Lesson #10. DEVELOPING A SUCCESSFUL PRAYER LIFE

KEY TRUTH: This lesson examines ways to enrich your prayer life in your relationship with the Lord and also teaches the Prayer-Hand illustration to broaden your focus in praying.

I. REAL PRAYER IS AN EXPRESSION OF A RELATIONSHIP:

1. RELATIONSHIPS REQUIRE TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION: In any relationship, if one does all the talking without listening to the other person, there is no real relationship.
2. GOD SPEAKS TO YOU THROUGH THE BIBLE: God gave us a Bible because He longed to communicate with the people He has made. Not surprisingly, throughout the Bible we have a record of God speaking to people and people speaking with God.
3. WHEN YOU DON’T LISTEN TO GOD THERE IS NO RELATIONSHIP: If you do all the talking and rarely take time to listen, your prayers may be earnest, but they will be not engage God (see Jms.4:3). Such praying is an exercise in futility because only God has all the resources at His disposal.
4. GOD HAS SPOKEN THROUGH PROPHETS AND MOST CLEARLY THROUGH JESUS: God has given us all He wants us to know in the Bible (see 2 Pet.1:3-4) – 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the Heir of all things, through whom also He created the world (Heb.1:1-2).
5. YOU MUST STAY CONNECTED TO CHRIST: This is a secret for having power with God. Jesus told His followers – 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples (Jn.15:7-8). We must allow His words to abide in us and be committed to bear fruit for Him. Otherwise it is all about self and not the Lord.

II. PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS TO UNDERGIRD YOUR PRAYING:

• The following truths build on lesson # 7. What you need to know about a Quiet Time.

1. ESTABLISH A REGULAR TIME TO PRAY: Everyone has exactly the same amount of time in a day. The secret is to MAKE time for what is important. If you are too busy to pray, you are busier than God intended you to be!. It is best to establish a regular time in your routine each day – O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch (Ps.5:3 c.f. Mk.1:35).
2. FIND A SUITABLE PLACE TO PRAY: Though it is true that you can pray almost anywhere, it is best to have a special place with few distractions. The reason is that prayer is not a solo but a two-way activity. My prayer location needs a place for my Bible, prayer notes, and prayer plans.
3. WHENEVER POSSIBLE, PRAY OUT LOUD: Before teaching His disciples to pray, Luke records – 1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 And He said to them, “When you pray, say: (Lk.11:1-2). Both John the Baptist and Jesus taught them audible and rational prayers. The disciples heard Jesus agonise in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. You will be quickly distracted if you don’t verbalise your prayers.
4. DEVELOP A PLAN FOR PRAYING: The discipleship lessons have already referred to the ‘ACTS of prayer’: A = Adoration … C = Confession … T = Thanksgiving … S = Special Requests.
   Later we will consider the lesson from the Prayer-Hand illustration. Churches sometimes provide a Praise & Prayer Plan that provides a daily focus for prayer such as for your governmental leaders etc. – 1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way (1 Tim.2:1-2).
5. RECORD REQUESTS IN A NOTEBOOK: There are benefits in keeping records. Some people like to record when they began making requests for a prayer request … and then when God answered that prayer. Such records inspire your faith. Jesus showed that God is swayed by our perseverance in the parable of the persistent widow – will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? (Lk.18:7).
6. KEEP YOUR APPOINTMENT WHATEVER: Most of us pray when we are in need. Such times are often overwhelming which can make praying difficult. Paul reminds us that most of the unseen spiritual battles require the exercise of faith – for we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor.5:7).
7. SEEK OUT A PRAYER PARTNER: The ‘new birth’ is a personal matter. However, we are placed into the body of Christ which has many members (see 1 Cor.12:12-13). There is a special blessing for those that join with others in prayer – 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I among them” (Mt.18:19-20). Modern technology makes this sharing even more accessible.
8. RECALL GOD’S DEALING IN THE PAST: The more we pray, the more will be the answers to prayer. The history of God’s intervention recorded in the Bible and your own repertoire of answered prayer will fire up your faith for future times. Israel was reminded that– not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass (Josh.21:45).
9. JOIN THE PRAYER MEETINGS OF THE CHURCH: Many churches have thrived by calling on God in prayer corporately. Your commitment to the Church Prayer Meeting ensures you spend that time praying with like-minded believers. It is the clearest way of saying that the success of ministry depends on God. Before God anointed the church with power, Jesus commanded His followers – 4 And while staying with them He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, He said, “you heard from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:4-5).

III. PRINCIPLES TO BROADEN YOUR FOCUS IN PRAYING:

1. BEGIN WITH BIBLE STUDY/MEDITATION: Regular prayer without regular Bible study and meditation means we focus on our own desires rather than the will of God. To ensure your prayers and petitions find God’s approval you should – Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth (2 Tim.2:15).
2. LEARN TO LISTEN TO GOD: Praying is a spiritual exercise where we do the talking. God does not normally respond audibly although He longs to speak to us through His Word. Solomon’s advice is wise when he wrote – 1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth … (Ecc.5:1-2).
3. CLAIM THE PROMISES OF GOD: The Bible is full of promises made to God’s people. Many of them can be claimed and can give us confidence in our own faith journey. Promises are crucial to help us grow since – 3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, 4 by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature … (2 Pet.1:3-4). When we ask for forgiveness, we should thank the Lord that He has already done what He has promised (see Col.2:13; 1 Jn.1:9; 2:1-2).
4. OBEY THE PRINCIPLES OF GOD’S WORD: Some of the most lofty teaching on the power of prayer was given by Jesus. However, all these promises are conditional upon: Keeping His commandments, obedience, praying in His name and for His sake and glory (see Jn.14:13-15; 15:7, 16).
5. PRAISE GOD FOR WHO HE IS: God is the supreme partner in our relationship. Reminding ourselves about His greatness and glory will increase our confidence that our prayers can make a difference. When Jeremiah was shown that God would restore Israel, he prayed – 17 ‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is You who have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you. 18 You show steadfast love to thousands, but You repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts, 19 great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds (Jer.32:17-19).
6. THANK GOD FOR WHAT HE HAS DONE: In a similar vein, we should rehearse the many ways that God has answered the prayers of His people as recorded in the Bible and in our own experience. Paul urged the Philippians – do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God (Phil.4:6 c.f. 1 Thes.5:18).
7. CONFESS YOUR FAULTS AND FAILURES: We should keep ‘short accounts’ with God. This means we may need to begin with confession to remove guilt distractions. Gaining a clear conscience before the Lord is indispensable for effective praying. John explained it this way – 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him (1 Jn.3:21-22).
8. INTERCEDE FOR OTHERS AND YOURSELF: It is natural to bring petitions and special requests before God for ourselves. We should also interceded for others … our family & friends, our ministry & discipleship group, our small group & church leaders, other missions & the needy at home & abroad, and civil & world leaders. Prayer Lists and Praise & Prayer Plans can assist to keep our focus on others. Jesus gave many parables to teach us to keep praying – And He told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart (Lk.18:1).
9. MAKE YOUR REQUESTS IN FAITH: Prayer is energised by faith for – 6 without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him (Heb.11:6). Prayer is spiritual warfare that battles against doubts, distractions, fears, and failures. You must wrestle through to victory. Paul described this to the Corinthians – 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead … 11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many (2 Cor.1:9-11).
10. THE BLESSING OF PRAYING THE SCRIPTURES: Many Scriptures lend themselves to praying interactively. For instance: 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? [I AM SO GRATEFUL NO ONE CAN SUCCESSFULLY OPPOSE ME SINCE YOU ARE FOR ME] 32 He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? [KNOWING YOU DID NOT WITHHOLD EVEN YOUR ONE AND ONLY SON FROM ME CONVINCES ME THAT THERE IS NO LIMIT TO THE BLESSINGS YOU HAVE IN STORE FOR ME] 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies [SINCE YOU HAVE GIVEN ME A RIGHT STANDING WITH YOU, I AM CONVINCED THAT THERE CAN BE NO JUSTIFIABLE CHARGE AGAINST ME] (Rom.8:31-33) etc. You can also pray interactively like this with the Bible verses you learn.

    The WORD-HAND illustration is a tool that can further enhance your prayer life.