Opening your Heart to God in Prayers

Prayer: Opening your Heart to God in Prayers

Prayer is how we communicate with our Heavenly Father. Prayer is a medium through which we seek the face of God for interventions in our lives. God has given us the gift of prayer to make things easier for us on earth but many are not making full use of it. A number of people have complained that their prayers don’t get answered, they do it just for religious sake.

Imagine a person who prays to God and always receives answers from God, what relationship do you think such a person will end up having with God? A very healthy one of course. Is it possible for prayers not to be answered? Oh yes, it is. As I have always written, the kingdom of God operates on principles. Knowing and following these principles makes life easy for you.

What to do for your prayers to be answered

There are some things to take note of in order to have a wonderful time with God in prayer.

1) Be a child of God.

John 10: 27 says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me”. 1 Peter 3: 12 says, “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. Another verse says, ” the prayer of a sinner is an abomination unto God”. We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. It is important we confess our sins before God and turn away from them before we come to Him in prayer.

There are some hindrances to our prayers such as unforgiveness, adultery, covetousness, in essence, all kinds of sin. How do you expect God to forgive you when you have not forgiven the people around you? Remember that God searches the heart and He knows the intent and purpose of man’s heart so He knows those that are sincere and truly want to turn away from their sins. These people will get answers from God.

Other things to do

2) We approach God in prayer boldly and with thanksgiving.

We thank Him for all He has done for us and all He will do. The Word of God says we should enter His gates with thanksgiving and His court (i.e going further) with praise. God always waits for our appreciation whenever He does something for us. Don’t take things for granted. Anytime you see God’s hand don’t delay your thanks in order to see greater things.

3) The Kingdom comes first.

Before we get to our needs, it’s wisdom to pray that God’s will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Remember how Jesus taught us how to pray in Matthew 6 vs 9- 13

Vs 9- Thanksgiving

Vs 10- The Kingdom of God (God’s will).

Vs 11- This is our supplication i.e what we want.

Vs 12- Forgiveness so that our prayers can be answered.

Vs 13- Protection and then ending with thanksgiving i.e you start with thanks and end with thanks.

Ingredients for Prayer

Faith

Apart from thanksgiving, another ingredient we need for our prayers to be answered is faith. Faith is a potent force that can deliver on its own. Yes, this is how strong faith is. It’s not about how lone we pray or how loud we shout but the faith content in our prayers. Someone can pray for 1 hour and get no results while another person can pray for 5 mins and get instant results.

Examples are in the Bible. When Jesus healed the sick, cast out demons and raised the dead, He didn’t waste much time because His faith level was up to the task at hand.

Also, when Elijah called fire from Heaven, he didn’t waste time. Prayer is not one-sided, whenever we pray we should listen to the instruction God has for us. His instruction may or may not be palatable and it’s only until we obey His instructions before we can see results.

Furthermore, in most cases what people pray for needs just obedience. If we obey God, we won’t need to pray about such matters. Another secret to answered prayers is praying for others. You can’t make things happen for others and God will not also make the same happen for you. It’s still under the covenant of sowing and reaping.

Final Note on prayer

Make a list of the things you are believing God for, rather than pray for yourself, located those people in the same shoe as yours and pray for them. In no time, you will see results. An example is Job, when he prayed for His friends, God turned his captivity around (Job 42: 10). We can also see this with Abraham (Genesis 20 vs 17- 18, Genesis 21 vs 1-2).

Sure you have enjoyed this post. To access the previous post, check here. You can join our Facebook community and to get in touch, please fill the form below.

Stay Blessed.

Oluchi.