INTRODUCTION
Prayer is the simplest way to communicate with God. Through prayer, we ask God for provision, blessings, guidance and so on. Prayer is our weapon against discouragement, our strength when we are weary, and our healing when we are sick. Prayer is also for our loved ones. But when we pray to God, we need to meet some characteristics in order to be effective before God. In this short article, I will share some characteristics of effective prayer: to pray persistently, pray without doubt, and pray humbly before God.
PRAY PERSISTENTLY
To talk to God in prayer is to communicate to Him all the time, not just whenever we would like to talk to Him at our convenient time. The apostle Paul commanded us to pray unceasingly, “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thess. 5:17 KJV). In bringing out our pleas, requests and petitions we should be consistent. God will grant our requests when we continually pray to Him. Just like the persistent widow in Luke 18 where our Lord Jesus Christ shared a parable to His disciples about her. The purpose of the parable was to remind His disciples to pray continuously and to not lose heart (Lke. 18:1). The parable does not imply that God is reluctant to listen to our prayers. Jesus proceeds with telling the parable,
“2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. 4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. 6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. 7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
To be effective in our prayers it takes a persistent attitude. God is willing to answer our prayers and should be enough motivation for us to be persistent in our prayer life.
PRAY WITHOUT DOUBT
When we pray to God, we must believe that God will answer our prayers. We need to fully trust Him in all that we ask. Our faith should not waver. We should not be double-minded but rather put our whole trust in Him when we pray. We should completely believe in the power and sovereignty of God. James exhorts us to ask God with unwavering faith if we lack wisdom.
“5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” (Jam. 1:5-8)
There should not be room for doubt when we approach God’s throne of grace and mercy, for He is able and more than able to answer our supplication and petition.
PRAY HUMBLY
When we approach the throne of God, we should be humble. The attitude that we need to show God is that we cannot do without Him. We need to pray with all meekness. We need to acknowledge that we are dependent on Him. We must approach Him without pride and arrogance. As an illustration of a humble prayer, Jesus relates the parable of “The Pharisee and the Tax Collector” (Lke. 18:10-14). Jesus said,
“10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
What we can observe here is that the Pharisee was filled with pride, self-exaltation, and self-righteousness. He prayed as though the Lord owed him for his supposedly righteous actions. On the other hand, the Publican acknowledged his spiritual impoverishment and the need for divine help from God.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
In order to be effective in our prayers, we need to be persistent. We should not stop praying as part of our daily communication to God. To ask for answered prayers from God is to fully trust Him regardless of any situation or circumstance we are facing. Our attitude should be right before God when we approach Him in prayer. Indeed, when our hearts are right before God, He will respond in the best way possible.