Prayers God Answers

I went to a prayer meeting this morning at church and it was most profitable.  The more I pray, the more I realise that prayer might be one of the things I have often misunderstood about the Christian walk.  As I read prayers recorded in scripture, I recognise there can be a great divide between what I read and how I actually pray.  This goads me to break out of the prayer culture which promotes the eloquence of speaking over the simple elegance of listening, heart and mind tuned to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit.  It is far easier to pray according to the suggestions of man than the promptings of our heavenly Father.  It should not be pity for others that drives us to pray, but a fervent desire for God to be glorified and praised.

Measure your prayers against Paul's prayer recorded in Colossians 1:9-12:  "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; ¹⁰ that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; ¹¹ strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; ¹² giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light."  Instead of focusing on transient circumstances in the lives of people (which Paul no doubt prayed!), his focus was more on the condition of the heart and mind.  I cannot stress this enough.  I suggest a massive majority of our intercessions to God on behalf of others or ourselves goes no deeper than a plea for God to change or alleviate circumstances He has seen fit to allow.  Our prayers would be better suited, therefore, to pray more upon the lines of Paul:  that in our circumstances we would be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all wisdom, walking worthy of the LORD, being fruitful in every good work, being strengthened with all might with joy and patience, giving thanks to the Father.

If we can lay hold of this truth and put it into practice in our prayers, we should not be surprised that God will answer!  We are called to be watchful in prayer, not talkative.  Instead of being distracted with the circumstances, let us seek God circumspectly.  Let us commune with God and intercede on behalf of others even as Paul prayed for the church in Colosse:  not that God would necessarily change the circumstances faced by others, but that they would be transformed for His glory in the midst of them.  It is through this we are proved overcomers through Christ!  When we pray according to God's will He hears us and will answer.  God's Word clearly outlines His will for every person, and Colossians 1:9-12 is one prayer among many that lays out God's will for all of us we should pray confidently!

1 John 5:14-15 reads, "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."  Praise God that in Christ through the Holy Spirit we have access to the Father to find help in time of need!