Prayer is a privilege for us and command of our God. Matthew chapter six gives us several teachings on the subject of prayer. We will be addressing some of them today. The Bible is also full of examples of the different times God’s people prayed.  People pray when a crisis arises in their lives; when they feel overwhelmed by the pressures of responsibilities of their life; and when they are over-joyed by the presence of God in their lives.  Of course, God is always present in our lives, it’s just some don’t pay attention to Him when everything is going right; they just come before Him when they think they “can’t” handle something.

As children we learned prayers to recite at meal times and bedtime. And those are okay in the beginning because usually they have some kind of rhythmic sounding words that help the young remember them.  However, we are not to stay in those beginning prayer-types any more than we are to stay in the same academic grade all through our school years.  We are to grow and mature in the things of God, and so should our praying mature too. We grow up physically, emotionally, and mentally, and are to grow up spiritually too.

Let’s be sure to understand that there are right ways and wrong ways to pray. I’m not talking about the physical stature of whether we are laying on floor, kneeling, standing, or even sitting in our comfy chair. I’m talking about the stature of our heart; a reverencing of who God is and the quality of His life He bestows on us through Jesus, His Son. This too, we are to teach our children. And mostly like, they learn it best by our example. Children are never too young to teach them about God’s love, prayer, and doing right.

Today I want to basically take a look at three aspects of prayer. Our prayers must be in agreement with God’s Word for Him to answer them. We must believe and speak out our prayers. And we are to forgive others when we are praying.  We will also cover some things we should not do in our prayer time. Today’s lesson does not cover everything we should know about prayer, but these are what are on my heart for this week.

Most of us learned what is termed as “the Lord’s Prayer”. I remember hearing it prayed in church services and prayer meetings when I was younger, and still sometimes today. Nothing wrong with that – as long as we are praying and not reciting. If we are only saying the words from rote, it is not a prayer because our heart and mind is not on what we are saying.  This type of prayer was what Jesus spoke against in Matthew 6:7 when He said, “but when you pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do; for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking”.  Let it be known and understood that it is not the number of words or the eloquence of those words that gets God’s attention; it is the sincerity of our heart and whether the words of our prayer are in agreement with His Word, and of course whether we believe what we are praying.

Mark 11:24 teaches us that whatsoever things we desire we are to pray believing that we receive them.  Believing always precedes receiving.  Even our Salvation! You, and I, had to believe what God said about Jesus as Savior before we received (confessed) Him as Savior.  (Romans 10:9-10) If we are not believing, then we are not in faith. Everything that God has for us comes to us through our faith – believing and then receiving.

Another important thing to remember about praying is that we must comply with Mark 11:25 where we are instructed to forgive others when we are praying. Unforgiveness in our hearts hinders our prayer life because it is hard to pray and believe if our heart is full offenses and hurts.  I’ve learned that when I forgive others and begin to pray for those who have hurt me, my heart is changed because God fills my heart with His love and mercy. Then and only then do my prayers reflects His heart.

One of the best lessons I learned about standing in faith and praying is that forgiving others is a major part of my love-walk, and faith-walk with God.  He takes this very seriously.  After all, think about it: He has forgiven us so we should be able to forgive others.  The neat thing about forgiving is that it is not based on our feelings but on our obedience to, and faith in, the Word of God.  Those hurt feels will be healed much quicker when we walk in forgiveness.

Remember, we are to be filled with the joy of our Salvation in God’s Son, Jesus. Our hearts are to be filled with thanksgiving and gratefulness for all He has done and is doing in our lives. And, our love walk is to include forgiving others. Our times of prayer are to be based on the Word of God. Our prayers carry great power when we believe God’s Word, pray God’s Word and when we forgive others as Christ has forgiven us.

Have a great time in prayer this week.