Some Things to Consider When We Pray

When we pray, there are some things we need to consider and I make sure it is all Biblical.  But it is a concern to me because of what I have been through and some just recently.  So let us consider together what these might be.  May God Bless this study.

1) A sense of need.
Hebrews 4:16  "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Philippians 4:19  "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."  We must realize our need of Him when we come to Him in prayer.

2)  Knowledge of our own inability.
Psalm 94:17-19  "Unless the Lord had been my help, My soul would soon have settled in silence,  If I say, 'my foot slips,' Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up.  In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul."

3)  Knowledge of the insufficiency of the world as well.
Psalm 60:11  "Give us help from trouble, for the help of man is useless."

4)  Faith and Obedience.
1 John 3:22  "And whatsoever we ask, we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

5)  Abiding in Christ.
John 15:7  "If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you."

6)  Asking in His name.
John 14:14  "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."

7)  Pray in secret.
Matthew 6:6  "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."

8)  Pray for a forgiving spirit.
Mark 11:25  "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."

9)  According to God's will.
1 John 5:14  "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us."

When we pray, I believe that these conditions to answered prayer are very important to abide by if we truly want our prayers to be answered.  Go over them carefully and consider the meaning for you in your life and how important it is to have God hear and answer your prayers. Some prayers are repetitive and spoken without true meaning from our hearts.  Maybe its an automatic prayer that you learned growing up, maybe its a prayer that you have just made up to make yourself think that you are praying earnestly.  But if you go by these 8 things that are listed, you will learn to pray earnestly and with answers.  Each one is very important.  I am going to study them too.  I need to make sure my prayers are going to be heard and that God will answer according to His will.  Grandma Joan