There is no other area of your life that can impact your faith to a greater degree than prayer. Seek to live a life of prayer, and it is there that the Lord will meet you.
The measure of your faith is the height of your prayers when nobody is watching. Anyone can fool men, but nobody can fool God. The test of faith is always your eyes on God, not men’s eyes on you.
It is what you do in secret that reveals who you are. Jesus taught, “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6).
The degree that Christ reigns in you is the degree that your prayers are not about yourself.
The more prayer you add to your life, the more your life has the fullness of God. It is by prayer you can reach God, and likewise it is by prayer that God can reach you. The Lord Jesus taught, “…that men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1).
If you loved the Lord with all your heart, then your prayer time would be such that you don’t rush through it, but must be ripped away from it. To pray more, love the Lord more.
The measure by which God moves in your life is the degree to which your life is devoted to Him in prayer. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8).
If you have never wept in prayer, I question if you have ever really prayed at all. To pray in the Spirit you must let go of everything you hold onto in the natural.
If you would pray more than you prepare, you would accomplish beyond the limit of you. An effective prayer never depends upon you. “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14).
Fasting consecrates you from the world. Praying consecrates you to God. Either by itself is beneficial, but together they will change who you are.
There are many who speak of prayer and fasting, but the rare few who actually do it. Be one of those rare few, and watch how the Lord will change lives around you through your prayers.
Stop praying like an orphan, but as a child of God. “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Galatians 4:6-7).
There is a divine order of things whereby we discover prayer is more effective than our efforts. This is because our efforts rely upon ourselves, whereas prayer relies solely upon God. Pray more than you do, and you will do more than you thought possible.
It is the Devil’s ploy that you would serve God more than spend time with Him. “Now it came to pass in those days that He [Jesus] went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12). If Jesus needed so much time with the Father, how much more do we?
When people tell you that you don’t have a prayer, simply fall to your knees and prove them wrong.
Even when it seems you do not have a prayer, pray. Be a saint that is “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer” (Romans 12:12).
So long as prayer is your last resort, you stand alone on the front lines of your circumstances. Pray as big as God is. A believing prayer warrior is a dangerous thing in the midst of an evil world.
It is to our detriment that we do not think of prayer as a conversation but an exhortation. Learn to pray with your mouth closed and your ears wide open. Consider that you do not hear from God because you do not listen. Do not be like “Those who have turned back from following the Lord, and have not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him. Be silent in the presence of the Lord God…” (Zephaniah 1:6-7).
Anybody can pray to God, but it is the righteous ones that He listens to. “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil” (1 Peter 3:12). To pray better, live better. To live better, surrender more.
The sign of a maturing saint is that they are no longer surprised that their prayers are answered.
Praying the Lord’s blessings upon you,
Paul
needed this! thank you brother. god bless you and your writing.
Your welcome my sister. I just read your testimony and I am so impressed with how far the Lord has brought you. Keep pressing in. Stay in the Word. The Lord has a calling on your life. He always be with you. We have a wonderful Jesus!