Does Prayer Really Work?
We often hear people say: “My Christian friends often ask me to pray to God. But nothing happened or improved even after I prayed for a long time. How come my prayer does not work when Christians often say that prayer works?”
Does prayer really work? If so, how can one’s prayer be effective?
The true meaning of prayer is to breathe in God, have fellowship with Him, absorb Him, and enjoy Him. Therefore, when praying there is no need to pretend or do anything; just simply talk to God. More so, the most important thing in prayer is not to ask for something, but to gain God Himself and allow Him to gain more of you. When we enjoy God Himself a little bit more, many of our problems will be resolved.
On the other hand, there are some points to consider about prayer:
- Are there factors that prevent God from blessing us? When prayer is not answered, it is firstly related to our personal situation. If we have sinned or have inappropriate speech, behavior, thoughts, and attitudes, or have a negative feeling towards God and man, all of these can prevent God’s blessings from reaching us. We need to ask the Lord for the covering of His precious blood. Only in this way can prayer be accomplished.
- Are we asking evilly? The book of James says: “You do not have because you do not ask; you ask and do not receive because you ask evilly that you may spend it on your pleasures.” If we ask evilly or for what we should not have, or if we ask for what displeases God, especially at the cost of our very person, we will receive nothing.
- Is it by faith? Prayer must be asking by faith. The Lord Jesus personally told his disciples: “For truly I say to you, If you have faith like a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”
- Is it in the spirit? Prayer must be in the proper realm. The Gospel of John says: “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness.”
It is not difficult to turn back to our spirit. When we calm down, retreat to the deepest part of our being, and sincerely seek God, we will be stirred up. Then we can use our spirit to pray and respond to God.
- Are we continuing steadfastly? What should we do if we have fulfilled all the conditions, but prayer remains unanswered? We must not be discouraged in our prayer. We must continue steadfastly and “wear out” the Lord. There are times when the Lord does not act immediately in order to train us to rely on Him and trust Him until prayer becomes our daily habit.
Now you know how to pray. The Lord Jesus is a living God. If we will listen to Him, surrender personal sovereignty to Him, God will accomplish everything for us in due time.