I will not leave you comfortless.
One of the best ways to gain peace in your life is to consult with someone who can give you helpful answers. If you are feeling bad, it is nice to be able to talk to a doctor who can tell you want is wrong and what you need to do to heal. If there is anyone who can give you comforting words, it would be God. Prayer is the means by which we commune with God and gain insight into what we need to do. Prayer must God hand in hand with the Bible, for the Bible is the basis for truth. The Bible does lack the specific details about your life, what you are facing, and that is where prayer comes in. God has a race for you to run, and He wants to be there every step of the way.
Jesus left us with a pattern of how to pray. It is often called the LORD’s prayer, but really it is the disciple’s prayer.
Praise God
And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Luke 11:2
This verse also brings us to the very first thing we need to consider when praying. That is praising the LORD for how great He is. Now let us get this straight right away—the LORD does not need us stroking His ego. We do not praise God to make Him feel good about Himself. It is not that He needs to hear it; instead, it is us that needs to listen to ourselves confess it. The more we think about how great God is by speaking it, the more confidence we gain in our prayers. Yes, the LORD can do anything!
I usually think of something amazing and realize that God is behind it. Do you know that every musical note is a design pattern of God? Music is a language that creates a variety of emotions within the human spirit. This sophisticated system is from the mind of the LORD. If God could create such a beautiful thing as music, what can He do in your life? That is just one of the innumerable things you can use to see how Holy God is.
Ask for the LORD’s Will to be done
“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth” is probably one of the most challenging things to genuinely pray. Do we really want God’s will? Many years ago, a young man used to sing in the church I attended. He sang the song that had the words “whatever it takes for my will to break; that’s what I would be willing to do.” That used to scare me quite a bit. Could I get into a terrible accident at not be able to walk? Could I get a dreadful disease that would limit my abilities? I know, how silly that is but I think other people too might think what could happen if they asked, “whatever it takes for my will to break; that’s what I would be willing to do.
The LORD is not like that! He does not want to bring unnecessary problems into His children’s lives. He loves us, but He loves others to and sometimes His will is to help others at our expense. Be it know that God’s will should be our prayer.
Ask for your needs to be met
Luke 11:3
Give us day by day our daily bread.
The LORD wants to meet our needs.
And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
John 16:23
Here is the problem with us. We like to look at verses like this out of context. I mean the context of the whole Bible. How does this fit into God’s plan? Well, if we are praying for the LORD’s will to be done, then what we ask for should be a need to fulfill it. Here is a secret I have learned about getting your prayer answered. Give God a good reason to answer your prayer. Think about why God should give it to you. What would happen if you did not have the request answered? How will your request benefit the LORD’s kingdom?
The LORD does not want to spoil us, just as a good parent does not want to spoil their child. God has the ability to give us everything our heart desires. Being a righteous God, He won’t. Think about if someone was to ask you for something. Imagine a homeless person comes up to you and ask you for some help. A righteous person is going to consider what they should do. Should they give money and let them buy drugs? Maybe a better solution would be to buy them a meal. A wise person must make smart choices. God is the same. Often we are like the homeless person who refuses the meal because they would rather have the drugs. To be honest, that is often our prayers. We don’t want what the LORD wants to give. We want our heart’s desire.
Jesus taught us the logic of faith that gets prayers answered. Jesus looks at the world and how life has been going on for millenniums and uses this as a logic for prayer. It is a simply cause and effect. If this happens then that should happen. If the birds do not sow and they eat. The flowers do not spin their clothing and yet they are beautiful. The logic tells us that we should have faith that the LORD will help us.
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Matthew 6:30
Here is a quick comment.
4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Psalms 37:4
Many people will take this verse as an invitation to ask of God whatever our heart desires. I think we need to understand from the context of seeking to have a godly desire. In other words, we are to delight ourselves in the LORD, and He will change the desire of our heart to be in line with His will.
Keeping the right heart
And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
Luke 11:4
As I have stated in another article, forgiveness is given to the repentant, not just anybody. We are commanded to forgive those who asked for us to do so, and if we don’t, then why would we expect the LORD to forgive us when we pray. As we judge others, we set the standard for the LORD to judge us.
God is your protection
We often start our day without asking the LORD to watch over us. We assume He will. God will not force Himself upon us. Just like a child who pulls away from a parent and gets hurt, so are God’s children. We need to be conscious of the fact that spiritual and physical dangers are ever-present around us. We should never assume that the LORD will be there for us no matter what we do or think. Having a conversation with God about the dangers of life can help us avoid them.
Peace will come when your prayer life takes on the example the Jesus gave us. The pleading for God to hear you is a worthless endeavor. The rational, thoughtful prayer is a time well spent.