Prayer Secrets
1. Ask in faith.
Matthew 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in
prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
We must pray with the assurance that God is able and willing
to answer.
Jesus required faith of those who came to Him. "If you can
believe, all things are possible..."
We must expect an answer.
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.
2. You must be in an abiding relationship with Christ.
John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye
shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
There is no real formula for prayer. Relationship is the
ultimate key.
As we abide in Him, our nature is changed and our desires
conform to His will.
"If I regard iniquity in my heart, He will not hear me."
3. We must be properly motivated.
James 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that
ye may consume [it] upon your lusts.
If our requests stem from selfishness, God will not grant
them. Our motivation must be to glorify Him.
4. We must ask in accordance with 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:
15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that
we have the petitions that we desired of him.
If we ask God to do what He already wants to do, there should
be no question about His answering.
If we stay in line with His word, and ask in faith, for things
we know God desires, our confidence will be great in receiving.
5. You must live in obedience to God's will.
Psalms 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will
not hear [me]:
Any reason for unanswered prayer is always on the human side.
God promised to answer prayer.
We should often examine our hearts for sin, pride, selfishness,
lack of faith, etc., whatever might hinder prayer.
When Jesus prayed, He always received the answer, because He
was always in the Father's perfect will.
6. You must persist in prayer.
Luke 11:5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a
friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend,
lend me three loaves;
6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have
nothing to set before him?
7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door
is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and
give thee.
8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he
is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give
him as many as he needeth.
9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye
shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Luke 18:2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God,
neither regarded man:
3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying,
Avenge me of mine adversary.
4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself,
Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
Daniel 10:2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.
3 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth,
neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were
fulfilled.
4 And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by
the side of the great river, which [is] Hiddekel;
5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man
clothed in linen, whose loins [were] girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand
the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am
I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood
trembling.
12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day
that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself
before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and
twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help
me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
Evil spirits will detain the answers as long as they can. If
Daniel had given up, the answer would not have come. Answers
to prayer often get intercepted. Satan will never allow an
answer to reach earth if he can prevent it. The enemy yields
only what he must.
Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now
the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take
it by force.
We will take the victory only by aggressive prayer.
7. We need to learn the power and benefits of praise.
There is more emphasis in the Bible on praise than on prayer.
Praise is the highest occupation of angels. Heaven is filled
with praise.
Surely it must be a fitting pattern for earth as well.
Psalm 148-150
Just as antagonism, hostility, and cursing exercises and
strengthens the lower parts of our human nature, worship and
praise of God strengthens the better part of our nature. As
we worship and praise, we are transformed step by step into
His image. Praise decentralizes self.
Another benefit is the sheer power associated with praise.
(2 Chron. 20) It was a spiritual battle. The praise upset
the evil spirits who were influencing the enemy, so they
became disoriented and hysterical and went into a panic.
God dwells in an atmosphere of continual praise. (Psalm 22:3)
His presence is manifested wherever there is praise, and His
presence always expels Satan. Where there is massive,
triumphant praise, Satan is paralyzed and bound.