September 12, 2024
“Lord, teach us to pray.”—Luke 11:1
God expects each of His children to seek Him and draw close to Him in prayer, and to enter into a personal relationship with Him as our heavenly Father. His Word says, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13), and “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8). Each of us must learn to make personal, intimate contact with the Lord through prayer, our means of direct communication with God.
Although we should spend time in communion with the Lord every day—in prayer and reading His Word—Jesus also told us that we should continually pray throughout our day. He told His disciples a parable “to show them that they should always pray” (Luke 18:1). He also said to “watch and pray” (Matthew 26:41), and Paul taught us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Prayer is one way the Lord has of keeping us close to Him and in His presence continually, dependent upon Him and His guidance.
Even though our heavenly Father “knows what we need before we ask him” (Matthew 6:8), we are to come to Him and to acknowledge that we alone can’t solve all our problems and that we need His help and guidance. The Bible instructs us to “in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:6).
As God’s children, we are to acknowledge His power and show our faith in Him by asking Him for help, guidance, supply, and blessing, and committing our every care to Him. The Bible says, “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him” (Matthew 7:9–11).
So don’t ever think you have to try to figure out all your problems and decisions yourself. Bring your decisions to God in prayer and seek His guidance and wisdom. The Bible says, “Without Him you can do nothing” (John 15:5), but with Him, you can “do all things through Christ who strengthens you” (Philippians 4:13). So when you need help, tell Jesus.
“Cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you. Cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you” (Psalm 55:22; 1 Peter 5:7). Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” But there’s one condition: He said, “Come to Me” (Matthew 11:28–30). When you go to the Lord in prayer and faith and thanksgiving, you will find joy, peace, and strength in His presence.
This is what prayer is all about. It is not merely some kind of religious ritual, but a living relationship. As the old hymn says:
What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear.
What a privilege to carry,
Everything to God in prayer.
Oh, what peace we often forfeit.
Oh, what needless pain we bear.
All because we do not carry,
Everything to God in prayer.
—Joseph M. Scriven (1820–1886)
It’s so important to learn to pray and commit our burdens, trials, and needs to Him, and to trust Him to hear and answer our prayers.
The Bible teaches that “Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89), and Malachi 3:6 says, “I am the Lord, I do not change.” There are aspects of God’s will that are unchangeable, including His promises and His gift of salvation to all who put their trust in Jesus. There are also times in our lives when certain things are set, and we have to submit to His will and accept how He is working in our lives. But this is not always the case. There are times when our passive acceptance of situations and circumstances is simply a lack of faith and determination to contend in prayer—an attitude known as “fatalism.”
The Bible teaches us to simultaneously commit all things to the Lord in fervent prayer, while trusting in Him and asking for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). Scripture tells us: “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (1 Peter 5:7), and “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). We are not meant to passively accept everything we face in life, but to actively bring our concerns and cares to God in prayer.
When we pray, we have to believe that God hears our prayers and has promised to answer us in accordance with His will. The Bible says, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results” (James 5:16). But the prophet Isaiah once lamented that “there is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you” (Isaiah 64:7). Our prayers for God’s intervention are meant to be fervent, earnest, and persistent, as the following story from the Bible points out.
Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, “A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.”
And suppose the friend calls out from his bedroom, “Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.” But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.
And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened (Luke 11:5–10).
What can we learn from this parable that Jesus was using to teach His disciples about prayer? If you sincerely need something, and you believe that your request is within His will, or you are interceding on behalf of others, or asking Him to prosper some vital task you are undertaking—then pray fervently for it. Be persistent! “Seek, and you will find,” and if your prayers aren’t answered right away, don’t give up! Just keep knocking on heaven’s door with your prayers and trust that “the door will be opened” according to God’s good and perfect will. “This is the confidence that we have in approaching God, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:14–15).
God has made numerous promises in the Bible for those who love and worship Him, which we can apply to our everyday needs. God’s Word says, “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:3–4).
We should never take lightly or overlook the promises of God, because by these we become “partakers of the divine nature.” It is through God’s promises that we partake of His gift of salvation and eternal life, promised to all who receive God’s son, Jesus, as their Lord and Savior. By faith in His promises, we receive “the right to become the children of God,” granted to all who believe in His name (John 1:12).
For a strong prayer life, it is important to study and know God’s Word. Faith grows by faithful study of His Word. “Faith comes by hearing the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). God has made promises in His Word, and when you pray, you can claim those promises. When you quote God’s Word, it is a positive declaration of your faith and trust in Him. For “without faith it is impossible to please Him, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
We should also begin and end our prayers with praise and thanksgiving, and enter into God’s presence in worship. His Word says, “In every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). The Psalms teach us to “enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless His name” (Psalm 100:4). We should enter into the presence of the King of kings giving Him due reverence and honor.
Of course, sometimes our prayers aren’t answered right away or in the ways that we had hoped. It’s helpful to remember that God’s delays are not necessarily denials, and that sometimes we just have to have faith and wait for Him to answer, which often results in “the testing of our faith, which produces patience” (James 1:3). Learning patience seems to be one of God’s frequent lessons, yet one of our rarest virtues, as it tests our faith and draws us to the Lord and His Word.
It is also important to pray for God’s will to be done first and foremost. Ensure that what you’re seeking Him for is for His glory and within His will. Jesus taught His disciples to pray: “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10), and He Himself prayed in the final hours before crucifixion, “Not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).
After you have prayed about something and have committed it to the Lord, you just need to have faith that God will answer according to His good, acceptable, and perfect will (Romans 12:2). “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24).
Once you’ve committed your petition to the Lord in prayer, from then on it’s in God’s court. You don’t need to worry about it. In fact, the Bible tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything” (Philippians 4:6). Just trust the Lord and praise Him and thank Him for hearing and answering your prayer—even if you don’t see the answer right away. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18).
From an article in Treasures, published by the Family International in 1987. Adapted and republished September 2024. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.
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