CONTENTS  Preface  1. Born Anew  2. Scriptural Teaching on Evangelism  3. Practicing Evangelism  4. How to Pray  5. Sanctified Christian Living  6. In the Spirit 7. Forming Fellowships  8. Training for Ministry  9. Prayer and Ministry  10. One in the Body  11. New Testament Order 12. On to Maturity

4. How to Pray Someone has said that prayer is to the spiritual life, what breathing is to the physical life. Surely learning to pray is the most urgent need of a new convert. What is prayer? Prayer is first of all conversation with God. As such, it involves not only talking, but also listening. God does both; so should we. This is the answer to anyone who is not sure that God answers our prayers. The fact is there are no unanswered prayers, though there are many unheard answers. Take time to listen. Remember that God is not the frantic, nervous type. He does not worry about things in advance. Do not try to rush Him, or organize Him, or tell Him how to run His business. Give Him a chance to organize things His own way. The quiet patience of God is faster than man's most frantic activity. How does God speak to people? Moses, Saul of Tarsus, and others heard God speaking to them in an audible voice. Ezekiel saw visions. King Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams which Daniel interpreted for him. God has often spoken to His people through prophecy. He spoke to Elijah in a still, small voice. In short, He gets through to people in any way they are willing to receive. Probably the most common method by which God speaks to individuals is by the still, small voice, which is simply His thoughts placed in the mind of the one who waits before Him. But do not try to limit Him. He can and does use any of the methods listed above, and probably many others besides. What may I ask for? I find that often when I talk to people about prayer, the first thing they say is, “Maybe God says No.” This negative approach indicates that most of us believe that God does not want to do much for His people. But Jesus said, “You may ask for anything in my Name, I will do it” (John 14:13). Or again He says, “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24). Now, obviously, we can't do this if we believe He is the kind of Person who always says No. The best antidote for this kind of negative belief is to study and accept the promises that God makes in the Bible. Then we will be able to pray confidently and intelligently, knowing our requests are in accordance with His will. Here are just a few of the definite promises He makes to you: 1. Answer to prayer — “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:14; see also Luke 11:9). 2. Forgiveness — “In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace” (Ephesians 1:7; see also Matthew 6:14). 3.  Wisdom — “For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict” (Luke 21:15; see also James 1:5). 4. Peace — “The Lord blesses His people with peace” (Psalm 29:11; see also John 14:27). 5. Plenty — “The Lord your God will make you most prosperous in all the works of your hands” (Deuteronomy 30:9). 6. Protection — “He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart” (Psalm 91:4). 7. Health — “If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you” (Exodus 15:26). “He heals all your diseases” (Psalm 103:3). 8. Guidance — “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way” (Psalm 25:9; see also Isaiah 30:21).  Note that this last promise of guidance covers all other situations for which we cannot find definite promises in the Bible. If you are in doubt as to whether anything is a suitable prayer object, just ask Him. He will guide your prayers if you will let Him. What kind of prayers are there? There are as many different kinds of prayer as there are topics concerning our lives and our relationship with God. We can, however, distinguish some main classifications which should surely be represented in every Christian's prayer life: 1. Adoration — giving God the praise and honor He deserves. 2. Repentance — apologizing to God for failure, accepting His forgiveness, and then turning away from sin. 3. Thanksgiving — recognizing the good things He has done for us and being appreciative of them. 4. Petition — asking things for ourselves. 5. Intercession — bringing the power of God to others. 6. Affirmation — accepting by faith the promises of God. 7. Meditation — stretching our minds and hearts to see and know Him as He is. How can our prayer life be perfected? If we want to stop blundering around in the dark in our prayer life, and if we really want to become powerful prayer warriors, we have to do what Jesus told His disciples to do first, namely: to be filled with the Holy Spirit as were the first disciples on the day of Pentecost in the upper room in Jerusalem. If we do this, we will begin to notice the following changes in our prayer life: 1. The Holy Spirit gives us a new language which alone is adequate for the adoration of Almighty God. 2. He will constantly bear witness to the presence of Jesus Christ in our hearts, so that we can constantly rejoice in His love. 3. We will be less preoccupied with struggles within ourselves and will be free to serve Him in ministry to others. We will become His effective soldiers and servants. 4. We no longer wonder whether our prayers are getting through to God, for we have His assurance continually in our hearts. 5. We know how to pray, because He directs our prayers. “We do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will” (Romans 8:26, 27). He will even guide our praise and thanksgivings (Read Ephesians 5:18-20). 6. He will enable us to pray the prayer of faith by which miracles can be wrought. We will even be able to command things in His Name, and they will come to pass. Notice that almost all the miracles in Acts are performed by a word of command, given by the disciples in Jesus' Name. They are able to do this because they are filled with the Holy Spirit, and because they have maintained a dynamic contact with God by constant prayer. How long should we pray? We should pray until we get through. We should pray until we have the assurance that our prayer has got through to God, and until we have heard His encouraging voice answering us. We should pray until we are through praying, without unnecessary repetition or too many words. Let us not bore Him with fancy circumlocutions or empty words. In petitions for things which God has definitely promised us  — forgiveness, healing, provision, and the like — we need not pray the same prayer over and over. “Ask and ye shall receive.” Do it once and finish the job. Then go in confidence that God has heard and answered, and He is working on it. We will not be heard for our infinite repetition, but we will be for our trust in His promises. If at first we are unsuccessful, let us ask Him why not, make the necessary adjustment in our lives or in our requests, and then pray again His way. Most Christians need to spend less time begging, and more time seeking God Himself. Prayer is really a fellowship with Him. He wants us to come into His presence and know Him as He is. We will never spend too much time in meditation on His greatness and in opening our hearts to receive His love. “Seek and ye shall find.” There are some objects of prayer which have to be repeated and struggled over. These mostly have to do with the tearing down of strongholds and the opening of doors of ministry. “Knock and it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7). There is a real spiritual warfare that must often be won before we can have any effective ministry for the Lord. There is a groaning and struggling in the Spirit. But let us always remember that He is the door. What He opens cannot be shut by anyone else. In this kind of prayer, also, we should pray until we have the assurance of victory in our hearts. What if my mind wanders when I try to pray? Nobody likes a person who always monopolizes the conversation, choosing the topic and then directing what is to be said about it. This is what we often try to do to God. When our minds wander, it may mean that God has finally been able to get a word in edgewise, and that He is trying to choose the topic of conversation. When this happens, why not be happy about it? Let Him suggest the topics for prayer (by directing the “wandering” of our minds). Then we can go a step further, and let Him have a share in what is said about that topic. What if I have tried and it didn't work? Do not expect to master all that has been said here the first time you try. Remember the first time you tried to talk to your mother, all you said was “Waa.” And though she may have understood fairly well at the time, this is surely not the ultimate in human communication. So our communication with God has not only a beginning, but also a development under His wonderful, patient and loving guidance.

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