Treasures
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Learning to communicate with God through prayer requires a conscious decision on our part to make prayer a priority in our lives. In the Bible, we are called to make prayer an integral part of our everyday life, both by “praying without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and by praying intentional and targeted prayers. “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).
Our prayers don’t need to be long or ritualistic prayers to be heard by God. When Jesus’ disciples asked Him to teach them to pray, the model prayer He taught them—known as the Lord’s Prayer—was only sixty-six words (Matthew 6:9–13). On other occasions, Jesus prayed lengthy prayers, such as we read in the Gospel of John in chapter 17, as Jesus fervently prayed for Himself in preparation for His forthcoming suffering and death, for His disciples, and for future believers.
At any time during our day, we can focus our thoughts on the Lord in prayer and receive His strength and inspiration. “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” (1 Chronicles 16:11). We can take advantage of spare moments during the day for short “pray without ceasing” prayers during a coffee break, when stuck in traffic, while waiting for an appointment, cooking, or walking the dog.
Even when we have cultivated the habit of praying while doing other things, quiet times of prayer when we give our full attention to the Lord and seek Him earnestly in prayer are important. As we commit our lives, our loved ones, our work, and our pursuits to God, He gives us His peace and faith for the journey (Isaiah 26:3).
There is no set pattern to follow or magic formula for prayer, but the Bible tells us that “the earnest prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). We are also told to persevere in prayer. “Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1). Our prayers are meant to be earnest and intentional, as we come before the God of the universe—our heavenly Father—in love and reverence.
Following are some foundational principles for prayer in the Bible that we can integrate into our prayer life.
Have a praiseful, thankful attitude. Praise pleases the Lord and leads you into His presence. “Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless His name” (Psalm 100:4). “With thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).
Before expressing our petitions to God, we can start by praising and thanking Him for His love and grace, His infinite mercy, and His work in our lives and the world around us. There will be times, of course, when we don’t particularly feel like praising or thanking God—when we’re sick or in pain, or are down and discouraged, or struggling with challenges, for example—but those are the times it’s most important to praise Him and remind ourselves of His many blessings.
Start with a clean heart. Before we can have faith that the Lord will answer our prayers, we need to ensure that things are right between ourselves and the Lord. “If our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:21–22).
If you feel unworthy of the Lord’s blessing—if your heart condemns you due to unconfessed sin or if you have committed some wrongdoing—acknowledge your sin and guilt, ask the Lord to forgive you, and pledge to try to rectify the matter or be reconciled with any others involved (Matthew 5:23–24). Then stand on His Word that tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). The Lord is quick to forgive, and to hear our prayers (Psalm 103:8–12).
Pray for God’s will to be done. When Jesus’ disciples asked Him to teach them to pray, He taught them to pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9–13). When we bring our petitions to the Lord, we should consider what will please the Lord and advance His kingdom. We acknowledge that while we may be presenting a certain request, He knows best what His will and purposes are for every situation.
When you are doing your best to please the Lord, it pleases Him to grant your heart’s desires in accordance with His will. “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). When your will and His will are in harmony, you can “ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7).
Pray for the needs of others. Prayer for others is an important means of living out the second of the two greatest commands in the Bible to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30–31). God expects us to pray not only for ourselves, but for others, especially for fellow believers. “Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere” (Ephesians 6:18).
Your prayers for people, whether they are believers or have not yet received the Lord, can make a difference in their lives and the world around us. “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life” (1 Timothy 2:1–2).
Be specific. Jesus taught His followers to bring their specific requests to Him. We read of the story of a blind man in the Bible who cried out to Jesus to have mercy on him. Jesus replied by asking him, “What would you have me do for you?” Once the blind man expressed his desire to see, Jesus healed him and said, “Your faith has healed you” (Mark 10:46–52).
The Bible instructs us to present our requests by prayer and petition to our gracious God (Philippians 4:6). The word “petition” is defined as an earnest request made regarding a specific cause to a higher authority. In other words, it is not a vague and random request. “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
Pray wholehearted prayers. Sometimes you may be tempted to wonder why you even need to pray, if God, who is all-knowing, already knows what you need before you ask. It’s true that God knows your needs, as Jesus said, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:7–8).But we are still called to pray, as prayer is first and foremost our means of communion with God.
Prayer is a positive declaration of your faith that God is sovereign and hears and answers our prayers, and that He loves us as beloved children. Jesus taught, “If your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him” (Matthew 7:9–11).
Pray in faith. Through prayer, we can come to our heavenly Father and commit our every care and concern into His care, trusting that He will lovingly act according to His good purposes for our lives (Philippians 2:13). We come to Him in faith.
When two blind men besought Jesus to restore their sight, He asked them if they believed He was able to do so. When they answered yes, He told them that it would be done to them “according to their faith”—and He proceeded to heal them (Matthew 9:27–30). On another occasion, we read of a father desperately seeking healing for his son, who beseeched Jesus, “If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus replied, “If you can? Everything is possible for one who believes.” The father honestly responded by saying, “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief,” after which Jesus healed his son (Mark 9:17–27).
Pray in the name of Jesus. Jesus taught us, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13–14). The Bible also teaches, “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17).
When Jesus came to earth to die for our sins, He became our mediator to God, the Father. The Bible tells us that “there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). This is why Christians pray to God in the name of Jesus.
Claim God’s promises in His Word. God has made promises in His Word to all who believe in Him and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). “God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
When you claim His promises in prayer, it shows you have faith in His written Word. Of course, God’s promises come with conditions. “Whatever we ask, we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22). When we claim His promised “whatever you ask,” we must also do our part to strive to keep His commandments.
Trust in God for the outcome. Every prayer that is in line with God’s will is heard by Him and answered in the way He knows will be best for the situation and people concerned. “This is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him” (1 John 5:14–15).
When prayer seems to go unanswered
God always hears our prayers and answers them, but not always right away and not necessarily in the way we expect Him to. Sometimes His answer is “yes,” sometimes it is “no,” and sometimes He asks us to “wait” for His perfect timing and purposes in a situation. The outcome of prayer can also depend on the decisions and actions of others who are involved, as He has given every person the majesty of choice and free will.
Since God has promised that when we ask for things in accordance with His will, He will give us what we ask for, we can trust that He will respond according to His will, and for our benefit and the benefit of others. If He delays in responding or doesn’t answer in the way we expected, it is important to remind ourselves that prayer is not about getting God to do our will on earth, but rather for His will to be done.
We are to be persistent in prayer (Luke 18:1), as the prayers we never pray will not be answered. In James 4:2, we read: “You do not have because you do not ask God.” Sometimes God may not answer our prayer because He knows that what we’re praying for is not good for us in some way or not good for others. The Bible warns us that if our heart isn’t right, or our motives are selfish, the Lord may not give us what we ask for (James 4:3). At other times, God may not answer our prayers because He has something better planned for us or the conditions aren’t right, or He is working in the lives of others.
Another reason why prayer may seem to go unanswered is that the Lord is at work in our lives, to help us to grow in faith, trust, and patience. “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:7). Patience seems to be one of His most frequent lessons in our lives, and in the process, we learn to place our trust in Him. “But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it with patience” (Romans 8:25).
Whether we see the answer to our prayers in the way we expect or we don’t see the answer to our prayers right away, we can always trust that God has set things in motion to be fulfilled in His time and according to His will. Once we have committed our concerns to the Lord, we can rest in the sure knowledge that God has heard our prayers, and as our loving Father, He cares deeply about everything that concerns us. “With God’s power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20).
Published on Anchor August 2025. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.
