As the Bible says; you shall decree a thing and it shall be established.

Prayer Guide #5

• Offer praise and thanksgiving.
  We activate the power of God at work in us when we praise God and offer thanksgiving to Him. For example, King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20:14-19, Paul and Silas in Acts 16:22-26.

“praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints”
Ephesians 6:18 NKJV

Summarily, we have a Father who is willing and able to meet all our requests. This is our confidence.

“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
I John 5:14 NKJV

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Thank you so much Ada for your article. Indeed, prayer is a life saving skill every Christian should learn. As you rightly pointed out effective prayers are those prayed in the Spirit and according to the Word offered with thanksgiving and in the name of Jesus.

God bless you Ada.

Friends, a few years ago, someone wrote us on Talk With Grace Obomanu, my online Christian Counseling platform on Facebook asking why God hasn’t answered his prayers. Our response to him is shared here …….Why Hasn’t God Answered Me? Be blessed.

Remember you can now publish on Grace Obomanu Blog (under the Christian Life Saving Skills Category). Simply email your articles to graceobomanu@gmail.com. Together we are making known the Beauty and Benefits of our Belief, thereby giving others the opportunity to believe too. That is what the Father’s Business is all about.

Love Always

Grace Obomanu. 

There is always a temptation to hurriedly get to the top, become the recognized owner of a building or an enterprise, to establish a presence, make a name, become known. Nothing wrong with that really, if we are moving at God’s speed and if we have a solid foundation (in God).

when God (not man) establishes our financial integrity, He will entrust us with True Riches to enable us manage whatever Project and Resources (human, material, financial) He (already) planned and designed us for.

He doesn’t just have the answer to What Is My Purpose In Life?, He knew about every stage, every day and every moment of my life.

Going forward, please expect to read highlights of all published articles for the previous month, praise reports and a preview of upcoming events for the next month from this site.

My prayer, my heart cry. My honest desire and hope. All of YOU in me, Jesus.

Every self erased. No hurt harboured, no bitterness, resentment, anger, pain, envy, jealousy. No place in me for the expression of self and carnality. All of YOU Jesus.

All of Your love. All of Your faith. All of your passion and commitment to the Father’s Business. All of Your grace.

All of Your peace. All of the healing You bought for me. All of Your manifest provision and abundance, to accomplish the job You have entrusted to my care. That Your people may know You Jesus. And that they may know the Father. That they may appreciate the dept of Your great love with which You loved them. That they may find hope, love and peace in You. All of You Jesus. Until my job is done.

Done, dusted and delivered fully. Nothing left undone. Done in good health and strength, because the number of my days have been set by You; nothing and no one can change it. I am kept safe in the Father through You Jesus. You renew my youth like the eagle’s. My Lord and Saviour.

Gold, gold, pure gold, that’s how I am coming out. Pure gold, refined by the Master Himself. Fit for purpose. Built to last. Unrestrained, unstoppable, undeterred, undaunted and yet meek and lowly.

All of YOU in me Jesus. All of YOU❤

Praise the Lord ! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.

The Lord builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.

He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.

Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.

The Lord lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground.

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; Sing praises on the harp to our God,

Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains. He gives to the beast its food, And to the young ravens that cry.

He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy.

Praise the Lord , O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!

For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed your children within you. He makes peace in your borders, And fills you with the finest wheat.

He sends out His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly. He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes; He casts out His hail like morsels;

Who can stand before His cold? He sends out His word and melts them; He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow.

He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and His judgments to Israel. He has not dealt thus with any nation; And as for His judgments, they have not known them.

Praise the Lord !

Psalms 147:1‭-‬20 NKJV

Halleluyah

I don’t really know much about the parts of a ship so I cannot say if the stern of every ship is a resting point. What I can say though is that the stern of ship where Jesus lay, asleep in the midst of a storm, was a place of faith, trust, peace and rest.

You know, as I thought about the uneventful ‘disappearance’ of the poisonous serpents, I realized that actually that is how life problems ‘pass away’ as we move our focus away from life’s troubling issues and rightfully fix them on Jesus and His Word.

May I always be a Vessel of Honor. Fit for Purpose. Preserved and Maintained by the Potter