60 Second Guide to Effective Prayer

What is it about prayer that makes a person fearful to bow their head in a public restaurant and speak out loud? Is it because prayer is banned in public schools?

What is it about holding your spouse’s hand and praying for your children that seems a bit uncomfortable?

But yet we know that we desperately need to pray for our health, for our heart to be healed, and for our attitude to changed. We desperately need the strength to shoulder our responsibilities, to see lies that are presented as truth, and for forgiveness to reign. We need love, romance, and intimacy.

But yet we are afraid to ask.  We feel as if we don’t know how to pray. But consider this description of prayer:

“Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,

Uttered or unexpressed;

The motion of a hidden fire

that trembles in the breast

Prayer is the burden of a sigh,

The falling of a tear;

The upward glancing of an eye;

When none but God is near (Adeney).

If you are determined to overcome all that hinders your prayers, Check out this 60 second guide for more effective prayer.

1. • Pray in Jesus name. Acknowledge that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. That our Heavenly Father loves his son, and when our love for Christ is revealed, we are dear to God. “You can ask for anything in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the son (John 14:13-14 NLT).”

 

1. • Confess your sin and do it no more. It is easy to see the flaws of everyone around us, but we can’t see our own.  We rename it and rationalize it. Because everyone does it, we think it is okay. But we need to ask Christ to reveal our sin to us, acknowledge our part, and then turn from it.  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

 

1. • Pray in Secret. Finding a quiet room, closet, or even your car can be a refuge where your soul can seek God.

 

1. • Be thankful by remembering all the Lord has done for us.  David who wrote many Psalms often would recount all the trials that the Lord had carried him through with a heart of thanksgiving.  “Devote yourself to prayer, with an alert mind, and a thankful heart (Colossians 4:2).”

 

1. • Ask God for what you “need.” You do not have because you do not ask God (James 4:2 NIV). If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you (James 1:5 NLT).

 

1. • Don’t ask for things to please yourself.  Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4 NIV).

 

1. • Show Honor to God. Praise God for who He is.  He is Honorable, Almighty in Power, the Great Physician, and the One True God.

 

1. • Pray for the poor and your response. 

 

1. • Forgive others.

 

1. • Do not doubt, but expect God to answer. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you (John 15:7).

May I pray for you?

Heavenly Father, You are Wise, Honorable, Trustworthy, and Merciful.  You are my salvation, my righteousness, and my peace.

I thank you for walking with me every since I was a child, for teaching me your ways, and loving me with a deep tender love beyond my understanding.

I confess that I worry needlessly and fears paralyze me from praying with people who need you.

Help me to see any hidden sin and give me the fortitude to change my ways.

Lord, I need your wisdom in order to make the upcoming decisions.

Forgive me Lord, when I don’t delight in you Lord.  Help me to carve out time in my daily schedule to spend in your presence which is always a true delight for my soul.

I pray for the people in my community who need food, clothes, and homes.  Raise up your church to meet their needs. Reveal any action that I should take.

Help me to forgive the people who hurt me today with their thoughtless words and actions.

Heavenly Father, I know you are a good father and always hear my prayers.  I thank you Lord that you know my needs and I trust your judgement that your timing to reveal your answer to me is perfect to my needs.

In Jesus name, I pray all these things. Amen.

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