Past Prayer Questions

Latest Prayer Question

Is prayer in groups as important as praying individually?

My Answer
Both are important. It is good to come together and pray together as one body in Christ so we can support each other.

Bible’s Answer
They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers (Acts 1:14).

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42).

Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them (Matthew 18:19-20).

Additional Answers

1. The Bible calls Christians a “body.” This means that they work best when they work together, like the different parts of a body. When believers pray together, they strengthen and encourage each other. They complement each other. And they can share prayer requests and pray for each other. It is powerful. Daryl J. Luca
2. Whatever the specific shape of our life together, it is of utmost importance that we pray in community. While prayer is often private and personal, it is never outside the reality of the worshiping, praying fellowship. In fact, we cannot sustain a life of prayer outside the community. Either we will give it up as futile, lacking the support and watchful care of others, or we will make it into a thing of our own. Richard J. Foster
3. If added power attends the united prayer of two or three, what mighty triumphs there will be when hundreds of thousands of consistent members of the Church are with one accord day by day making intercession for the extension of Christ's Kingdom. John R. Mott
4. According to my humble judgment, the greatest need of the present-day church is prayer. Prayer should be the vital breath of the church, but right now it is gasping for air. J. Vernon McGee

Your Answer
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Where is God when you pray?

My Answer
Wherever you are, God is listening to your prayers. God is everywhere. God is a spirit. Also, God is in heaven. Where is heaven? Heaven is to be in the presence of God.

Bible’s Answer
Praise the LORD, all His works everywhere in His dominion. Praise the LORD, O my soul (Psalm 103:22).

Your Answer
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How can prayer help with my relationship with God?

My Answer
Many people keep a record of answers to their prayers. By doing so, they learn how personally God is involved in their lives, thus deepening their relationship with their Lord. Finally, it comes down to trusting God’s promises to answer prayers. Trust perfected is prayer perfected.

Bible’s Answer
But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit (Jude 1:20).

Additional Answers
1. First and foremost, prayer is talking to your Father in heaven and getting to know Him…. How do you develop and grow in your relationship with God? The same way you do with anyone else. You spend time together.  John Maxwell.
2. When God is deaf to our prayers, it is we who are unable to hear or understand.  Andrew Steinmann
3. The primary purpose of prayer is to bring us into such a life of communion with the Father that, by the power of the Spirit, we are increasingly conformed to the image of the Son.  Richard J. Foster
4. I can take my telescope and look millions of miles into space, but I can lay my telescope aside, get down on my knees in earnest prayer and I can see more of Heaven and be closer to God than when I am assisted by all the telescopes and human powers on the face of the earth.  Isaac Newton

Your Answer
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WHY DO WE END PRAYERS WITH "AMEN"?

My Answer

At the end of a prayer the “Amen” expresses the genuineness of the petition. The word amen means the same thing as "So let it be" or "It is true." It is a word that tells God we have said a prayer that we really meant. It shows that we believe God has heard our prayer and will answer it in His perfect way. "Amen" reminds us that God always has everything under control, even the hard things.

Bible’s Answer

Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the LORD (Psalm 106:48).

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen (Revelation 22:20-21).

Additional Answers

1. Each time we pray the prayer Jesus taught, we can end with a strong, confident, and joy-filled “Amen.” This is our statement of faith to our gracious heavenly Father who, because of Christ’s work, accepts our prayers in spite of our sins.  Dean Hempelmann

2. By not believing Him, we insult God’s truthfulness, the same truthfulness we rely on when we pray. This is why we say the little word Amen at the end of our prayers. We use it to express our firm, heartfelt faith. It’s like saying, “O God, I have no doubt that you will give me what I ask for in prayer.” Charles Swindoll

3. For at the end of your prayers, you say Amen with heartfelt confidence and faith. When you say Amen, the prayer is sealed, and it will be certainly heard. Without this ending, neither the beginning nor the middle of the prayer will be of any benefit. Charles Swindoll

4. Finally, note that you must always say “Amen” strongly, with all faith, and without doubt that God certainly does hear you and says “yes” to your prayer. Do not think for a moment that you kneel and stand there in prayer alone. You need to realize all of Christendom, that is, all pious Christians, are with you, and you among them, in unanimous, unified prayer, which God cannot disdain. Do not leave from your prayers unless you have then said or thought: “Well then, this prayer has been heard by God. I know this for certain and for true.” That is what Amen means. Martin Luther (A Simple Way to Pray)

Your Answer
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HOW SPECIFIC SHOULD ONE BE IN PRAYER?

My Answer

Bring all your problems big or small to the Lord in prayer. Leave the solutions up to Him.

Bible’s Answer

Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom" (Luke 23:42).

Additional Answers

1. I challenge you to exceed in prayer the Master's bounty. Lance Wubbles
2. 8 Things to Pray For.
1. Ourselves                                       Gen. 24: 12; Matt. 14:30; Luke 23: 42
                        2. One another                                   James 5:16; Rom.1: 9
                        3. Pastors                                           Eph. 6: 19-20; Col.4:3
                        4. Sick believers                                 James 5: 14-15
                        5. Rulers                                             1 Tim. 2: 1-3
                        6. Our enemies                                  Matt. 5: 44; Acts 7: 59, 60
                        7. Israel                                              Ps. 122: 6; Isa.62: 6
                        8. All men 1 Tim. 2: 1

— H.L Willmington

3. It would not be surprising, and surely should not be so, for a Christian to appeal to God in prayer every hour and to grant Him no rest; for He speaks so graciously to us, constantly appeals to us, and says: Ask, seek, knock (Matt. 7:7). Oh, that we were as diligent in praying (at least with the sighing of our heart) as God is in inciting, inviting, commanding, promising, and urging us to pray! Ah, we are altogether too lazy and unthankful! God forgive us, and strengthen our faith for us. Amen.  Martin Luther

4. He who does not see the need for prayer evidently goes through life with closed eyes. Martin Luther

Your Answer

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IF I HAVE NOT PRAYED BEFORE, WHAT COULD YOU RECOMMEND ME TO DO?

My Answer
Commit your life to Christ by admitting you are sinful and cannot succeed without Him. God will welcome you. We pray to God, through Jesus, and in the Spirit. You don’t have to think up something to say to your heavenly Father. Just be honest and talk about what’s going on in your heart and life. Faith and prayer are two sides of a coin. One is not without the other. Faith opens the way for approaching God in prayer.
Bible’s Answer
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

Additional Answers
1. How do we learn to pray? When Jesus was asked by His disciples how to pray, He did not teach them any methods or techniques. He said that we should speak to God as to our Father, a loving Father. Let us say this prayer and live it. Our Father… Mother Teresa (Jaya Chaliha and Edward LeJoly)
2. How do we learn to pray? By praying. It is very hard to pray if one does not know how. We must help ourselves to learn. Pray with absolute trust in God's loving care for you, and let Him fill you with joy that you may preach without preaching. Mother Teresa (Jaya Chaliha and Edward LeJoly)
3. To pray the prayer of faith we must, first of all, study the Word of God, especially the promises of God, and find out what the will of God is and build our prayers on the written promises of God. R. A. Torrey
4. And to learn of prayer is at the same time to learn faith. Walter Wangerin, Jr.
5. … our preparation (for prayer) must be a genuine humility! Walter Wangerin, Jr.
6. Faith and prayer are so inter-linked that faith is prayer and prayer is faith. You cannot separate them. You could not have the one without the other. A. Lindsay Glegg
7. Thus faith is kept alive by prayer, and every step taken, in this adding grace to grace, is accompanied by prayer. E. M. Bounds
8. The faith which creates powerful praying is the faith which centers itself on a powerful person. Faith in Christ’s ability to do and to do greatly, is the faith which prays greatly. E. M. Bounds
9. Faith in Christ is the basis of all working, and of praying is done in the name of Jesus Christ. E. M. Bounds
10. Talking to God without faith is not true intercession. Faith submits your need to the will of God and lays hold of the power of God. Faith honors God, and God delights to respond to faith. Wesley L. Duewel
11. The one thing that He (Jesus) emphasized about prayer, repeatedly and forcefully, was the importance, of faith in Him and His word rather than self-confidence and the presumption of spiritual expertise, Jesus taught that God-pleasing prayer depended entirely on Him rather than the person at prayer. John W. Kleinig

Your Answer
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HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET A RESPONSE FROM GOD?

My Answer
It may be a lifetime. The story is told that a man prayed all his life that a friend might become a believer. It didn’t happen until the unbeliever came to the believer’s funeral.

Bible’s Answer
Then He said to them, “suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’”

Then the one inside answers, “Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.” I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

So I say to you: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Luke 11:5-9).

Additional Answers
1. Patience perseveres in prayer until the gift bestowed in heaven is seen on earth. Andrew Murray
2. A lack of endurance is one of the greatest causes of defeat, especially in prayer (Gal 6:9).  Dutch Sheets
3. He often answers quickly! In almost every case in Scripture, whether it is the praying of a blind beggar, a leper, a Roman centurion, a woman in Syria, a close disciple or a far out prodigal -- Jesus is ready to answer. There is no record of Jesus turning anyone down!  Armin Gesswein
4. I myself have for twenty-nine years been waiting for an answer to prayer concerning a certain spiritual blessing…Thus, you see, dear reader, that while I have hundreds, yes, thousands of answers, year by year, I have also, like yourself and other believers, the trial of faith concerning certain matters.  George Mueller

Your Answer

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HOW COME GOD SOMETIMES DOESN'T ANSWER PRAYER?

My Answer
No one person really knows why sometimes God doesn’t answer prayers the way we think they should be. We have to trust that what He does is the best for us and for the rest of the world. Sometimes we just ask for the wrong thing. Sometimes our own character would not give Him glory if we received what we asked to be given. Sometimes it is unconfessed sin hindering our prayer life.

Bible’s Answer
The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases Him (Proverbs 15:8).

But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear
(Isaiah 59:2).

Additional Answers
1. 11 Hindrances to Prayer
                        1. Unconfessed sin Ps. 66: 18
                        2. Insincerity Matt. 6: 5
                        3. Carnal motives James 4: 3
                        4. Unbelief James 1: 5-6
                        5. Satanic activity Dan. 10: 10-13
                        6. Domestic problems 1 Pet. 3: 7
                        7. Pride Luke 18: 10-14
                        8. Robbing God Mal. 3: 8-10
9. Refusing to submit to Biblical teaching. Prov. 1: 24-28; 28: 9; Zech. 7: 11-14
10. Refusing to forgive or to be forgiven Matt. 5: 23-24; 6:12, 14
11. Refusing to help Prov. 21: 3; John 3:16-17
       — H.L. Willmington

2. He sorts and answers our prayers based on what is best for Him. What is best for God is in turn always best for us.  Leith Anderson
3. ... central issue of unanswered prayer - trusting God.  Leith Anderson
4. In everything He acts with a higher priority on achieving our good than on simply granting our prayers.  Leith Anderson
5. If He’s going to answer our prayers God wants to be even more than our partner. He expects to be the Chief Executive Officer of our lives.  Leith Anderson
6. Remember - God is too wise to ever make a mistake and too kind to ever do anything cruel.  Leith Anderson
7. He promises most plainly and positively to answer the prayers of those who believe on Jesus Christ, but never does He promise to answer the prayers of those who do not believe on Jesus Christ.  R. A. Torrey

Your Answer

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WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE BIBLE IN PRAYER?

My Answer
God works through His word to strengthen our faith. His Word can also guide our prayer life. Try reading Scripture, and then pray your own prayer for whatever person God brings to your mind concerning the topic of the Scripture read. It can and does become a thrilling, stimulating, inspirational time.

Bible’s Answer
(Pray this prayer of Paul’s for someone you know. I have especially prayed this prayer for our sons.)
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:9-14).

Additional Answers
1. If our prayers are not responses to Scripture--formed and shaped by Scripture--we will soon be drifting away in our own self-centered concerns and will find that our prayer lives are dry and empty. A. L. Barry
2. If we would feed the fire of our prayers with the fuel of God’s Word, all our difficulties in prayer would disappear. Cynthia Heald
3. (Luther stresses the close connection between prayer and use of God’s Word.) This is
another good thing about prayer. If you use it and practice it and thus ponder the Word
of his promise, your heart keeps getting stronger and firmer in its confidence, and finally
gets much more than it would have otherwise.  Martin Luther (LW 21, 233).
4. Prayer and the Word are inseparably linked together, for I can’t pray intelligently about his plans unless I understand what His Word says. John MacArthur
5. If you can read the Word of God and not be driven to prayer, you’re not listening to what you’re reading. John MacArthur
6. The Word generates prayer, because when it speaks of God, we long to commune with Him. When it speaks of blessing, we long to praise Him. When it speaks of promise, we long to receive it. When it speaks of sin, it leads us to confess it. And when it speaks of hell, it leads us to pray for the lost. The Word of God causes prayer. John MacArthur
7. "To have prayed well is to have studied well" was a wise sentence of Luther's. Lance
Wubbles
8. Here, let it be said, that no two things are more essential to a spirit-filled life than Bible-reading and secret prayer… The study of the Word and prayer go together, and where we find the one truly practiced, the other is sure to be seen in close alliance. E.M. Bounds
9. The Holy Spirit enables us to understand Scripture and turn it into proper prayer. Thus, prayer that is kingdom-focused will not be merely sentimental; it will be scriptural. Archie Parrish
10. A man may study because his brain is hungry for knowledge, even Bible knowledge. But he prays because his soul is hungry for God.  Leonard Ravenhill
11. The mightier any is in the Word, the more mighty he will be in prayer. William Gurnall
12. The special Book that you need to read is compilation of sixty-six smaller books. This Book contains literally thousands of promises made to you from God Himself. This Book is so powerful that people have died for its message. It is not a Book written by man but a Book that is written by God. I was breathed into existence by a personal and perfect God. Therefore, it is a perfect Book. This Book is called the Bible. Ronnie W. Floyd
13. We have said that when we respond in trust to the Word of God, then prayer becomes a conversation with God.Timothy Keller

Your Answer

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOUR PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED?

My Answer
This answer comes from Rev. Bill Hybels: First, is the answer consistent with Scripture? Second, is it consistent with the gifts, talents and interest He has given me? Third, is it leading me into servanthood and not self-interests?

Bible’s Answer
'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know' (Jeremiah 33:3).

Additional Answers
1. The Bible is the final and true dictionary by which we can accurately interpret God’s speaking unto us. Walter Wangerin, Jr.
2. And how do I know He (God) has heard and will answer? Because the burden in my heart will lift. I will feel released from it. In fact, I will keep praying until I am released from the burden, and then I transition into the waiting mode. … And how do you know what He wants to give you? You base your prayer on God’s Word. Then you hold Him to it through prevailing prayer. Anne Graham Lotz
3. Well, as you have most likely observed, sometimes God answers with a large, instantaneous miracle, and everything is resolved at once; most of the time, however, change comes gradually, in small increments. Ed Strauss
4. One reason it takes time for God to answer prayer is because things must happen at a certain time – and if we learn patience and persevering faith in the process, these are definite benefits. … Another reason… is because He’s using the circumstances to work out a plan that we couldn’t have even imagined. Ed Strauss
5. You should stop asking God for something when you know that He’s definitely sent the answer. When you know that God has answered your prayers, that’s when it’s time to stop asking Him and to start thanking Him. Ed Strauss
6. Continue in prayer, and though the blessing tarry, it must come; in God’s own time it must appear to you. C. H. Spurgeon
7. I never prayed sincerely and earnestly for anything but it came at some time; no matter at how distant a day, somehow, in some shape, probably the least I would have devised, it came. Adoniram Judson
8. Hearing God makes sense only in the framework of living in the will of God. … We must therefore make it our primary goal not just to hear the voice of God but to be mature people in a loving relationship with him. Only in this way will we hear him rightly. Dallas Willard
9. Strange as it may sound, we need unanswered prayer. It is God’s gift to us because it protects us from ourselves.Jerry Sittser

Your Answer

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DOES GOD REALLY LISTEN?

My Answer
He has called you his beloved child. In Jesus He has demonstrated that He loves you. A loving Father listens to his child. Having heard you pray, He will answer. The Lord never referred to unanswered prayer. He taught that prayers were always answered and therefore He must listen.
There is power in prayer because He listens not because we speak.

Bible’s Answer
Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear (Isaiah 65:24).

Additional Answers
1. Not only does Jesus give us the invitation, but He himself makes a way for such praying….  Walter Wangerin, Jr.
2. … it is the listening of the Lord God which makes our mumble a prayer….  Walter Wangerin, Jr.
3. What you utter God hears. What God hears becomes through grace and compassion a prayer.  Walter Wangerin, Jr.
4. We can commune through prayer with a God who is powerful, majestic, faithful, loving, holy, and gracious.  John MacArthur
5. The first reason for not praying to a false god is that there is not another god who can hear and answer...There is one God…  Edith Schaeffer

Your Answer

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TO WHOM SHOULD WE PRAY?

My Answer
Direct your prayers to the Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We should not pray to idols, saints or anything God has created.

Bible’s Answer
We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true. And we are in Him who is true--even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Dear children, keep yourselves from idols (1 John 5:20-21).

Additional Answers
1. The Scriptures also clearly indicate that only prayer offered to God through our Lord Jesus Christ is acceptable to God (John 14:6, 13-14). A. L. Barry
2. You are to look closely at this command and stress it, that you do not consider prayer an optional work and act as if it were no sin for you not to pray and as if it were enough that others pray. You should know that praying is earnestly enjoined, with the threat of God's supreme displeasure and punishment if it is neglected. It is enjoined just as well as the command that you should have no other gods and should not blaspheme and abuse God's name but should confess and preach, laud and praise it. He who does not do this should know that he is no Christian and does not belong in the Kingdom of God. Martin Luther (What Luther Says 2:1075, entry #3432)
3. Who is it to whom people pray? It did matter then, and it does matter now (I Kings 18:18-24). Edith Schaeffer
4. It is the prayer that is to God the Father, through Jesus Christ the Son, under the guidance and in the power of the Holy Spirit that God the Father answers. R. A. Torrey
5. God the Father commanded that we begin our mission activity in prayer. Jesus the Son demonstrated that the work of the atonement began in prayer. And the Holy Spirit empowered the early church because the believers prayed first. John F. DeVries

Your Answer

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IF I HAVE NOT PRAYED BEFORE, WHAT COULD YOU RECOMMEND ME TO DO?

My Answer
Commit your life to Christ by admitting you are sinful and cannot succeed without Him. God will welcome you. We pray to God, through Jesus, and in the Spirit. You don’t have to think up something to say to your heavenly Father. Just be honest and talk about what’s going on in your heart and life. Faith and prayer are two sides of a coin. One is not without the other. Faith opens the way for approaching God in prayer.
Bible’s Answer
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

Additional Answers
1. How do we learn to pray? When Jesus was asked by His disciples how to pray, He did not teach them any methods or techniques. He said that we should speak to God as to our Father, a loving Father. Let us say this prayer and live it. Our Father… Mother Teresa (Jaya Chaliha and Edward LeJoly)
2. How do we learn to pray? By praying. It is very hard to pray if one does not know how. We must help ourselves to learn. Pray with absolute trust in God's loving care for you, and let Him fill you with joy that you may preach without preaching. Mother Teresa (Jaya Chaliha and Edward LeJoly)
3. To pray the prayer of faith we must, first of all, study the Word of God, especially the promises of God, and find out what the will of God is and build our prayers on the written promises of God. R. A. Torrey
4. And to learn of prayer is at the same time to learn faith. Walter Wangerin, Jr.
5. … our preparation (for prayer) must be a genuine humility! Walter Wangerin, Jr.
6. Faith and prayer are so inter-linked that faith is prayer and prayer is faith. You cannot separate them. You could not have the one without the other. A. Lindsay Glegg
7. To paraphrase Luther’s little treatise – he tells us to build on our study of the Scripture through meditation, answering the Word in prayer to the Lord. As we do that, we should be aware that the Holy Spirit may begin “preaching” to us. When that happens, we must drop our routines and pay close attention. Timothy Keller
8. Talking to God without faith is not true intercession. Faith submits your need to the will of God and lays hold of the power of God. Faith honors God, and God delights to respond to faith. Wesley L. Duewel

Your Answer

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HOW POWERFUL IS PRAYER?

My Answer
Jesus answered the disciples’ question as to why they couldn’t do miracles: their faith was too small. Yes, prayer is powerful. There is no measuring stick for its limits. Prayer can do anything that God wants to do.

Bible’s Answer
He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20).

Additional Answers
1. "When you give your life to prayer, your name goes on a bulletin board in hell." (Dick Simmons) Brad Long & Doug McMurry
2. He wants them to understand that prayer is not to be selfish; it is the power through which blessing can come to others. Andrew Murray
3. The most under-utilized source of spiritual power in our churches today is intercession for Christian leaders. C. Peter Wagner
4. He usually answers big. His answers are much larger than our asking! God is not small! He is never stingy! Along with every answer He gives us more than the answer. Saul of Tarsus was both filled with the Holy Spirit and healed of blindness at his conversion, when he had simply prayed, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6)  Armin Gesswein
5. Christ never said the mountain would be removed. But He did promise that the mountain would move. Every mountain I’ve ever faced – and there have been a few – has moved when I prayed on the positive-thinking level. Robert H. Schuller
6. The power of prayer is like turning on a light as it illuminates God's purpose for our lives. There is no greater connection to knowing His will other than the word. Thomas Kinkade
7. Prevailing prayer is God’s ordained means for extending His kingdom, for defeating Satan and his empire of darkness and evil, and for fulfilling God’s eternal plan and bringing into effect His good will on earth. Wesley L. Duewel

Your Answer
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WHY IS PRAYER IMPORTANT?

My Answer
Prayer helps a person reach his/her potential in serving God in the short time that one lives here on earth. We do not pray to God to impress Him. We do not pray to inform God but to invite God into our lives. He also commands us to pray.

Bible’s Answer
He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with Him in trouble, I will deliver Him and honor Him (Psalm 91:15).
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up (Luke 18:1).

Additional Answers
1. (I’m going to use an answer given to me by teacher Jack Moon of Seoul Foreign School and a few of his students he mentored: “We have been looking at sections of a book entitled The Complete Works of E.M. Bounds on Prayer. It has been motivating to say the least.”)
Prayer gives us perspective on life: it establishes our God's sovereignty and our need for Him; it places us in a position of humility.
Prayer helps us set our priorities: in the tyranny of the urgent it allows us to weigh the importance of relationships and activities in terms of eternal significance.
Prayer establishes our faith: by interceding specifically we allow God to act on our behalf confirming his reality in our lives.
Prayer spurs us to action: it allows us to be aware of needs and sensitive to issues that demand our attention as well as God's.
Prayer sustains us when little else can: God knows we are by nature ones who
vacillate in our commitment; prayer confirms his faithfulness and spurs us on.
2. (E.M.) Bounds considers prayer for pastors so important that he says, “Air is not more necessary to the lungs than prayer to the preacher.” C. Peter Wagner
3. There is a twofold use of prayer. One is to obtain strength and blessing for our own lives. The other is the higher and true glory of prayer ...intercession... Andrew Murray
4. John Calvin was not exaggerating when he said that it is almost impossible to explain how necessary prayer really is. C. Peter Wagner
5. Therefore let the man who fails to pray not imagine that he is a Christian. Martin Luther (SL 9, 1254)
6. For indeed, the Christian Church on earth has no greater power or work… What matters is not the places or buildings where we assemble but unconquerable prayer alone, and our really praying together and offering it to God. Martin Luther (LW 44, 66)
7. (Speaking of prayerful meditation on the Word) - Make room for such thoughts, listen in silence and under no circumstances obstruct them. The Holy Spirit himself preaches here, and one word from his sermon is far better than a thousand of ours. Many times I have learned more from one prayer than I might have learned from much reading and speculation.  Martin Luther (LW 43, 198)
8. Everything starts from prayer. Without asking God for love, we cannot possess love, and still less are we able to give it to others. Just as people today are speaking so much about the poor, but they do not know or talk to the poor, we too cannot talk so much about prayer and yet not know how to pray. Mother Teresa (Jaya Chaliha and Edward LeJoly)
9. Prayer is a joy. Prayer is the sunshine of God's love, prayer is hope of eternal happiness, prayer is the burning flame of God's love for you and for me. Let us pray for each other, for this is the best way to love one another. Mother Teresa (Jaya Chaliha and Edward LeJoly)
10. "Give me 100 preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergy or laymen, such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven on earth. God does nothing but in answer to prayer." John Wesley (John Maxwell)
11. ...there is nothing we need to study and practice more than the art of praying. Andrew Murray

Your Answer

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WHAT’S THE PURPOSE OF PRAYER?

My Answer

People have felt the need to be more intimate with God. God gave us prayer as one of the ways to fill this special need. We are able to receive His blessings through prayer. Ultimately we are here to glorify God by doing his will. Prayer helps us obtain direction to do this.

Bible’s Answer

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints (Ephesians 1:17-18).

Additional Answers

1. The underlying principle of prayer, which overwhelmed me, is that God desires to be intimate with me, and He wants this relationship so much that He invites, encourages, and helps me to pray. Cynthia Heald

2. … the Bible’s idea of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself. Oswald Chambers

3. When we learn His purposes and make them our prayers, we are giving Him the opportunity to act. S. D. Gordon

4. By our prayers we sensitize our own spirit and open the way for the power of God to be released wherever His children are in need. Ronald Klug

5. Jesus is the bridge to the Father. This is important for prayer, because Christian prayer is different from all other prayer. It grows from a personal love relationship with God. If prayer does not grow out of such a relationship with God, it is not Christian prayer. Brad Long and Doug McMurry

6. Let this be said as an exhortation to pray, that we may form that habit of praying with all diligence and earnestness. For next to the preaching of the Gospel (whereby God speaks with us and offers to give us all His grace and blessings) the highest and foremost work is indeed that we, in turn, speak with Him through prayer and receive from Him. Moreover, prayer is in truth highly necessary for us for we must, after all, achieve everything through prayer; to be able to keep what we have and to defend it against our enemies, the devil and the world. And whatever we are to obtain, we must work here in prayer. Martin Luther (LW 24, 389)

7. We pray to conform our hearts to his will, which is always to bless those who are obedient. John MacArthur

8. Prayer brings us into agreement with his will. John MacArthur

9. The focus of Biblical praying is the glory of God and the extension of his kingdom. John MacArthur

10. The glory of the Father must be the aim, the very soul and life of our prayer. Andrew Murray

11. God the Father wants to release the work of Jesus through your prayers. Dutch Sheets

12. Dad taught me to praise Him when something good happened, ask Him questions when I was confused, cry to Him when I was hurt, and thank Him when I was blessed. And any time we had to make a decision, Dad’s first words were always, "Let's just stop right now and pray about it." Dad and Mom taught me that the most effective and contented Christians made prayer a part of their lifestyles. John Maxwell

13. ...and we know that prayer is a chief instrument for releasing God’s purposes into reality. C. Peter Wagner

Your Answer

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WHY DO WE PRAY?

My Answer

We are the dearly loved children of God. Our Creator and Savior deeply desires to hear what we have to say. He also commands us to pray, and He promises to hear and answer us. We invite God to be in our lives. We do not pray to impress God or inform Him.

Bible’s Answer

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful (Colossians 4:2).

Additional Answers

1. Prayer’s first goal isn’t to change God’s mind to do things my way. It is to change me to do things God’s way. Leith Anderson

2. Prayer is not the cause of our relationship with God, but a result. Prayer does not produce faith, it flows from faith (Prov. 28:9). A. L. Barry

3. This invitation to pray is the cause of our prayers (Rom. 8:14-15). A. L. Barry

4. The chief object of prayer is to glorify the Lord Jesus. Cynthia Heald

5. It is Jesus who moves us to pray. O. Hallesby

6. Know that God wants our communion and encourages us to pray. Cynthia Heald

7. When we learn His purposes and make them our prayers, we are giving Him the opportunity to act. S. D. Gordon

8. We have been taught that we should pray, and we believe that the quality of our spiritual life is dependent in large part on our life of prayer. Ronald Klug

9. Prayer guides us in a middle way between two extremes-complete irresponsibility on the one hand ("Oh well, God's will be done."), and taking matters into our own hands on the other ("Modern man has come of age, so don't expect God to do anything for you. God helps those who help themselves.") Prayer is the middle way of doing things together with God. Brad Long & Doug McMurry

10. You must learn to call. Do not sit by yourself or lie on a couch, hanging and shaking your head. Do not destroy yourself with your own thoughts by worrying. Do not strive and struggle to free yourself, and do not brood over your wretchedness, suffering, and misery. Say to yourself: “Come on, you lazy bum; down on your knees and lift your eyes and hands toward heaven!” Read a Psalm or the Our Father, call on God, and tearfully lay your troubles before Him… Here you learn that praying, reciting your troubles, and lifting up your hands are the sacrifice most pleasing to God. It is his desire and will that you lay your troubles before Him. He does not want you to multiply your troubles by burdening and torturing yourself. He wants you to be too weak to bear and overcome such troubles; He wants you to grow strong in Him. By His strength He is glorified in you. Martin Luther (LW 14, 60-61)

11. The Word generates prayer because when it speaks of God, we long to commune with Him. When it speaks of blessing, we long to praise Him. When it speaks of promise, we long to receive it. When it speaks of sin, it leads us to confess it. And when it speaks of hell, it leads us to pray for the lost. The Word of God causes prayer. John MacArthur

12. "Whenever God determines to do a great work, He first sets His people to pray." (C. H. Spurgeon) John Maxwell

13. Prayer begins with God’s promise of mercy toward us... Because we know that He is merciful, we pray. Andrew Steinmann

14. Prayer is designed to help us transcend our problems and troubles by focusing on God Himself. Andrew Steinmann

15. Seventeen Reasons for Prayer

1. God’s repeated command to do so 1 Sam. 12:23; Rom.12:12; Col. 4: 2;

1 Thess. 5: 17; 1 Tim. 2: 8

2. The example of Christ Heb. 5: 7

3. The example of the early church Acts 1:14; 2: 42; 6:4; 12: 5

4. The example of Paul Acts 9:10-11; 16:25; 20: 36; 21: 5;

Rom. 10:1

5. Prayer defeats the Devil Luke 22:32; 1 Pet. 4: 7

6. Prayer saves the sinner Luke 18:13

7. Prayer restores the backslider James 5:16

8. Prayer strengthens the saint Jude 20

9. Prayer sends forth laborers Matt. 9:38; Acts 13:2-3

10. Prayer heals the sick James 5:13-15

11. Prayer glorifies God’s name Rev. 5:8; 8:2-4

12. Prayer accomplishes the impossible Matt. 21:22; Mark 9:14-29;

Acts 12:5-7; James 5:17-18.

13. Prayer gives good things Ps. 102:7; Matt. 7:7-11

14. Prayer imparts wisdom James 1:5

15. Prayer bestows peace Phil 4: 5-7

16. Prayer keeps one from sin Matt. 26: 41

17. Prayer reveals the will of God Luke 11: 9-10

H.L. Willmington

Your Answer

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HOW DO YOU DEFINE PRAYER?

My Answer

It is the heart-to-heart conversation part of a loving relationship with the Triune God in words and thoughts. It is the way to talk to God. Jesus primarily communicates with us through the Bible. Prayer allows us to personally communicate with Him.

Bible’s Answer

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

Additional Answers

1. Prayer is communion with God. Communion means communication that includes direct, close relationship. Leith Anderson

2. Prayer is our response to what God has done. A. L. Barry

3. First and foremost, prayer is talking to your Father in heaven and getting to know Him…. How do you develop and grow in your relationship with God? The same way you do with anyone else. You spend time together. John Maxwell

4. Praying is simply a two-way conversation between you and God… prayer is not our using of God; it more often puts us in a position where God can use us. Billy Graham

5. True prayer is God the Holy Spirit talking to God the Father in the name of God the Son, and the believer’s heart is the prayer-room. Samuel Zwemer

6. Prayer is the chief way we express our love to God and the chief way we receive God’s love for us. C. Peter Wagner

7. Complexly, the complete prayer is made up of four acts, four discrete parts, two of which are ours, two of which are God’s… yet often all four acts occur in such swift succession that complete prayer is revealed as a single, unbroken event and so it is. It is communication.

First, we speak,
While second, God listens.
Third, God speaks,
While fourth, we listen.

Walter Wangerin, Jr.

8. Prayer is submitting ourselves to and seeking God’s will, trusting that His will for us is very good. Rick Osborne

9. Prayer is not a substitute for work, or merely preparation for work. It is work. Ronald Dunn

10. Prayer is the center of the Christian life. It is the only necessary thing (Luke 10:42). It is living with God here and now. Henri J.M. Nouwen

11. Prayer is work (Col. 4:12; Heb. 11:6)! Edith Schaeffer

12. Prayer is the key that unlocks all the storehouses of God's infinite grace and power. All that God is, and all that God has, is at the disposal of prayer. R. A. Torrey

13. Prayer is primarily learning to be still and listen to the voice of Jesus through His word, people and circumstances. Tom Parrish

14. Prayer is the Holy Spirit finding a desire in the heart of the Father and putting that desire into our hearts and then sending it back to heaven in the power of the cross. Adrian Rogers

Your Answer

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HOW DO I KNOW IF GOD IS TALKING TO ME?

My Answer
It is God’s nature to speak. Look at the creation story. He also tells us to listen. How do we do it? First of all we are to turn to Scripture and listen to the words that possess power and purpose. Then, when we think we have heard God talking somewhere else, we will return to the Bible and check it out. The Bible is the history book of how God spoke to people in the past. The more believers know the Bible thoroughly, the more we can hear the voice of God in all of creation. Does what is heard from God agree with Scripture, benefit others, and glorify God?

Bible’s Answer
The watchman opens the gate for Him, and the sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out (John 10:3).

Additional Answers

Hearing God makes sense only in the framework of living in the will of God. Dallas Willard
All who have much experience in the Way of Christ, however, will know that it is somehow right, when trying to hear what God is saying to an individual, to look to circumstances, the Bible, and inner impulses of the Spirit. And all will know that these three do somehow serve to correct each other. Dallas Willard

Your Answer

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HOW DO I KNOW IF GOD IS TALKING TO ME?

My Answer

It is God’s nature to speak. Look at the creation story. He also tells us to listen. How do we do it? First of all we are to turn to Scripture and listen to the words that possess power and purpose. Then, when we think we have heard God talking somewhere else, we will return to the Bible and check it out. The Bible is the history book of how God spoke to people in the past. The more believers know the Bible thoroughly, the more we can hear the voice of God in all of creation. Does what is heard from God agree with Scripture, benefit others, and glorify God?

Bible’s Answer

The watchman opens the gate for Him, and the sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out.
John 10:3

Additional Answers

1. Hearing God makes sense only in the framework of living in the will of God. Dallas Willard

2. All who have much experience in the Way of Christ, however, will know that it is somehow right, when trying to hear what God is saying to an individual, to look to circumstances, the Bible, and inner impulses of the Spirit. And all will know that these three do somehow serve to correct each other. Dallas Willard

Your Answer
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CAN GOD REALLY ACCOMPLISH MY PRAYER?

My Answer

God promises to answer prayer. It is not our words that give prayer power. The power is in God who listens. We have an awesome God that can accomplish anything consistent with His character and will. We just need to believe it.

Bible’s Answer

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through Him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God (2 Corinthians 1:20).

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you (John 15:7).

Additional Answers

1. To the faith that knows it gets what it asks for, prayer is not a work or a burden, but a joy and triumph. Andrew Murray

2. The greatest tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.
I believe in definite prayer. Abraham prayed for Sodom. Moses interceded for the children of Israel. How often our prayers go all around the world, without real definite asking for anything! And often, when we do ask, we don't expect anything. Many people would be surprised if God did answer their prayers. D.L. Moody

3. The act of praying may be a real dead performance. It may be the routine of habit. But to pray and receive clear answers, not once or twice, but daily, this is the sure test, and is the gracious point of our vital connection with Jesus Christ. E.M. Bounds

4. God is waiting to be put to the test by his people in prayer. He delights in being put to the test on His promises. It is his highest pleasure to answer prayer to prove the reliability of his promises. Nothing worthy of God nor of great value to men will be accomplished till this is done. E.M. Bounds

Your Answer
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HOW CAN PRAYER HELP ME TO DIRECT MY LIFE?

My Answer

God promises to answer prayer. He gives guidance for our lives in Scripture, through a vision, and through other people that are consistent with Scripture. To know God’s will for your life - KNOW THE BIBLE! Remember we believe in justification by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet, in practice, we all too often fail to live by grace and faith. We too easily slip back into justification by works and reliance on our own performance of prayer.

Bible’s Answer

Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4).

Additional Answers

1.      …the power of prayer is not in the words I pray, the place I pray, the way I pray, how loud I pray or how long I pray, but in the One to Whom I pray."  Anne Murchison

2.      A second reason to pray: time with God changes us. When we are in the presence of God, his Spirit transforms us. Prayer is the way the Carpenter shapes and molds the wood of our lives. He must touch us to change us. In prayer we do not talk about him, but to him. We do not study him, we are with him. And then our time in prayer makes us more like his Son, which is his purpose for our lives (Ro. 8:29). Jim Denison

3.      We cash in on His promises in prayer. So Jesus teaches us how to pray by promising that God will give us what we ask for when we pray His prayer for ourselves and for others. He is not reluctant to give. The problem lies with us; we are reluctant to ask for what He wants to give to us. John W. Kleinig

Your Answer
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CAN PRAYER HEAL PEOPLE?

My Answer

Prayer doesn’t heal, but God does.  He tells us to pray for the sick.

Bible’s Answer

Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven (James 5:14-15).

Additional Answers

1. Prayer could work as marvelous results today as it ever could, if the church would only betake itself to praying, real praying, prevailing prayer.  R. A. Torrey

2. If we truly love people, we will desire for them far more than it is within our power to give them, and this will lead us to prayer. Intercession is a way of loving others… Normally the aid of prayer and the aid of medicine should be pursued at the same time and with equal vigor, for both are gifts from God.  Richard J. Foster

3. The laying on of hands in itself does not heal the sick – it is Christ who heals the sick. The laying on of hands is a simple act of obedience that quickens our faith and gives God the opportunity to impart healing.  Richard J. Foster

Your Answer

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET A RESPONSE FROM GOD?

My Answer

It make be immediately. It may be a lifetime.  The story is told that a man prayed all his life that a friend might become a believer. It didn’t happen until the unbeliever came to the believer’s funeral.
Bible’s Answer
Then He said to them, “suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’”
Then the one inside answers, “Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.” I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
So I say to you: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you”(Luke 11:5-9).

Additional Answers

1. Patience perseveres in prayer until the gift bestowed in heaven is seen on earth.  Andrew Murray

2. A lack of endurance is one of the greatest causes of defeat, especially in prayer (Gal 6:9).  Dutch Sheets

3. He often answers quickly! In almost every case in Scripture, whether it is the praying of a blind beggar, a leper, a Roman centurion, a woman in Syria, a close disciple or a far out prodigal -- Jesus is ready to answer. There is no record of Jesus turning anyone down!  Armin  Gesswein

4. I myself have for twenty-nine years been waiting for an answer to prayer concerning a certain spiritual blessing…Thus, you see, dear reader, that while I have hundreds, yes, thousands of answers, year by year, I have also, like yourself and other believers, the trial of faith concerning certain matters.  George Mueller

Your Answer

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WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN IT LOOKS LIKE NONE OF YOUR PRAYERS ARE HEARD?

My Answer

Self-examination might be wise.  If you can honestly say that what you find are not problems, then continue to persevere in your prayers.

Bible’s Answer

Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:1-8).

Additional Answers

1. Sit and wait on the Lord… The key to receiving from God is learning to ask for the things that are already on His heart.  Fred A. Hartley III

2. For me the greatest value in my lack of control was the intimate and ultimate awareness that I could not manage God.  Richard J. Foster

3. Trust is how you put your spiritual life in neutral. Trust is confidence in the character of God. Firmly and deliberately you say, “I do not understand what God is doing or even where God is, but I know that He is out to do me good.” This is trust. This is how to wait.  Richard J. Foster

Your Answer
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HOW COME GOD SOMETIMES DOESN’T ANSWER PRAYER?

My Answer
No one person really knows why sometimes God doesn’t answer prayers the way we think they should be. We have to trust that what He does is the best for us and for the rest of the world. Sometimes we just ask for the wrong thing. Sometimes our own character would not give Him glory if we received what we asked to be given. Sometimes it is unconfessed sin hindering our prayer life.

Bible’s Answer

The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases Him (Proverbs 15:8).
But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear (Isaiah 59:2).

Additional Answers
1. 11 Hindrances to Prayer

                        1. Unconfessed sin                                       Ps. 66: 18
                        2. Insincerity                                                 Matt. 6: 5
                        3. Carnal motives                                          James 4: 3
                        4. Unbelief                                                     James 1: 5-6
                        5. Satanic activity                                          Dan. 10: 10-13
                        6. Domestic problems                                  1 Pet. 3: 7
                        7. Pride                                                           Luke 18: 10-14
                        8. Robbing God                                              Mal. 3: 8-10
                       9. Refusing to submit to Biblical teaching. Prov. 1: 24-28; 28: 9; Zech. 7: 11-14
                      10. Refusing to forgive or to be forgiven       Matt. 5: 23-24; 6:12, 14
                      11. Refusing to help                                        Prov. 21: 3; John 3:16-17

                                                                                                               H.L. Willmington

2. He sorts and answers our prayers based on what is best for Him. What is best for God is in turn always best for us. Leith Anderson
3. ... central issue of unanswered prayer - trusting God. Leith Anderson
4. In everything He acts with a higher priority on achieving our good than on simply granting our prayers. Leith Anderson
5. If He’s going to answer our prayers God wants to be even more than our partner. He expects to be the Chief Executive Officer of our lives. Leith Anderson
6. Remember - God is too wise to ever make a mistake and too kind to ever do anything cruel. Leith Anderson
7. He promises most plainly and positively to answer the prayers of those who believe on Jesus Christ, but never does He promise to answer the prayers of those who do not believe on Jesus Christ. R. A. Torrey

Your Answer
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HOW FAR IN THE FUTURE CAN I PRAY FOR AN ANSWER TO MY PRAYERS?

My answer

The present day is ours, the future belongs to God. Prayer is the task and duty of each day. God tells us to leave tomorrow entirely with Him and not worry about it. This doesn’t mean we can’t pray for the future. Jesus did this in prayer for us in John 17:20. He included you and me in His prayer over two thousand years ago. I can pray for generations to come.

Bible’s Answer

My prayer is not for them (disciples) alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message (John 17:20).

Additional Answers

1. No amount of praying today will be enough to suffice for tomorrow’s praying. E.M. Bounds

Your Answer
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IS IT TRUE THAT GOD ANSWERS ALL PRAYERS?

My Answer

Yes, in one way or another God answers all of those with a relationship with Him. There are times when God chooses to answer your prayers before you even pray them. There are times when He answers in a different way than you had prayed. There are times when He answers in such a way that goes far beyond what is expected. In other words, God thoroughly amazes us by giving more than we asked for! When God says YES, rejoice in Him. When God says WAIT, continue in Him. When God says NO, trust in Him.

Bible’s Answer

Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear (Isaiah 65:24).

To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).

'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' (Jeremiah 33:3).

Additional Answers

1. God will answer our prayers in the way that He knows to be the best (Luke 18:1).

A. L. Barry

2. God answers prayer any way He chooses. But we have seen four ways revealed

in Scripture and personal experience: through nature, through angels, through the Holy Spirit, and through us. Brad Long & Doug McMurry

3. The Lord always answers, if we really pray through. This discovery really jolted me! It also straightened out some tangled thinking which, I found, came not from God’s Word but from within myself by assuming and presuming. Answers! The Bible is loaded with them. It answers any need or problem we might have. If God is not answering, the problem is in our asking.  Armin Gesswein

4. He usually answers yes. He accents the positive, because He is positive. God is not negative! His promises are not negative. Every word of His gives our faith the upward look! Armin Gesswein

Your Answer

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WHY DO WE END PRAYERS WITH “AMEN”?

My Answer

At the end of a prayer the “Amen” expresses the genuineness of the petition. The word amen means the same thing as "So let it be" or "It is true." It is a word that tells God we have said a prayer that we really meant. It shows that we believe God has heard our prayer and will answer it in His perfect way. "Amen" reminds us that God always has everything under control, even the hard things.

Bible’s Answer

Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the LORD (Psalm 106:48).

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen (Revelation 22:20-21).

Additional Answers

1. Each time we pray the prayer Jesus taught, we can end with a strong, confident, and joy-filled “Amen.” This is our statement of faith to our gracious heavenly Father who, because of Christ’s work, accepts our prayers in spite of our sins.  Dean Hempelmann

2. By not believing Him, we insult God’s truthfulness, the same truthfulness we rely on when we pray. This is why we say the little word Amen at the end of our prayers. We use it to express our firm, heartfelt faith. It’s like saying, “O God, I have no doubt that you will give me what I ask for in prayer.” Charles Swindoll

3. For at the end of your prayers, you say Amen with heartfelt confidence and faith. When you say Amen, the prayer is sealed, and it will be certainly heard. Without this ending, neither the beginning nor the middle of the prayer will be of any benefit. Charles Swindoll

Your Answer
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WHY DO WE PRAY IN JESUS’ NAME?

My Answer

Jesus himself taught His followers to pray in His name. This means praying with His approval, authority and His glory. We are asking God the Father to act upon our prayers because we come in the name of His Son, Jesus. It is only because He died for our sins that we can come to God. Praying in His name can also encourage me to pray according to Jesus’ mission.

Bible’s Answer

And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it (John 14:13-14).

In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete (John 16:23-24).

Additional Answers

1. Jesus isn’t praying for us; He is interceding for us so we can pray. This is what is meant by asking “in His name.” Dutch Sheets

2. To pray, then, in the name of Jesus Christ, means simply this: that we recognize that we have no claims whatever on God, that we have no merit whatsoever in His sight, and furthermore, that Jesus Christ has immeasurable claims on God, and has given us the right to draw near to God, not on the ground of our claims, but on the ground of His claims. R. A. Torrey

3. Prayer is the work of faith alone. No one, except a believer, can truly pray. Believers don’t pray on their own merits, but in the name of the Son of God, in whom they were baptized. Charles Swindoll

4. Lord, help me to do great things as though they were little, since I do them with Your power; and little things as though they were great, since I do them in Your name. Blaise Pascal

Your Answer
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IS PRAYER IN GROUPS AS IMPORTANT AS PRAYING INDIVIDUALLY?

My Answer

Both are important. It is good to come together and pray together as one body in Christ so we can support each other.

Bible’s Answer

They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers (Acts 1:14).

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer(Acts 2:42).

Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them (Matthew 18:19-20).

Additional Answers

1. The Bible calls Christians a “body.” This means that they work best when they work together, like the different parts of a body. When believers pray together, they strengthen and encourage each other. They complement each other. And they can share prayer requests and pray for each other. It is powerful. Daryl J. Luca

2. Whatever the specific shape of our life together, it is of utmost importance that we pray in community. While prayer is often private and personal, it is never outside the reality of the worshiping, praying fellowship. In fact, we cannot sustain a life of prayer outside the community. Either we will give it up as futile, lacking the support and watchful care of others, or we will make it into a thing of our own. Richard J. Foster

3. If added power attends the united prayer of two or three, what mighty triumphs there will be when hundreds of thousands of consistent members of the Church are with one accord day by day making intercession for the extension of Christ's Kingdom. John R. Mott

4. According to my humble judgment, the greatest need of the present-day church is prayer. Prayer should be the vital breath of the church, but right now it is gasping for air. J. Vernon McGee

5. The Lord's Prayer is plural, not singular; this speaks to the communal, not individual nature of the Christian faith: "this, then, is how you should pray: ' Our Father...' (Matthew 6:9) James D. Buckman

6. Believers have the freedom to observe patterns for prayer they feel may be helpful for their practice of prayer/ witnessing to those who have not yet confessed Christ: "One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer -- at three in the afernoon." (Acts 3:1) James D. Buckman

7. "And here the advantage is that when Christians thus come together their prayers are twice as strong as otherwise.One can and one really should pray in every place and every hour; but prayer is nowhere so mighty and strong as when the whole multitude prays together. ... Martin Luther quoted by James D. Buckman

Your Answer
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HOW CAN I CONCENTRATE MORE ON PRAYER?

My Answer

Set prayer as a priority in your life. Stop making excuses why you can’t pray. Your attitude toward prayer is essential. Be determined you are going to focus on prayer. Plan your prayer time. If you still are having trouble, try speaking your prayer out loud. Try writing out your prayer or do prayer journaling. This has personally helped me.

Bible’s Answer

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4).

Additional Answers

1. I learned and also took the proper stance of prayer before God himself-- faithful trust and humility. Walter Wangerin, Jr.

2. Prayer cannot truly be taught by principles and seminars and symposiums. It has to be born out of a whole environment of felt need. If I say ‘I ought to pray,’ I will soon run out of motivation and quit; the flesh is too strong. I have to be driven to pray. Jim Cymbala

3. What we do for the Lord is entirely dependent upon what we receive from the Lord, and what we receive is entirely dependent upon what we are in the Lord, and what we are in the Lord is entirely dependent upon the time we spend alone with the Lord in prayer. David Jeremiah

4. Unless I’m badly mistaken, one to the main reasons so many of God’s children don’t have a significant prayer life is not so much that we don’t want to, but that we don’t plan to. … We get up day after day and realize that significant times of prayer should be a part of our life, but nothing’s ever ready. We don’t know where to go. Nothing has been planned. No time. No place. No procedure. … There is a race to be run and fight to be fought. If you want renewal in your life of prayer you must plan to see it. John Piper

5. Remember, no one has time to pray; we have to take time from other things that are valuable in order to understand how necessary prayer is. Oswald Chambers

6. Prayer is conflict. It is battle. It is war. The passive idea we often have about prayer has no place in the Word of God. Prayer is work, the hardest work you will ever do. It is grueling labor. It is agonizing. It is coming to God and coming to grips with the realities of your life. David Jeremiah

Your Answer
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IS IT NECESSARY TO PRAY FOR EVERY LITTLE DECISION?

My Answer

No, but pray for wisdom to make wise choices with important decisions. One is to keep in constant contact with God. Being “too busy to pray” is not only the keynote to backsliding, but mars even the work done. Nothing is well done without prayer for the simple reason that it leaves God out of the account. Your journey in life is a relationship with Christ. Never put a period at the end your prayers. Every decision is within this context.

Bible’s Answer

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).

So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened (Luke 11:9-10).

Additional Answers

1. Yes, God listens to all prayers, no matter how big or small they are… That is what God wants us to do. The important question is what is on our mind? What do we care about? God will listen to any prayer if it is sincere. Daryl J. Lucas

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WHAT ARE SOME PRAYER TOPICS WE CAN PRAY ABOUT?

My Answer

Praising God - confession of sins - thanksgivings - intercession for others – personal -

Help Me:

·         with bodily welfare: needs of safety, health , diet, exercise, sleep.
·         to witness Law and Gospel to those that touch my life.
·         to lift the dignity of others so they can have hope &glorify God.
·         to love, accept others and build relationships with others.
·         to increase my knowledge, trust and conformity to your will.
·         to have super vision and understanding of what is right & wrong.
·         to be a good steward of time, talents and resources.
·         to pray for local & state & national officials.
·         to understand the what and how of prayer.
Bible’s Answer

You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, because the work of the Son brings glory to the Father. Yes, ask anything in my name, and I will do it!

John 14:13-14 (NLT)

But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44).

Additional Answers

1. We are to pray not only for ourselves, but also for others, even including our enemies (Matt.5:44).  A. L. Barry

1. I like Spurgeon’s prayer, “Lord, if what I ask for does not please You, neither would it please me….”  Cynthia Heald

2. ... pray for courage, direction, and willingness to be where He would have us be.  Edith Schaeffer

3. The greatest need of foreign missions today is prayer.  R.A.Torrey

4. All intercession is prayer, but not all prayer is intercession.  C. Peter Wagner

5. “Intercession is the act of pleading by one who in God’s sight has a right to do so in order to obtain mercy for one in need.”  C. Peter Wagner

6. My prayers for forgiveness, then, beg life for a drowning man and peace for his family.  Walter Wangerin, Jr.

7. He invited you to ask of Him wisdom, and He says He will give it to you. Will you add to all your other sins the sin of thinking that God would lie?  Lance Wubbles

8. C. S. Lewis counsels us to “lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us.”  Richard J. Foster

Your Answer

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WHERE IS A GOOD PLACE YOU CAN PRAY QUIETLY?

My Answer

We may pray at any place, but naturally some places are better than others, as in a prayer chapel or church, out in nature, in the privacy of our bedroom (closet). In the Christian life, the place of prayer can be the “power room.” We need a quiet place where we can be alone with God. Here is where we can gain our strength to face the challenges of the world.

Bible’s Answer

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you (Matthew 6:6).

Additional Answers

1. One of their first lessons of our Lord in the school of prayer was: Not to be seen of men. Cynthia Heald

2. Nor is it a necessary part of this commandment that you have to go into a room and lock yourself in. Still, it is a good idea for a person to be alone when he intends to pray, so that he can pour out his prayer to God in a free and uninhibited manner, using words and gestures that he could not use if he were in human company. Although it is true that prayer can take place in the heart without any words or gestures, yet such things help in stirring up and enkindling the spirit even more; but in addition, the praying should continue in the heart without interruption.  Martin Luther (WA 32, 415)

3. We cannot intercede fervently and very personally for people we do not know exist...prayer can be in secret, but we need to know people, personally or through others. Edith Schaeffer

4. John Dalrymple rightly observes, “The truth is that we only learn to pray all the time everywhere after we have resolutely set about praying some of the time somewhere.” Richard J. Foster

Your Answer
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HOW CAN YOU TELL IF YOU SHOULD NOT PRAY FOR SOMETHING?

My Answer

Anything that Scripture reveals to be outside of God’s will, should not be included in prayer. Prayers should conform to God’s plan for this world and may clash with the desires of this world. We are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. What content is included in a prayer is a skill that can be learned by the person knowing the Bible and praying.

Bible’s Answer

Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven (Matthew 7:21).

Additional Answers

1. In other words, it’s a waste of time to ask God for anything that contradicts who He is or what He has said. Leith Anderson

2. To the man or woman who is acquainted with God and who knows how to pray, there is nothing remarkable in the answers that come. They are sure of being heard, since they ask in accordance with what they know to be the mind and the will of God. E.M. Bounds

Your Answer
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WHAT ARE SOME MAJOR OBSTACLES TO A LIFE OF PRAYER? HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM PRAYING CORRECTLY?

My Answer

The more you study God’s will in Scripture the more you know. Also, one can use the self-examination items that can be obstacles, such as, unconfessed sin - Ps. 66:18; insincerity - Matt. 6:5; fleshly motive - James 4:3; unbelief - James 1:5-6; pride - Luke 18:10-14; refusing to forgive or to be forgiven - Matt. 5:23-24; refusing to submit to Biblical teaching Prov. 28:9; praying to be seen - Matt. 6:5,7.

Bible’s Answer

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 18:10-14).

If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened (Psalm 66:18).

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in full” (Matthew 6:5).

Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from Him anything we ask, because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him (I John 3:21-22).

Additional Answers

1. Prayer is a difficult matter and hard work. It is far more difficult than preaching the Word or performing other official duties in the church. When we are preaching the Word, we are more passive than active; God is speaking through us, and our teaching is His work. But praying is very difficult work. This is the reason why it is also very rare. Martin Luther (WA 43, 381)
2. The prayer from a heart that is not right with God or with men will not succeed. Andrew Murray
3. For the veracity of what you say in prayer shall be revealed in how you live the prayer, and then your living and doing shall become a ceaseless praying unto the ultimate God, our Father. Walter Wangerin, Jr.
4. Nothing can set a barrier between a praying soul and its God. Lance Wubbles
5. One of Satan's chief objects is to get the believer to put away the weapon of all prayer. Lance Wubbles
6. If you have an earnest desire to pray well, you must learn how to obey well. If you have a desire to learn to pray, then you must have an earnest desire to learn how to do God’s will. If you desire to pray to God, you must have a consuming desire to obey Him. E.M. Bounds

Your Answer
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DOES A GOOD PRAYER HAVE ANY REQUIREMENTS?

My Answer

God listens to all prayers. The main requirement for answered prayer is still a relationship with Jesus. He asks for total allegiance (Deut. 6:4-5). The power of the Holy Spirit helps us to have good prayers (Rom. 8:26-27). Other qualifications for good prayers are the following: humility - Luke 18:13-14; boldness - 1 John 5:13-15; truthfulness - Ps. 145:18; persistence - Luke 18:7; and according to his will - 1 John 5:14.

Bible’s Answer

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth (Psalm 145:18).

Additional Answers

1. We might think of adoration and thanksgiving as songs in a major key and confession and supplication as in a minor key. Ronald Klug
2. It is more important to thank God for blessings received than to pray for them beforehand. Ronald Klug
3. In adoration we thank God for being God. In thanksgiving we thank Him for His gifts to us. Ronald Klug
4. A single thankful thought towards heaven is the most perfect of all prayers. Ronald Klug
5. Our prayers of thanksgiving can also flow over into concern for others.  Ronald Klug
6. The heart of all true prayer is an awareness that we don’t deserve to be in the presence of God. John MacArthur
7. Living in the Name of Christ is the secret of praying in the Name of Christ.… Andrew Murray
8. True prayers of confession are also prayers of repentance.  Andrew Steinmann
9. Prayers of confession should be prayed because we trust God’s promise of forgiveness.... But prayers for forgiveness can be confident that God will forgive because of who God is. Andrew Steinmann
10. We need to center our prayers on God’s promises. Andrew Steinmann
11. After the Master had taught the lesson of prayer, He went out and became the lesson. Walter Wangerin, Jr.
12. Jesus’ life and death deduce that it isn’t words alone that make up a prayer. Walter Wangerin, Jr.
13. That is the highest learning, the most complete accomplishment of the fourth act of prayer. It is called obedience. Walter Wangerin, Jr.
14. When it comes to prayer, we do not want to feel duty bound. We want to pray as we feel drawn to it. Richard J. Foster

Your Answer
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IS THERE ACTUALLY A “FORMAL PRAYER?”

My Answer

Jesus did give His disciples a pattern or formal prayer to follow. The “Lord’s Prayer” is what we call it today. It is a model prayer to show that an infinite variety of wants and requests can be compressed into a few humble words. It skips fancy words and asks directly for the things we need. Prayer does not just consist of form but of the Spirit.

Bible’s Answer

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”

“’This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’” (Matthew 6:5-13).

Additional Answers

1. Another benefit is that as we use these great prayers, our own prayers are enriched and expanded. Ronald Klug

2... Written prayers can be helpful. The Lord’s Prayer and the Psalms, for example, are good things to pray, and they help us think of ways to pray and things we can talk to God about. Some people memorize prayers and recite them at mealtimes or at bedtime. We just need to be careful that we really mean the words as we say them. If we say them over and over again, we may not pay attention to what we are saying.  Daryl J. Lucas

3. The disciples went to our Lord and said, 'Lord, teach us to pray' (Luke 11:1). They did not ask Him how to pray; they weren't looking for lessons on technique or an outline for ritualistic prayer. They had obviously heard our Lord pray, and they wanted to learn how to pray on the same high level as He did. This is a request many of us today need to make: “Lord, teach us to pray.” J. Vernon McGee

Your Answer
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WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO ASK GOD FOR SOMETHING?

My Answer

A great fisherman will learn how to fish but even more he will know about the fish. He will know the right lures, the right time, the right places to fish. The same can be said for prayer. Learn all you can about prayer. Learn about God. Learn about God’s conditions. Learn about God’s desires for the world. Then you will begin to understand the best ways to ask God for something. I once read this: Begin your prayers with humility (helplessness). Continue your prayers with trust (faith). Conclude your prayers with obedience (righteousness).

Bible’s Answer

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of Him (1 John 5:13-15).

Additional Answers

1. It is simple, yet so beautiful. Is this prayer fitting me? Can I say this prayer with an open heart, with a clean heart? Everything is there: God, myself, my neighbor. If I forgive them, I can pray. There are no complications, and yet we complicate our lives so much, by so many additions.  Mother Teresa (Jaya Chaliha and Edward LeJoly)

2. We learn to pray by praying, aided always by the Holy Spirit, who prays for us and with us and in us. Ronald Klug

3. True intercessory prayer, then, is generated by God’s Word, grounded in God’s will, characterized by fervency, realized in self-denial, identified with God’s people, and strengthened in confession. John MacArthur

4. To be clothed with humility is to be clothed with a praying garment… If you would learn well the art of praying, then learn well the lesson of humility. E.M. Bounds

5. So no one receives anything from God because of the quality of the prayer, but only because of God’s goodness. Charles Swindoll

Your Answer

HOW OFTEN ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO PRAY? HOW MUCH PRAYING SHOULD WE ACTUALLY DO?

My Answer

Make prayer a regular daily habit. Never lose contact with God. The spirit of prayer is keeping so in tune with God so we can lift our hearts in request or praise anytime through the day.

Bible’s Answer

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Additional Answers

1. Christian people are to develop a regular and faithful habit of prayer, a structured and ordered life of prayer, grounded in the Word. A. L. Barry

2. Everything starts with prayer. Love to pray - feel the need to pray often during the day, and take the trouble to pray. If you want to pray better, you must pray more. The more you pray the easier it becomes. Perfect prayer does not consist of many words but in the fervor of the desire which raises the heart to Jesus. Mother Teresa (Jaya Chaliha and Edward LeJoly)

3. In our finiteness there is one way of “multiplying” our time - prayer. Edith Schaeffer

4. God the Father wants to release the work of Jesus through your prayers. Dutch Sheets

5. This is what we need in prayer, an attitude of persistence. Dutch Sheets

6. I do not suppose that God has called many of us, if any of us, to spend seven or eight hours a day in prayer, but I am confident God has called most of us, if not everyone of us, to put more time into prayer than we now do. R. A. Torrey

7. Prayer does not have to be long in order to be powerful. In fact, some of the most powerful prayers we can pray are concise and to-the-point. Joyce Meyer

8. Prayer is the easiest and best way to deal with any situation. We need to pray before we do anything else in response to the things that happen in our lives. Joyce Meyer

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HOW LONG SHOULD PRAYERS BE?

My Answer

Any length is suitable that can be offered with a sincere heart and without vain repetition. Prayer is not an arithmetic process, not how eloquent, and not how logical. God wants a combination of fervency and sincerity with perseverance. One of the hardest lessons to learn is not to give up. The Bible does give us three time-guides for personal prayer. 1. “Pray without ceasing.” 2. Daily quiet times similar to the life of David found in Psalm 5:31. 3. Extended times of prayer, like Jesus spending a whole night in prayer.

Bible’s Answer

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words (Matthew 6:7).

Additional Answers
1. It's not the number of words you say or how eloquent you are that counts with God. As you speak, it is the sincerity of your words that matters to God. What is in your hearts gives your voices credibility. John Maxwell

2. A lack of endurance is one of the greatest causes of defeat, especially in prayer. Dutch Sheets

3. “How much time must I spend in prayer?” The thought that now possesses me is, “How much time may I spend in prayer without neglecting the other privileges and duties of life?” R. A. Torrey

4. A consensus among Christian leaders who have specialized in matters of prayer, devotional life, spirituality, and Christian discipleship is that there should be a time of prayer every day. C. Peter Wagner

5. Some brethren pray by the yard, but true prayer is measured by weight - not by length. A single groan before God may have more fullness of prayer in it than a fine oration of great length. Lance Wubbles

6. Korean pastors average 90 minutes a day in prayer. C. Peter Wagner

7. The time factor in prayer is very important. In the exercise of prayer God is not tied to our clocks… It takes time to know the mind of God, to shut out the material things of earth and to be wholly abandoned." Hugh C. C. McCullough
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WHEN CAN WE PRAY?

My Answer

Anytime! God doesn’t have office hours.

Bible’s Answer

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18).

Additional Answers

1. You can pray while you work. Work doesn't stop prayer and prayer doesn't stop work. It requires only that small raising of the mind to Him: I love you God. I trust you. I believe in you. I need you now. Small things like that. They are wonderful prayers. Mother Teresa (Jaya Chaliha and Edward LeJoly)

2. Love to pray. Feel often during the day the need for prayer and take the trouble to pray. Mother Teresa (Jaya Chaliha and Edward LeJoly)

3. It is well to let prayer be the first work in the early morning and the last work in the evening and to guard with care against the false, deceptive thoughts which say, wait a bit - after an hour I shall pray. First I must do this or that. For with such thoughts one gets from prayer into business matters, which then hold one captive. As a result, nothing comes of prayer on that day. Martin Luther (WA 38, 359)

4. You must learn to call. Do not sit by yourself or lie on a couch, hanging and shaking your head. Do not destroy yourself with your own thoughts by worrying. Do not strive and struggle to free yourself, and do not brood on your wretchedness, suffering, and misery. Say to yourself: “Come on, you lazy bum; down on your knees and lift your eyes and hands toward heaven!” Read a Psalm or the Our Father, call on God, and tearfully lay your troubles before Him…. Here you learn that praying, reciting your troubles, and lifting up your hands are a sacrifice most pleasing to God. It is his desire and will that you lay your troubles before Him. He does not want you to multiply your troubles by burdening and torturing yourself. He wants youth to be too weak to bear and overcome such troubles; He wants you to grow strong in Him. By His strength He is glorified in you. Martin Luther (LW 14, 60-61)

5. If you really want to spend time praying, you give up something else, and just do it. John Maxwell
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WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE BIBLE IN PRAYER?

My Answer

God works through His word to strengthen our faith. His Word can also guide our prayer life. Try reading Scripture, and then pray your own prayer for whatever person God brings to your mind concerning the topic of the Scripture read. It can and does become a thrilling, stimulating, inspirational time. Also begin your prayers by reminding yourself and God of the promises He has given in Scripture to answer your prayers.

Bible’s Answer

(Pray this prayer of Paul’s for someone you know. I have especially prayed this prayer for our sons.)

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:9-14).

Additional Answers

1. If our prayers are not responses to Scripture--formed and shaped by Scripture--we will soon be drifting away in our own self-centered concerns and will find that our prayer lives are dry and empty. A. L. Barry

2. If we would feed the fire of our prayers with the fuel of God’s Word, all our difficulties in prayer would disappear. Cynthia Heald

3. (Luther stresses the close connection between prayer and use of God’s Word.) This is another good thing about prayer. If you use it and practice it and thus ponder the Word of his promise, your heart keeps getting stronger and firmer in its confidence, and finally gets much more than it would have otherwise. Martin Luther (LW 21, 233).

4. Prayer and the Word are inseparably linked together, for I can’t pray intelligently about his plans unless I understand what His Word says. John MacArthur

5. If you can read the Word of God and not be driven to prayer, you’re not listening to what you’re reading. John MacArthur

6. The Word generates prayer, because when it speaks of God, we long to commune with Him. When it speaks of blessing, we long to praise Him. When it speaks of promise, we long to receive it. When it speaks of sin, it leads us to confess it. And when it speaks of hell, it leads us to pray for the lost. The Word of God causes prayer. John MacArthur

7. "To have prayed well is to have studied well" was a wise sentence of Luther's. Lance Wubbles

8. Here, let it be said, that no two things are more essential to a spirit-filled life than Bible-reading and secret prayer… The study of the Word and prayer go together, and where we find the one truly practiced, the other is sure to be seen in close alliance. E.M. Bounds

9. The Holy Spirit enables us to understand Scripture and turn it into proper prayer. Thus, prayer that is kingdom-focused will not be merely sentimental; it will be scriptural. Archie Parrish

10. A man may study because his brain is hungry for knowledge, even Bible knowledge. But he prays because his soul is hungry for God. Leonard Ravenhill

11. The mightier any is in the Word, the more mighty he will be in prayer. William Gurnall