Prayer without eventual results is a futile religious exercise.  Why bother!

Our vision is to see God’s will accomplished on earth as it is in heaven.  To fully please the Lord we must align ourselves with His ways.  This is uniquely worked out in our personal relationships with the Lord. Then will our prayers be answered, because He loves lavishing His goodies on us. 

The prayers of passionate God-lovers are recorded throughout Scripture.  These men and women, being filled with Holy Spirit and a holy angst, articulated powerful cries for what ought to be accomplished. 

When we read and ingest these prayers, yes internalize the prayers of great men and women in the Bible, we are more likely to become as faith-filled and passionate as they were. 

The impetus is for a growing relationship which spawns answers from dialoging with God.  He longs for an intimate relationship resulting in answered prayer.  For this to happen the subject of our prayers has to be right-on with His Word.  So why not start with the Word, the timeless prayers of saints recorded in Scripture. 

This is going to be good. 

STEP 1:

HUMILITY, GOD’S WILL AND MOTIVES

Approach God with a humble attitude as seen in Luke 18:9-14; “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men— robbers, evildoers, adulterers— or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.  But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Humility is foundational in approaching the Lord.  Let’s ask ourselves two additional questions upon which prayers are answered.  Am I praying in harmony with the will of the Lord, and am I asking with right motives?  Resolve any issues along these lines before moving on to step two.  Pause here and pray about humility, the will of God (the topic of your prayers) and your motives.

STEP 2:

SCRIPTURAL PRAYERS

Prayerfully select the Bible prayers (from the list below) with which you connect.  All of God’s Word is inspired, yet some passages come alive at special moments in our lives.  The verses that embody a fresh glow, a kind of holy buzz, are perfect indicators of God’s will (topic) for your current prayer life.  Follow this leading of the Holy Spirit in discovering the Scriptures that He is illuminating for you. 

Intercession for Nonbelievers: Is. 55:6-8, 2 Cor. 10:3-5; Eph. 5:14-18, Ps. 107

Intercession for Believers: Eph. 1:17-19; Eph. 3:14-19; Col. 1:9-14, 1 Thes. 3:12-13; 2 Thes. 1:11-12, 2 Thes. 2:16-17

Knowledge, Wisdom, Power: Col. 1:9-13

Spiritual Enlightenment: Eph.1:16-23, Phil.1:9-11

Repentance And Revival: Is. 64:1-12, Neh. 1:6-10, 2Chr. 6:35-42, Jer. 3:25

Spiritual Power: Acts 4:29-31

The Lord’s Pattern Prayer: Lk. 11:2-4, Mt. 6:9-13

Your Identity and Calling: Jer. 1:1-19, Ps. 139

Warfare - Against Evil - For Deliverance: Ps. 55, 58, 59, 69, 109, 137, 140 

Personal Repentance And Restoration: Ps. 40, 51

STEP 3:

CONTEXTUAL READING

As you read your portion of Scripture you will find yourself searching the verses before and after your selection to gain a fuller contextual understanding.  Reread and emphasize different words of the verses to glean a more dimensional wisdom.  Meditate on what the Lord is saying and internalize the life of the word.  It’s nourishment to your entire being. 

STEP 4:

PERSONALIZING PRAYER

Read the verse out loud.  Pray the meaning of the words again, but this time translate the passage into own words to express yourself.  This practice generates ownership of the truth for which we pray.  We become personal with our Father, Savior and Holy Spirit.  How good is that!  

STEP 5:

RECORD YOUR EXPERIENCE

We should always treasure the Lord’s word to our hearts.  Young Samuel never allowed God’s word to “fall to the ground” (1Sam. 3:19).  In other words, He treasured his time with the Lord.  Let’s journal our experience and what God is speaking.  This proves to ourselves and the Lord that our relationship with Him is more important than anything else.  He is our life. 

STEP 6:

HEARING THE WORD

A great variation of this prayer adventure happens when you listen to an audio track of the Bible.  Some people find reading a chore while hearing God’s is pleasurable.

Abundant blessings belong to all

who love Him and treasure His word abundantly!