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PART III: THE PRACTICE OF PRAYER
CHAPTER 19
GUIDELINES FOR EFFECTIVE PRAYER
Introduction
Praying always with all prayer
and supplication in the Spirit....
(Ephesians 6:18).
As we look into God's Word to discover the kind of
praying that gets results, we examine first the
scripture, Ephesians 6:18, quoted above. Moffat's
translation of this verse reads,. "Praying with all
manner of prayer." So, we learn that there are
different kinds of prayer just as there are different
games in sports, each with its own set of rules. Rules
that apply to baseball do not apply to football. If
you tried to use the same rule, you would get confused.
There are rules or spiritual laws governing certain
kinds of prayer that do not apply to other kinds of
prayer. We sometime make a mistake by taking these
different kinds of prayer and lumping them all
together. Then we don't see the desired results.
For example, some people think they should end
every prayer with the words, "If it be Thy will," for,
they say, this is the way Jesus prayed. However, Jesus
didn't pray this way every time He prayed. When he
prayed at Lazarus' tomb, He didn't say, "If it be Thy
will." He said, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast
heard me" (John 11:41). .... [Kenneth E. Hagin,
PRAYING TO GET RESULTS (Tulsa: Kenneth Hagin
Evangelistic Association, 1974), p. 3].
With that introduction, let us look at various kinds of
prayers and prayer guidelines.
The Sinner's Prayer
Before one can have an effective prayer life, he must have a
right relationship with God. This prayer is absolutely
essential. Please see Chapter 3, "How to Receive the Gift of
Saving Faith."
The Prayer of Consecration
This is the prayer that Jesus prayed in the Garden of
Gethsemane:
And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to
the mount of Olives; and his disciples also
followed him. And when he was at the place,
he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not
into temptation. And he was withdrawn from
them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down,
and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be
willing, remove this cup from me:
nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
(Luke 22:39-42).
Jesus was facing one of the greatest temptations of his life. He
was facing the spiritual pain of taking the sins of the world on
himself and the physical pain and death of crucifixion. His
whole life had been one of POTENTIAL sacrifice, but not he must
give himself as an ACTUAL sacrifice.
Likewise, we say an eternal yes to the Lord when we accept
Christ as our Personal Savior, but we must reaffirm his lordship
every day. We do this by the prayer of consecration.
None of us like to suffer, but when it is the Lord's will,
we must pray with Jesus, "..nevertheless not my will, but thine
be done."
Disobedience will hinder our prayers from being answered.
The Prayer of Agreement
One way to multiply the effectiveness of prayer is to pray
the prayer of agreement:
Again I say unto you, That if two of you
shall agree on earth as touching any thing
that they shall ask, it shall be done for
them of my Father which is in heaven. For
where two or three are gathered together in
my name, there am I in the midst of them.
(Matthew 18:19-20).
In the prayer of agreement, two or more persons agree in prayer
concerning a specific need. Of course, the prayer must be in
line with the will of God.
It is also good to choose a stable prayer partner. It may
take a period of time for prayer to be answered, and everyone
involved must continue to believe God until the answer comes.
On the Day of Pentecost, 120 people were in one accord,
believing for the promised Holy Spirit:
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come,
they were all with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven
as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled
all the house where they were sitting. And
there appeared unto them cloven tongues like
as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost,
and began to speak with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4).
When believers combine their faith concerning a promise of
the Lord, the effect is multiplied. God can do greater exploits
through people who agree with his will and pray accordingly.
Priority Prayer Principles
And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have
faith in God. For verily I say unto you,
That whosoever shall say unto this mountain,
Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the
sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but
shall believe that those things which he
saith shall come to pass; he shall have
whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto
you, What things soever ye desire, when ye
pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye
shall have them. And when ye stand praying,
forgive, if ye have ought against any: that
your Father also which is in heaven may
forgive you your trespasses. (Mark 11:22-
25).
WE MUST FORGIVE THOSE WHO HAVE HARMED US BEFORE WE PRAY. Jesus
taught us to forgive others as the father as forgiven us:
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our
Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy
name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in
earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day
our daily bread. And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and
the glory, for ever. Amen. For if ye forgive
men their trespasses, your heavenly Father
will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not
men their trespasses, neither will your
Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew
6:9-15).
How can we not forgive someone a relatively petty sin against us
when the Father has forgiven us so much? Unforgiveness is a sin
and God cannot answer our prayers with sin in our lives. David
teaches,
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord
will not hear me: (Psalm 66:18).
When someone hurts us, the natural impulse is to hurt back.
Jesus says to pray for that person:
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou
shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine
enemy. But I say unto you, Love your
enemies, bless them that curse you, do good
to them that hate you, and pray for them
which despitefully use you, and persecute
you; That ye may be the children of your
Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his
sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and
sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
(Matthew 5:43-45).
When we pray for someone who has hurt us, we invest ourselves in
that person. Likewise, when we do something good for that
person. Pretty soon, the wrong emotion within us begins to
change to a positive emotion toward the one who injured us.
The question may arise, "Isn't it being hypocritical,
saying, `I forgive you,' while still feeling anger towards the
one who hurt me?" Not at all. We must CHOOSE to forgive someone
first. Actually, we are choosing to obey God. If God commands
us to do something, he enables us to do it. If you are having
trouble forgiving someone, be honest with God and tell him. Ask
him for help. Then an extraordinary thing will happen.
The love God has placed in our hearts will enable us to
forgive. First, the choice to forgive, then the love of God,
then the feeling of forgiveness will follow:
And above all things have fervent charity
[love] among yourselves: for charity shall
cover the multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8).
The old English word charity in the above passage is a
translation of the Greek word AGAPE, which is the love of God or
the God-kind of love he places in our hearts.
WE MUST BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED WHEN WE PRAY. The NIV
translates Mark 11:22 more accurately:
Therefore I [Jesus] tell you, whatever you
ask for in prayer, believe that you have
received it, and it will be yours. (Mark
11:24, New International Version).
The God-kind of faith (God's gift to us at our new birth)
believes that we have the answer to our prayer before we actually
see it. The literal translation of Mark 11:22 is,
And answering Jesus says to them: Have [the]
faith of God. [Mark 11:22, The Interlinear
Greek-English New Testament by Alfred
Marshall, THE GREEK-ENGLISH NEW TESTAMENT
(Washington, DC: Christianity Today, 1975)].
WE MUST PRAY TO THE FATHER IN THE NAME OF JESUS. This is not
just a formula. Jesus has given us the power of attorney to use
his name or authority for doing his work on earth. Jesus teaches
us,
And in that day ye shall ask me [Jesus]
nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my
name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye
asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall
receive, that your joy may be full. (John
16:23-24).
And these signs shall follow them that
believe; In my name [Jesus] shall they cast
out devils; they shall speak with new
tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if
they drink any deadly thing, it shall not
hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick,
and they shall recover. (Mark 16:17-18).
Verily, verily, I [Jesus] say unto you, He
that believeth on me, the works that I do
shall he do also; and greater works than
these shall he do; because I go unto my
Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my
name, that will I do, that the Father may be
glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any
thing in my name, I will do it. (John 14:12-
14).
Jesus sent the seventy disciples out to do the works of God:
And the seventy returned again with joy,
saying, Lord, even the devils are subject
unto us through thy name. (Luke 10:17).
Later, the Apostle Paul used that Name which is above every
name to deliver a young lady from demon possession and from the
exploitation of evil men:
And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a
certain damsel possessed with a spirit of
divination met us, which brought her masters
much gain by soothsaying: The same followed
Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are
the servants of the most high God, which shew
unto us the way of salvation. And this did
she many days. But Paul, being grieved,
turned and said to the spirit, I command thee
in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of
her. And he came out the same hour. (Acts
16:16-18).
Many have obeyed the Lord and used the Name of Jesus to
deliver people bound by Satan. Kenneth Hagin gives an example in
our time:
I once knew of a lady whose daughter was in a mental
institution. This mother decide to pray the prayer of
faith for her daughter, to exercise her authority in
Jesus' name and cast the devil out that kept her
daughter bound. She asked twelve women, whom she knew
to be women of strong faith, to go with her to the
mental institution to pray for her daughter.
When they arrived, the woman told the attendant
that she wanted to see her daughter. When they arrived
at the padded cell where the woman was being held, the
mother said to the attendant, "I want you to open the
door and let me in there because I want to pray for my
daughter."
"You can't do that," he answered. "She'll kill
you. She is violently insane." He argued that he
couldn't let her in, that he would lose his job, but
all the time he was unlocking the door. The woman
stepped in and he locked the door again.
In the padded cell was a woman who looked more
like an animal than a human. Her hair had grown long,
her nails were grown out, and she hissed and spit at
them as an animal would.
While the twelve ladies prayed silently, the
mother prayed, commanding the devil to come out of her
daughter in the name of Jesus. She prayed like this
for about ten minutes. Suddenly the daughter relaxed,
looked up, and said, "Mama! Is that you, Mama?" She
threw her arms around her and hugged and kissed her.
That day she was dismissed from the institution as
being well. This mother knew her rights, she knew the
authority that was hers to cast out devils in Jesus'
name. [Kenneth E. Hagin, PREVAILING PRAYER TO PEACE
(Tulsa: Kenneth Hagin Ministries, 1983), pp. 21-22].
Let us now move to another aspect of prayer: praying in the
Holy Spirit.
END
