SUBJECT:  Prayer

QUESTIONS:  How should one pray?  Why are some of my prayers unanswered?  Is the Lord’s Prayer a real prayer?  What makes for effective prayer?  How does God answer prayer and why?

ANSWER:

Prayer is a huge subject but I will attempt to give you some good resource material regarding it.

First about what you read in Chapter 17 of the book, "The Real Jesus":  Mr. Armstrong is talking about the vain types of prayers where people believe that in repeating rote prayers or chanting or doing some sort of ritual that they will have their prayers answered.

Mr. Armstrong goes on to state that answered prayer comes from having a deep relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  It comes from obedience to God and His law.  It comes from being a zealous servant of God in serving your fellow brother and those in need.

Now to answer your question about how to pray or what to pray for.  First, read our booklet, "Answer to Unanswered Prayer" which is located at our web site at:  http://www.garnertedarmstrong.org/pubs/prayer.htm
 

Now in the Bible we know that Jesus gives what has come to be known as the Lord's Prayer but actually this is an outline for prayer and not a prayer itself.  Repeating the Lord's prayer over and over is vain and ineffective.  God wants prayers from the heart.

For the Lord's Prayer (Luke 11), we have this outline of prayer elements:

1)  Recognize who you are speaking to

2)  Recognize that His will and work come first

3)  Ask God for what you need today

4)  Ask for forgiveness

5)  Ask for protection

6)  Give praise to God.

Now we want to answer the question, "What are the requirements for effective prayer?"  Here they are...

REQUIREMENTS FOR EFFECTIVE PRAYER

1) We need to be HUMBLE BEFORE GOD, and express genuine sorrow for our sin.

2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

2) We need to SERIOUSLY SEEK GOD

Jeremiah 29:13

13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

 

3) We need to ASK.

Matthew 7:7

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

4) We need to BELIEVE

Mark 11:24 

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

5)  We need to FORGIVE

Mark 11:25

25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

6) We need a CLEAN HEART

Psalm 66:18

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

7) We need to be UNSELFISH

James 4:3

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

8) We need to DO HIS WILL

1 John 5:14

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

9) We need to be GUIDED BY HIS WORD

1 John 5:14

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.

10) We need to ask IN HIS NAME, both Father and in the name of Jesus Christ

John 16:23

And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

John 15:16

16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

Ephesian 5:20

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now that we have the outline for prayer and the requirements for effective prayer, we need one more section.

HOW DOES GOD ANSWER PRAYER??

God has a plan. Everything that happens in this world is part of that plan.

God is in charge and He has reasons for things happening the way they do. When we ask for something that falls in line with His plan and His goals for us RIGHT NOW, He'll give us what we ask RIGHT NOW.

When we ask for something that we DON'T NEED RIGHT NOW, He may wait until the time is right. God is seldom early, but never late.

How God Answers Prayer

Depending on what we ask, when we ask, and what God is doing, He will answer our prayers in different ways.

His answers will generally be:

     Yes

     Yes, and I'll give you even more than you asked for

     Yes, but not now

     Yes, but not as you expect

     No

     No, but I'll give you something else instead

     Nothing, silence, no answer

As we build our relationship with God, we'll learn to know His voice. We'll learn to know what answer He gives us. A yes, no, or wait will be clear.

 1) Yes

When what we ask is in God's will for us Now, we get what we ask. It may not be right under our noses, but it will be there.

1 John 5:14

14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

2) Yes, and I'll give you more than you asked for

When we're right with God, and we ask according to His will, AND we can be good stewards of what He has for us, He sometimes gives us even more than we ask.

2 Chronicles 1:11-12

11 And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king:

12 Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.

Matthew 25:20-21

20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.

21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Verse 29

For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

 3)  Yes, but not now

Sometimes God makes us wait. Maybe the time isn't right. Maybe we're not yet ready for what He wants us to have.

Maybe He's waiting for us to decide that His INVOLVEMENT in our lives is more important to us than His actual ANSWER.

Maybe we just need a patience lesson. Whatever the case, we sometimes wait.

Job 30:20

I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not.

Job 42:12

So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.

Luke 18:7-8 (ff)

7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily…

Psalm 40:1

I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

 4)  Yes, but not as we expect

Often we pray, and don't see the answers He gives us, because we're looking in the wrong places. We look for the fruit and not the

tree, we want to KNOW without having to LEARN:

     We want Patience without learning how to Wait

     We want Strength without learning how to Overcome Difficulties

     We want Wisdom without learning how to Solve Problems

     We want Prosperity without learning how to Work

     We want Courage without learning how to Face Danger

     We want Favors without learning to Recognize Opportunities

When we ask for these things, God answers by exposing us to situations that TEACHES us what we need to know.

The old adage "be careful what you ask for, you may get it" is useful here.

If you ask God for PATIENCE, He'll make you WAIT, which develops patience.

If you ask for more COURAGE, you'll face DANGER, which develops courage.

If you ask for Wisdom, you'll have PROBLEMS to solve, which develops wisdom.

God is concerned with CHARACTER more than COMFORT. If God needs to put us in uncomfortable situations to teach us what we need to know, He will.

 5)  No

Sometimes God says no. It may be that we're asking for something we can't handle. It may be that we are asking with wrong motives.

James 4:3

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

It may be that He just has other plans for us and our friends.

Sometimes He doesn't heal.

Sometimes He lets someone die. Sometimes He allows us to go through trouble to strengthen us. Sometimes  His purposes and plans are better served by not doing what we ask, even when we plead with tears.

Matthew 26:39

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Verses 45-46

45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

46 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.

 6) No, but I'll give you something else instead

We might be "in love" and pray desperately to have a certain person who, by divine intervention, isn't the one we end up with, and we praise Him in hindsight.

We may plead to continue the work we've been doing for Him, when He needs us somewhere else.

We may desperately seek Him to remove a situation in our lives that is teaching us something we need to teach people about next year.

Whatever the case, sometimes God has something else better or more important for us, and we need to recognize His will and submit to His direction.

Deuteronomy 3:25-27

25 I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon.

26 But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the LORD said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter.

27 Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

2 Cor 12:8-9---Paul’s affliction

8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

7) Nothing, dead silence from God

This is different from a NO.

When God says No to something, we still feel His presence in our lives.

Silence from God is the hardest answer of all. We plead and beg, but feel like God's not there.

When God is turning His face from us, there is something wrong on our end.

Maybe it's a commitment problem, maybe it's a sin we haven't confessed and repented of, maybe we're just trying so hard to solve the problem we're not letting God solve it for us.

We need to let go and let God.

When someone is drowning, a lifeguard will sometimes have to wait until the person is completely out of strength from flailing around trying to save himself before coming to the rescue, else the drowning person takes them both down.

Similarly, God waits patiently for us to stop fighting so He can take care of us.

Psalm 68:19

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.

Isaiah 59:2

But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

Proverbs 28:9

He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.

Hebrews 11:6

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Getting to know God's answers takes time and commitment.

We learn to hear His voice by spending time with Him in prayer, and in His word. The more we rely on Him, the more He answers.

The more He answers, the more we recognize His answers. The better we know Him, the easier it will be to Know what He's doing.

Finally, some words of encouragement,

Turn to Jude 1:20

Jude 1:20

But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 6:18

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

 Let all this be the beginning of your study.  Pray to your Father in Heaven.

Pray in the name of Jesus Christ

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