Prayer Keys: How to Pray and Receive Answers as a Christian

How to Pray as a Christian – Infographic

In this post, we will look at 3 additional keys that can make us receive answers to prayer. The keys are; praying in line with God’s will, praying bible promises, and praying with thanksgiving.

Praying in line with God’s will

Praying in line with God’s will is another key to receiving an answer to prayer.

We have earlier established that prayer is the act of making our requests known to God. Prayer is a request, though our focus is God in this post, we will use an analogy. When my son was 3 years old, he would often climb in the car driver’s seat when we’re going out. He would insist on driving when he’s clearly not of age to do so. Being the loving parent that I am, I would refuse, and he would react by having a meltdown. Now, my refusal of his request wasn’t because I hated him, but it was borne out of love. Sometimes, our prayer requests are like that, they are not in line with God’s will.

With God All Things Are Possible

James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

Above bible verse says it all, as a thief I cannot pray for God to bless my robbery business and expect Him to do so. God will not answer that kind of prayer because it is not in line with His will.

When it was time for Jesus to die, he was sorrowful and wished he didn’t have to die. He prayed at Gethsemane that the cup should pass over him, but he submitted to God’s will. His prayer was not only for the cup to pass, he also prayed for God’s will to be done.

Mark 14:34-36 And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” 35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

How to start a prayer journal.

Jesus Prayed for God’s Will

Jesus prayed in line with God’s will despite his soul being very sorrowful unto death. And when the time came for God’s will to be done, he surrendered himself wholly.

We all must emulate Christ and surrender to God’s will for our lives.

It’s not easy to pray for God’s will especially if it’s different from our needs or wants but we should. I’ve found myself at that juncture severally, where my will differed from what God wanted for me, and submission was a struggle. But as I matured in the faith, it became less of a struggle. Have you ever felt God asking you to go one way when you wanted to go the other way? Why don’t you share your experience, I want to know how it went?

One such incident that comes to mind was when I got a job in another state, I liked the job and didn’t see anything wrong with taking it. The main attraction for me was that it was a government job and I wanted job security. Taking the job would however have caused the family to be separated for an unpredictable period. And I could sense God telling me not to take the job, in the end I got a better job with higher pay.

God’s commands are not grievous, we just need to pray for grace to submit to His will.

1 John 5:3 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

When we pray in line with God’s will, He hears and answers us, and it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Therefore, we should always endeavor to pray in line with his will.

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Praying Bible Promises

Praying bible promises is another key to receiving answer to prayer, and it’s closely related to praying His will. We cannot pray in line with God’s will if we don’t know what it is. One way to know His will is by studying our bible. When there’s a situation that requires God’s intervention, it’s always helpful to look for relevant bible verses. For instance, if you’re trusting God to have a child, you should look up relevant bible verses and pray them. By so doing, you will be reminding God of His promises and boosting your faith at the same time. Because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Praying bible promises will boost your faith to receive from God and we know that God’s word is quick and powerful.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

New Year’s Prayers You Should absolutely Pray for Yourself.

God’s word is living and active and He has promised that none of His word will return to Him void.  So, when you pray the bible promises, God is bound to attend to your prayer requests. Because He has said His word shall not fall to the ground without accomplishing the intended purpose.

Isaiah 55:10-11 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

If you or a loved one need healing, look up relevant promises about healing in the bible and begin to pray them. The same thing if you need wisdom, look up scriptures about wisdom and pray them into your life.

As you begin to do this, heaven will begin to move on your behalf in Jesus name. Amen.

Answered Prayers: Love Letters from the Divine

Praying with Faith is a Key to Receiving Answers to Prayer

Remember that when you’re doing all of this, faith is required because we can’t please God without faith.

Hebrews 11:6-12 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

I wrote more about faith in part 1 of how to pray and receive answers.

Your faith may be as tiny as a mustard seed, it will still work for you. Because that’s the minimum size of faith that God requires, faith as tiny as a mustard seed. Jesus promised that such faith tiny like a mustard seed can move mountains.

Matthew 17:20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Which means that when you pray the bible promises, you’re setting in motion all that’s required to receive answer to your prayer requests.

Answered Prayer… Guaranteed!

Praying with thanksgiving

The last but not the least key to receiving answer to prayer that will be examined in this post is praying with thanksgiving. It is good to give thanks always because this is the will of God for us.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Giving thanks is a way of showing appreciation for what God has done in the past and it paves way for receiving more. Having a heart of gratitude helps shift our focus from the things we think God hasn’t done to the things He has done. Think about it, if we as humans love receiving thanks and we see it as a mark of courtesy, how much more God? Thanking God should be second nature to us but sometimes, we get overwhelmed by the cares of this world. And we forget to thank God for His many blessings upon our lives. There are so many things God has done that are worth giving thanks for; life, sanity, sound mind, peace, good health, wisdom, salvation, forgiveness etc.

If you can think deeply, you will realize that God is faithful, and it will give rise to thanksgiving in your heart. Take a moment and look back over your life at those times you thought it was over and God showed up. Nobody likes having grumpy people around them, when you are too focused on your wants, there’s tendency to complain. And this can lead to a seed of bitterness in your heart towards God, because you’re thinking He ought to do your bidding. God reckons with thanksgiving and when you give Him thanks, He will do much more.

This is evident in the story of the ten lepers that were healed by Jesus Christ. Of the ten lepers healed, only one returned to give him thanks and that was the only one made whole.

Luke 17:12-19 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

Today, God is still asking, didn’t I do good to him, didn’t I protect her from harm, where is my praise? The one leper that returned to give Jesus thanks was made whole, but not the other nine. Truly they had all been healed, but the next level was wholeness where the skin will be renewed like that of a baby’s. The essence of the healing was to attack the root of leprosy in their lives and stop the spread. But being made whole brought about full restoration of everything; tissue, ligament, fingers that had been destroyed by leprosy.

Sadly, only one out of ten lepers qualified for full restoration and wholeness. This is worthy of note, and the question then is, will you be that one person that give thanks to God? Thanksgiving qualifies us for full restoration and enables us gain God’s attention.

We are equally commanded by God to give thanks;

Ephesians 5:20 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Moreover, Jesus the author and finisher of our faith had a habit of giving thanks.

When he fed the people with seven loaves and two fishes he gave thanks.

Mark 8:6 And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people.

Similarly, when he had the last super with his disciples, he gave thanks;

Luke 22:17-19 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: 18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.

19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

Even when faced with the impossible situation of raising a man dead for four days, Jesus made it a point to give thanks.

John 11:41 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.

What is that situation you are facing? Try thanksgiving and see what God can do.

When we are thankful, we signify to God that we appreciate what He has done so far. And then we can receive more from Him.

Biblical Examples of Answered Prayers

Conclusion

We have reviewed three keys to praying and receiving answer to prayer in this post. Specifically, we looked at praying in line with God’s will, praying bible promises and praying with thanksgiving. Praying in line with God’s will helps avoid frustrations and helps ensure that we are praying according to God’s expectation. The best way to achieve this is by praying bible promises because these are God’s express will for us. And praying with thanksgiving helps shift our focus from the problem to the One who can resolve the problem. Thereby paving the way for receiving answer to prayer.

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In the meantime, always remember that you are a Royal Diadem, Beautiful in God’s Hands.