Effective Praying

On the most basic level, prayer simply refers to people's communication or conversation with God.

The Bible tells us clearly why people should pray. First of all, God commands His followers to pray. God desires our companionship and wants to spend personal time with us. Prayer is the means by which we develop a deeper relationship with God.

Prayer is the necessary connection tat helps us get to know and understand God's plans for our lives, to receive God's blessings and to experience His fulfilled promises. It connects us to God's power and purposes.

Requirements of effective praying: Although prayer is not a particular formula of things to say or do, there are still several conditions that must be met for our prayers to be effective. We must have true and sincere faith that God hears our prayers, that He has the ability to accomplish what is needed and that He will do what He knows is best in the situation.

Prayer also should be made in Jesus' name. This does not mean that we must add "in Jesus' name" to the end of our prayers in order for God to hear us. In the Bible, doing something in someone's name means doing it with their approval and in their authority. It means being aware of who that person is and all they represent. Therefore, as we pray we must do so with an awareness of Jesus' power, compassion and desire to respond to our needs and requests. Praying with this in mind will build our faith and give us peace that He has all things under control. If our prayers are made in harmony with Jesus' character and intentions they can be extremely effective.

The effect of prayer is greatest when we ask those things that re in harmony with God's persect will. Jesus teaches this principle in His model prayer - the Lord's Prayer. Much of the time we know God's will because He has revealed it to us in the Bible. We can be sure that any prayer truly based on the promises and motives of God's Word will be effective. God's will becomes clear only as we seriously seek to understand what His will is. This knowledge comes through prayer, reading the Bible and observing what God seems to be doing already. Then once we feel that we know God's will for a certain issue or situation, we can pray with confidence and faith that God will answer.

Finally, for our prayers to be effective we must be persistent. We must continue to ask until we get our answers. Praying persistently means that instead of worrying about a situation, we take it to God whenever it comes to mind, realizing that He is in control and will do what is best.

Methods of Effective Praying: We must genuinely praise and adore God - not just in words or songs, but from our heart. We also show our thanksgiving and gratitude for who He is and all that He has provided. We should sincerely confess any sin in our lives. God instructs us not to hesitate to ask for what we need. And we must pray with passion for others.

We are to pray with sincerity of our hearts. He does not respond to empty words. We can pray silently or we can pray aloud.

The Bible speaks of people praying in many different positions, including standing, sitting, kneeling, lying on a bed, bowing down to the ground, lying on the ground. We can pray any time, anywhere and in any position