A Life of Prayer

Every believer is called to a life of prayer. Prayer is communion with God as you speak to Him, listen to Him, and hear from Him. A consistent life of prayer is the basis for a life of continual victories. God wants your prayer life to be effective. If a believer will faithfully follow these steps in prayer, he or she can be completely confident that the answer is on the way.

1) Decide what you want from God. Being decisive is important. If a man can’t make up his mind, he is “unstable in all his ways,” and cannot expect to receive anything from God (James 1:6-8). You must get specific and decide what it is you want.

2) Read scriptures that promise the answer you need. In order to be successful in our prayer life, God’s Word must be first in our lives. We must search the scriptures to see what God has to say. His Word shows us His will and reveals His plan.

3) Ask God for the things you want. He tells us to ask Him for the things we need or want. Matthew 7:7 says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” The Philips Translation says, “The one who asks will always receive.”

4)Believe that you receive. Our needs have been provided in Christ Jesus, so when we pray, we are to believe that we have the things that we have asked for. We are to walk by faith and not by sight. The Amplified Bible in Mark 11:24 says, “Believe – trust and be confident - that it is granted to you, and you will get it. We are to ask God for the things that we want and then to believe that we have them.

5) Refuse to doubt. Let every thought and desire affirm that you have what you have asked for. Never permit a mental picture of failure to remain in your mind. Doubt is of the devil and we must resist it (James 4:7).

6) Meditate on the promises. The only way God works is through His Word. Meditate constantly on the promises on which you base your answer to prayer (John 15:7). Many people pray over and over again for the same thing, but they don’t pray according to the Word. Jesus said in 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.”

7) Give God the praise. The final step to getting our prayers answered is to praise Him for what He has done and what He is doing. Make every prayer concerning your need a statement of faith and praise.

It is your family right – your redemptive right to have what God has promised to you. As you practice these steps during times of prayer, you will experience tremendous victory in your prayer life.