The Basics of Prayer

I just came across this summary of prayer and I thought it might be helpful to you to use to give someone an overview of what prayer is.  If I were to write a “summary” of prayer, it would end up being a 3 MB-sized document!  This New Life staff person managed to do a basic overview in less than a page – how I wish I had his ability!  Of course, it doesn’t cover everything, but it answers the questions a new or young believer may have about prayer.

THE BASICS OF PRAYER   

Eric Swanson

Prayer is simply conversing with God.  It is the God-given means to communicate our thoughts, desires, concerns and worship to Him.

1)  We can pray about anything, at any time, in any place. (Philippians 4:6-7)

2)  We can know that God always hears and grants requests that are according to His will.  (1 John 5:14-15)

3)  When we are praying for something that we’re not certain is God’s will, we can still pray in faith.  Praying in faith is not merely positive thinking.  It means that we believe God can answer our request and we are praying that He will answer but we trust Him to answer it only if it is His will.

4)  God doesn’t always answer our prayers in the way we pray for them to be answered.  He always answers according to His will.  Just as a good father doesn’t give everything a child asks for, so God uses His wisdom in how He answers our requests.  To those requests that would be good for us now, He answers, “yes”.  To those things that would eventually hurt us or not further His plan for us, He answers, “no”.  To those requests that would be good for us, but in the future, He answers, “wait”.  God sometimes grants us our desire but not our specific request.

                “Yes” – Mark 10:46-52

                “No” – Mark 10:35, 40

                “Wait” – Genesis 15:2-5

                “Desire”- He will fulfill our general ‘desire’ but does not always fulfill our specific “request” – Psalm 37:4, Romans 1:9-13

5)  Prayer is not just the means to get what we want but the means for God to give us what He wants.  There are four types of prayer mentioned in the Bible.

                Adoration – praising and worshipping God for who He is.  Psalm 145:1-6

                Confession – telling God about ourselves, our sins, our fears, our thoughts.  1 John 1:9

                Thanksgiving – thanking God for what He has given you or has done in your life. Ephesians 5:20

                Supplication – praying for ourselves and others.  Matthew 7:7,8

                (Note that of the four types of prayer, only one of the types is dependent on answers.)

Possible hindrances to effective prayer:

                Unconfessed sin – Psalm 66:18, Mark 11:25

                Wrong motives – James 4:2,3

                Distorted relationships with people – 1 Peter 3:7b

                Lack of perseverance – Luke 18:1-8

                Lack of faith – James 1:6-8, Romans 10:17

Which of the above might be hindering your prayers?