Four Golden Principles For Praying Effectively

The life of a believer is supposed to be hinged on prayers. Every and anyone who intends to be serious with God, be used of God, and to walk with God must see prayers as an indispensable tool.

We deal with an immortal and access to Him is by the enterprise of prayer. Our lives are sustained by our continued contact with Him and so we must embrace prayer not as a religious rite but as a necessity for survival.

The importance of prayer can never be overemphasized. It is a major pivot for a true walk with God. Every intention to walk with God is possible by effective prayers.

Prayer like every other art has principles which must be known, practiced and mastered for results to be produced. Your prayers become more and more effective when you apply the principles that govern the effectiveness of prayers.

To master the art of prayer and pray effectively, there are certain principles you must be acquainted with. These principles would teach you how to pray effectively.

You must understand that in this kingdom there are no shortcuts. Everything has a price and that price must be paid completely before delivery is possible.

Getting results from your prayers is a function of obeying prayer principles and applying the secrets on how to pray effectively. To falter in this process is to be unsuccessful in your prayer enterprise.

Today, I would be sharing four principles which when adhered to would move you from the realm of unproductivity in prayers to the realm where your prayers come with potency even the devil would be scared when he sees or hears you pray.

Here are the principles for praying effectively.

Principle #1: The Sinner's Prayer Will Not Be Answered by God.

...The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.– James 5:16 (Paraphrased)

God is holy and He expects everyone that wants to interact with Him or have any form of dealing with Him to be Holy. He can NEVER condone nor give allowance for unholiness.

His nature does not permit Him. To be a sinner and expect God to answer your prayers is as impossible as saying a hen died on the cross to save mankind. God would not offer as much as a listening ear to a sinner let alone answer one.

Now we know that God HEARETH NOT SINNERS: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. – John 9:31 (Emphasis Mine).

God's nature does not permit Him to respond to the prayers of a sinner hence if you would get results from your prayer engagement, you must live a holy life.

Answers to prayers does not come from angels or pastors or Mary the mother of Jesus, they come from God. The only premise on which God can respond to your prayers is on the premise of holiness.

See what 1 Peter 3:12 says;

For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

Your prayer enterprise would be greeted with dryness, silence and zero impact as long as you remain in sin. The eyes and ears of God are over and opened to the prayers of the righteous man.

God has no regard for the prayer of a sinner. As a matter of fact, God considers the prayers and sacrifices of a sinner as an abomination (Proverbs 21:27;15:8) but He delights in the prayers of the righteous.

The Amplified rendition of James 5:16 says that the prayers of the righteous is "dynamic in its working". You can not be a sinner and expect to be successful at praying and receiving responses from God.

ACTION POINT: Resolve to live a holy life from today, shutting the door of your life to the devil and letting Jesus tabernacle in you. To find out how to live a holy life, get in touch with me via the contact us page. Click HERE to do so.

Principle #2: See God as Your Father When You Pray

This principle is of extreme importance. It is as important as prayer itself.

When Jesus' disciples came to Him requesting to be taught how to prosecute the art of prayer, Jesus began teaching them in Matthew 6:9 saying;

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

When many believers pray, they pray like hopeless individuals. They pray like people who are been victimized without salvation. One of the causes of this orientation can be attributed to the ignorance of God as Father.

If the revelation that the God you're praying to is not just a highly-exalted being who sits in on a wider throne in heaven but your father you would begin to procure results from your prayer enterprise.

Jesus, while He was on Earth, tried to institutionalize this doctrine because success out of every prayer enterprise is predicated on it. He referred to God as 'Heavenly Father' whenever He wanted to pray and we see the tremendous results of His prayers.

Here is why it is important to see God as your father while you pray.

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. – Matthew 7:11-12

What Jesus was trying to explain here is that when we compare our earthly father's style of fatherhood to God's, our earthly fathers are evil.

Do you understand that?

That if there is a scale called "fatherhood" and we place God on one side and our earthly father on the other side, our earthly fathers are seen as evil.

This means that the model of fatherhood, as good as it seems, can not be compared to God's own model. To God's standard, our 'good' fathers are evil.

Now Jesus explains that in their 'evil' state they do their best to give us all we need. How much more our Heavenly Father who is truly good? If your 'evil' earthly father won't give you a scorpion when you ask for bread, what
'good' Heavenly Father?

What ever possibility you enjoy from your earthly father, you get much more from your Heavenly Father. Your earthly father will not always supply your needs because he is tapping from an earthly source but your Heavenly Father has the ability to supply your needs without constraint.

I want this to sink into your spirit, soul and body. The God you are praying to is not a tyrant. He is your father one that is better than your earthly father. And He has every resource at His disposal to meet your needs.

Principle #3: A Spirit is Involved

Every function and activity in life is sponsored, orchestrated and governed by a spirit. There is nothing that takes place in and on the earth that can not be linked to a spirit.

Prayer like every other known act can only be orchestrated via the help of the spirit of God. Without the aid of God's Spirit, prayer would be a toilsome labour devoid of dividends.

In order to pray effectively, you must submit and readily yield to the Holy spirit.

Your desire to prosecute prayers is not enough. Being full of energy such that you can scream at the top of your voice for hours does not guarantee success in prayer enterprise.

...not by might nor by power, BUT BY MY SPIRIT, says the LORD Almighty. – Zech 4:6 (Emphasis Mine)

It is not given to your humanity to be prayerful. You have so much frailties as a human which can not afford you the wherewithal to pray effectively hence the need to solely depend on the spirit to both lead and guide you.

In Romans 8:26, Apostle Paul shoes us that we are full of infirmities not knowing what to pray for and how we should pray. But the Spirit of God assists us by both praying for us and helping us pray.

David realized that he could not pray except he was assisted by a spirit and so he cried out in Psalms 80:18 saying So will not we go back from thee: quicken us and we will call upon your name.

Nobody can achieve success in prayers without the assistance of the Spirit of God. The power in prayer is only harnessed and realized by the Spirit of God.

You can go on and on trying to do prayers with your strength and initiative, I assure you that soon you would weary out. Prayers sees success when a spirit becomes involved.

Get God's Spirit involved in the prosecution of prayers if you want to see effectiveness.

Persistence Brings Response

Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. – Luke 18:5

In Luke 18, Jesus was trying to teach on prayer and he told the story of a widow who sought justice.

The woman went to a wicked judge in her bid to get justice. And according to Jesus' story, the judge did not respect persons nor God and there was no way he was ready to give the widow justice.

A time came when the judge got tired and weary because the woman kept coming to him demanding justice. Due to the weariness, he obliged to give her justice.

Jesus related the action of the unjust judge to our heavenly Father. Despite the judge's wickedness, the woman's persistence provoked him to give her justice.

If the unjust judge could grant the widow's desire out of her persistence, why would God who is loving and just not respond to us when we call on Him with persistence.

In Luke 18:8, Jesus shows us something important when we pray.

I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? – Luke 18:8

God would respond to our prayers if only we can engage Him with persistence. We must be unrelenting, unflinching, and persistent in prayers.

Prayer must not be a part-time venture. It is an accumulation of several engagements. Power and success in prayer is by persistence.

Conclusively, these principles would set you on the right plain for praying effectively. They would position you to trap responses from God and give you an advantage at attaining success whenever we carry out prayer engagement.

Do not take these principles for granted. Abide and follow all and watch your prayer life transform.

1. A sinner's prayer will not be answered
2. See God as Father
3. A Spirit is involved
4. Persistence brings Response

You would not want to keep this to yourself, would you?

Certainly Not!

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