How to Build a Powerful Prayer Life | Season 03, Episode 07 | Simple Truth Podcast

Why do some prayers seem powerful while others feel empty? Many Christians pray, but too often they're not confident that their prayers are actually being heard. They wonder if they're doing it right, if God is listening, or why their prayer life feels inconsistent or dry. But prayer is not meant to be confusing or frustrating. It's meant to be clear, direct, and powerful. And the Bible shows us exactly how to pray in a way that builds a real connection with God and produces real results. In this episode, you'll learn the four types of prayer in the Bible, what God is looking for in prayer, and how to build a prayer life that is consistent and effective. Let's get into it in this episode of The Simple Truth. Welcome to the Simple Truth Podcast, where we open the Bible to uncover simple, biblical, and essential truths that can transform your life. And now, here's your host, Ted Ross. >> Hi, my name is Ted Ross and this is the Simple Truth Podcast, your home for biblical truth clearly taught and freely given. Welcome to season 3 episode 7, how to build a powerful prayer life. Last episode we talked about the why. This episode we talk about the how, which means we get practical. So let's get into it. Let's talk about how to pray. Why does this episode matter? Let's be honest. Many Christians are told to pray, but they honestly don't know how to pray. So when they try to pray, they don't feel like it's working and they give up, which is the worst possible thing to do. But the Bible is super clear. God not only wants you to pray, God wants you to triumph in your prayer. He wants you to pray in faith. He wants you to pray without ceasing. He wants you to pray persistently. These are all the things that we saw last episode through scripture because a strong prayer life produces a real connection with God. It aligns you with God's will and it brings you peace and reassurance and so many other benefits which are critical for a Christian life. So a powerful Christian life is built on a powerful prayer life. So in this episode we're going to break down how to pray the four types of prayer and the most important fword in the English dictionary faith. But let's start with your questions. These are questions we receive from a variety of viewers. And let's get into the basics of praying. So, prayer 101. Question number one. Am I good enough for God to hear my prayers? That was a question that we received. Absolutely. Yes, you are. It's not about being good enough. Jesus Christ gives us access to God through prayer by his death, burial, and resurrection. What do we mean by that? We mean that Jesus Christ died for you and for me to reconcile us and connect us back to God. So when we go to God and pray, we do so in Jesus' name. And the Father accepts us, not because we're good enough, but because Jesus is good enough. Let's take a look at scripture. All the scriptures in this episode are coming from the New King James Version of the Bible. So feel free to follow along. We're going to look at Hebrews 4:16. Quote, "Let us therefore," that's you and me, believers, Christians. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. That scripture says for you and I to come with confidence and boldness before God's throne, before God's presence, that we could obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. When you and I pray to the father in Jesus' name, we can come boldly into God's presence. We're not just accepted with God. We can come with confidence to God because God clearly showed his intention. He clearly showed his power and he clearly showed his love. And he showed it in many ways, but most importantly, the fact that he gave his only son to die for our sins, be buried, and to rise again the third day. In fact, God is near to anyone who calls to him with sincerity. So, let's take a look at Psalm 145 verse 18. Quote, "The Lord is near to all who call upon him." to all who call upon him. In truth, God is near to anyone who calls out to him. Remember, we were looking in last episode, a lot of the word for prayer in the Old Testament in Hebrew, it would have these expressions of calling out or crying out to God. The Lord is near to everyone who calls out to God, to anyone who calls out to God in truth. You don't come to God because you're good. You can come to God through prayer because he's good and he has already invited you and me. If there's anything you took from last episode, I think it should be clear that God has invited you and me to have a relationship with him through prayer. Practical tip number one. Okay, resist anything and anyone that says that you can't access God. I'm gonna repeat that again. Resist. This is a tip number one in this episode. Resist anything or anyone that says to you that you cannot access God. That is not God. That is completely something else. Prayer 101. Question number two. Where should I pray? Where should I pray? The answer is everywhere. Prayer is not about location. You can access God anywhere. Let's take a look at some verses. 1 Timothy 2:8, it says, quote, I desire therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. I desire, the scripture says, that people pray everywhere without exception. Amen. Practical tip number two, set aside time daily to pray in a private place so you can focus on talking to and listening to God. So yes, I said you could pray everywhere and you should pray everywhere. But a practical tip for you is while you are praying everywhere, be sure to set aside some time in a private place so that you can focus on talking to and listening to God. And why do I say that? Let's take a look at a couple verses. So starting with Matthew 18:20, this is Jesus talking. He says, "But you, when you pray," talking to his disciples and to the multitudes, he says, "But when you pray, go into your room and when you have shut your door, pray to your father who is in the secret place." So Jesus is describing a time where he says, "But when you pray, go into your room and shut your door. Go into a private space and pray to your father who is in the secret place. Amen. Let's take a look at Luke 5:16. Quote, "So he himself, this is Jesus, often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed." Jesus often, periodically, frequently withdrew from the multitude, withdrew from the disciples, went into the wilderness, which is the desert. It's a solitary place. That's pretty much what that word means in Greek. He went into a solitary place and he prayed. So Jesus himself went into a private place so he could focus on talking to and listening to God. Okay? So where should you pray? Everywhere. But be sure to find a private space which is very scriptural so you could focus on talking to and listening to God daily. You don't need a special place to pray, but privacy can help sometimes. Prayer 101. Third question, who should I pray with? Okay, question we received. Well, you could pray by yourself, you could pray with others, you could pray at church. All of that scriptural. Here is Luke 6:12. Quote, "Now it came to pass in those days that he went out to the mountain to pray." This is Jesus. And continued all night in prayer to God. So Jesus went out to the mountain to pray. This is Jesus praying by himself. Let's take a look at Matthew 18 verse20. Quote, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them." So where two or three are gathered together praying in Jesus' name, Jesus is in the midst. Here's an example of people praying with others. So if I'm praying with one or two others, two or three are gathered together in Jesus' name. Let's take a look at Acts 1:14. Quote, "These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication." So here we are describing Pentecost. We're describing over 120 disciples and they all continued with one accord in prayer. This is church. This is the assembly of Christians. So who should I pray with? You could pray by yourself. I recommend that. You could pray with others. I recommend that. And you could pray at church. I recommend that too. So practical tip number three is a powerful prayer life. It includes both private prayer by yourself and prayer with others. Why? Because it combines faith. It strengthens each other. So people are combining their faith. They're reinforcing each other. When three people are praying together, one person may be distracted by work or problems at home or all sorts of other things. And as those two are praying with them, they start getting inspired. They start getting excited. And then they start getting into the prayer and start getting into trying to talk to God and hear God and be led by his spirit. So there's a lot of strength in doing it together. And as we saw with Jesus, it was also often done in private. Okay. Prayer 101. Question number four. Do I have to kneel when I pray? That's a common question, right? What do exactly do I do with my body when I'm praying? Do I stand? Do I kneel? Do I lie down? Well, let's take a look at what scripture says. You can feel free to stand, to kneel, to lie down, to sit still, to raise your hands. Okay, these are all things that are scriptural when it comes to praying. And remember, you can feel led to do this. That's something we're going to discuss through this episode and we're really going to hit the nail on the head for next episode as we're going to talk about seeking to be led by God's spirit. But you are going to go into prayer and you're not just saying words. You're also trying to connect with God and you're going to feel led to do something that is a reaction or a response to what's happening in your heart. Standing. Why stand? standing expresses honor and attentiveness. So you could stand before God praying to show honor to God. You stand up. You're not seated. You're not comfortable. And you're attentive before God. Let's take a look at Mark 11:25. Quote, "And whenever you stand praying," the verse says, "and whenever you stand praying." So here's an example of people praying while standing. Right? Simple as that. Kneeling shows humility and it shows reverence to God. So kneeling, taking a knee, bowing down, it shows a humility before God and a reverence of God. Daniel 6:10, it says here, quote, Daniel, he knelt down on his knees three times that day and he prayed. Daniel got on his knees three times and he did so in humility to God and in reverence to the Lord. Lying face down. That's the next one. You can lie face down to show deep submission and to show intensity. Right? You can lie face down for deep submission and intensity before God. Matthew 26:39. Quote, he went a little farther. This is Jesus. And he fell on his face and prayed. Okay. He went a little farther, a little further away. And he fell on his face. He lay down and he prayed. It's a sign of deep submission and of intensity in prayer. Sitting still. You can sit still and be attentive to God's voice. Psalm 46:10, quote, "Be still. Don't move. Listen and know that I am God." Be still and know that I am God. Sitting still, you may be praying. You may be seeking God. may be singing songs and then at some point you may be going into worship and you may sit still to hear what the Lord is saying to you. Lifting your hands that symbolizes dependence and surrender to God. Lifting your hands, lift them up, both hands shows dependence on God and a surrender to God. Psalm 141 verse two quote let my prayer be set before you as incense the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice let your prayer before God as if it's incense in the Old Testament the rituals that they did there and let the lifting up of my hands to God in prayer let that be as the evening sacrifice to make a long story short there's various examples right So practical tip number four, prayer. It starts in the heart. It starts inside of you. And then let your body reflect it. Let your body reflect what your heart is doing. You may be singing songs of praise. There may be dance. There may be clapping. There may be standing. You may be humbling yourself and bowing down in worship. Right? You may be in deep submission and lying down seeking God his answer on something and to show deep submission to him. Or you may be taking a knee to show humility. Right? These are all physical acts that are there to represent what is happening in your heart and what is happening in the spirit. Prayer 101 number five. What do I say when I pray? That's the the big question to it. What exactly do I say when it's time for me to pray? Well, that's a really good question and it depends on which one of the four types of prayer that you are praying. So, let's get into it. That brings us to our first simple truth of this episode. You and I should pray. Four different types of prayers. Let's take a look at them. First Timothy 2:es 1-4. A powerful prayer life. It includes four kinds of prayer. So there's talking to God, there's bringing our needs to God, there's interceding for other people, and there's giving thanks to God. Okay. 1 Timothy 2 verse 1. quote, "Therefore, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men." Paul says, "I exhort, I strongly encourage, I urge you, I instruct you to Timothy and to the church." That first of all, supplications, that word in Greek, it's requests. It's asking God for something. That's a supplication. It's going to God and it's asking him for something. Secondly, he said prayers. That's talking to and listening to God. Third, intercessions. That's praying for others. It literally means to stand between. So you have God on one side and you have others on the other. And you are standing between them in prayer, interceding for them. You are going to God interceding for these other people or for a nation. We're going to talk more about all of these forms in a second. And fourth, giving of thanks, gratitude, thankfulness, and praise. And that these be made for all men, for humanity, for all people, all people in general. We'll examine the four types of prayer separately in just a few minutes, but let's continue in 1 Timothy 2, verse two. What we're going to see in this verse is that prayer includes asking God to guide your leaders and to guide your authorities, right? To guide your president, your prime minister, and others so your city and your nation can live in peace and people can pursue right things. Interesting. 1 Timothy 2 verse 2 quote for kings and for all who are in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. Okay, kings. So he says that he wants these prayers to be prayed for all men, for all humanity and for kings. Kings would be nation rulers. In our modern example, and maybe you're in a country that has a king, but in our modern example, quite often it's presidents and prime ministers and certain kinds of monarchs, right? Who's in charge of your nation? And for authorities, these are people who are in positions of power or influence. God instructs us to pray for judges and for police officers. um for people who are bureaucrats, for people who manage the government, who have a position of power and who make decisions. So, we're not only praying for a ruler, but we're praying for Congress, we're praying for members of parliament, we're praying for judges, we're praying for the military, whoever it may be in your nation who can exert power or influence in regards to how that country is being run. And it says that we do that so that we could lead for us to lead a quiet that's a calm and an undisturbed and peaceable. It's a peaceful, stable, tranquil life in all godliness. That means in all devotion. That means living a life that honors God. And reverence is a life of dignity and integrity. Okay, there's a lot in this verse, folks. But to make a long story short, when Christians, when you and I pray for leaders, God can bring stability and peace that allows his people to live the way he wants them to live. So we not only pray four kinds of prayers and we not only pray them for all humanity, we also pray for authorities, we pray for rulers, we pray for leaders, and we do it for the reasons described in this verse. Let's take a look at 1 Timothy chapter 2:3. Here we're going to see that praying all four kinds of prayer pleases God. Quote, "For this is good and it's acceptable in the sight of God our savior." Okay, this it's referring to his instruction that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all people. So he says this, it's good. It's right. It's beneficial. It's excellent. That's what we mean by good. That's what that Greek work means. And it's acceptable. That means it's pleasing. It's welcome. It's approved of. So this praying, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks for all people, for rulers, and for all that are in authority. God says, "This is right with him. This is excellent with him. This is pleasing to him, and it's approved of by him." That sounds like you and I should be doing it. Okay. And it is acceptable in the sight that is in the view in the presence of God our savior. Savior is our deliverer, our rescuer. It's one who saves and preserves us. Okay. So, we should pray all four types of prayer. But what are they again? And when should I use each one? Let's take a look at that. So the first prayer type is what we would call a prayer of exchange. The Greek word is pursuk. So what is a prayer of exchange? Well, quite honestly, a lot of what we talked about in last episode of why prayer leads to a powerful Christian life, we were using that word pursuit. It's a general word for prayer and you can call it a prayer of exchange. So what is a prayer of exchange? It is talking to and listening to God. That's why we call it ant exchange, right? You are talking to God and you're listening for God's voice. And this is a general form of prayer, general word for prayer. And this is number one type of prayer. Not listed in any priority order. It's just the first type that we're going to be discussing here. And what is the point? What is the prayer of exchange? It creates a close relationship with God. It's how you build the relationship. What's an example of words that I would say? Remember, we came into this asking the question of what do I say when I pray? Well, here's an example of a prayer of exchange. Something you would say. You'd say, "Dear Father, I'm coming to be with you. Speak to me. I will listen to you." That is a prayer. That is a pursuit. It's a prayer of exchange where you're coming to talk to God and you're seeking to listen to God. Another would be, "Father, what do you think about this?" Right? It's opening up a conversation. Dear heavenly father, what do you think about this job opportunity? What do you think about this direction? Should I move to that city? Should I go into ministry, dear father? Father, what should I do about this situation? And you're you're connecting and you're praying and you're seeking that relationship with God pursuit. And why would you use this prayer, this type of prayer, this prayer of exchange? Well, praying, as we know, is more than just asking things. We're going to get to the asking things form of prayer. It's being with God, right? It's hearing God. It's aligning your will with God. And we saw this in great depth in our last episode. What are some biblical examples? Well, Jesus often left crowds to pray to pursuit to do a prayer of exchange. In Luke 5:16, we see, quote, "So he himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed pursuit." So Jesus often withdrew from the crowd, went into the solitary place and talked to and listened to God. One question I think that comes up from time to time is where a person says, I mean, can a person really hear God? Yes, a person can absolutely hear God. Why is there the use of the word 37 times in the New Testament for pursuit? And it literally means talking to and listening to God if you couldn't hear God. Many people in the Bible clearly showed that you can hear God. Jesus said, quote, "My sheep hear my voice in John 10:27." You absolutely God wants to have a relationship with you. And the relationship is not a monologue. It's not one-sided. It's not you talking to God and never hearing anything back. That's why these disciplines are important. That's why it's important to read the word of God out loud, to meditate, to pray, to fast. You do these things so that you can say the right things to God, to align with his will, and to really speak God's words back to him, but also to be able to listen and hear God. This is what the five disciplines are about. They're about relationship. And a relationship isn't one direction. A relationship is birectional. It's both directions. And that is the nature of what God is looking for. And you may remember earlier in this season that we explained the relationship that God wanted with you. It's the relationship that Adam had with God. Right? That's the relationship God wants to restore. Jesus is the last Adam. He reconciled us back to the father so we could have a real relationship with God. Which means that we both speak and we hear. Thank God. Prayer type number two, the prayer of supplication. Deasis. Okay, let's take a look at this one. Supplication. That's not a word that's commonly used in the modern English language. So, what is a prayer of supplication? Well, it's making a specific request. It's asking God for something. Okay? You're making a specific request from God to do something. Supplication is personal. It should be a heartfelt plea for help. Uh you're asking for help. You're asking for mercy. You're asking for provision. When I say mercy, I mean not getting something you deserve, right? So, you're asking God to have mercy on you or asking God for some kind of supply. You might need money. You might need an apartment. You might need a car to get to work or whatever it may be. These are prayers of supplication. What would a supplication prayer, what would a prayer of request sound like? Well, it'd be something like, "Lord, please help me. I need your help with blank. I need your help with the car. I need your help with my teenage daughter or my teenage son. Lord, I need your help with my neighbor. Lord, I need your help with someone who's become an enemy to me." Right? I need your help helping protect this person or whatever it may be. If you need God's help, if you're requesting for help from him or mercy from him or from something from him, this is a prayer of supplication. And why would you do this prayer? Well, supplication is a request to God out of some kind of deepfelt need. There's uh implicit dependence that's involved or that you lack something important. Another word for it is a petition. Again, not commonly used in the English language by most people, but you're making a supplication, a petition, a request to God. What are some biblical examples? Well, in James 5:16, we see that heartfelt, passionate requests, supplications are powerful. Quote, "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." Right? Many of us have seen this verse before, but let's drill a little deeper. It says the effective fervent prayer supplication of a righteous man avails much. So these are effective and fervent. These are energized. These are targeted. These are going right to God. And these are requests. These aren't just talking to and listening to God. Like we saw in the last example. This is about coming to God with dependence, a lack of something. It's crying out to God because Lord knows you need it. And it says these things avail much. They happen. Let's take a look in 1 Peter 3:12. We see here that God listens closely to your requests. Quote, "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers, specifically their supplications is dasis, right? That is this word." So God's eyes are on his people, those who have a right standing, those who have right behavior, and his ears are open to their requests, to their supplications. Thank God for that. Let's take a look at prayer type number three, the prayer of intercession. Now we're getting into it. All too often, we talking to listening to God. We're making requests. I think there are some people who do this quite naturally but God also clearly says that we need to be standing in between. We need to be standing and praying on behalf of others on nations on situations you name it. So what is the prayer of intercession? Well it's making requests to God for others. That's a powerful form of prayer. It's a very important form of prayer. Praying for others by bringing their needs before God. You are standing between, right? That's the definition of the word intercession. You are standing between God and those people and you are making requests on their behalf. Thank God. What would a prayer of intercession sound like? Well, something like, "Dear Father, please help them, guide them, strengthen them, show mercy on them, have grace, forgive their sins, heal them, restore them." Right? You are interceding for that person. You can speak them by name to God. whatever their name may be and you come before the father and you say, "Dear heavenly father, I know I don't deserve to be in your presence, but Jesus died for my sins and he was buried and rose the third day that I could come boldly into your presence. And while I'm in your presence, I'm going to pray boldly for my nation. I'm going to pray for my city. I'm going to pray for the church. I'm going to pray for all sorts of people. I'm going to pray for Joe and Jack and Jane and and Janet and whoever it may be. I'm going to pray on behalf of them. I'm going to pray you bless them. I'm going to pray you bless him with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. We're going to get a little more into this, but it's really important for you to not only pray, but also to use God's words while you pray in regards to it. So, using the Bible is a very effective uh forms of prayer. So, we'll talk about that in a moment. And why would you do it? Why would you do a prayer of intercession? Well, when you want God to move on behalf of another person or on a situation or on a nation, if you're going to bring their needs, their burdens, their struggles, or their condition to God to get his help, to get him to move, listen to me, folks. Prayer changes things. It absolutely changes things. Jesus said it changes things. We saw examples of people praying in the New Testament. It changed things. We saw in the Old Testament, it it changes things. So prayer is about yes a relationship with God but it's also about making supplications that we saw making requests and it's about interceding and making requests on behalf of others. What are biblical examples? There are many. In James 5:16 it says quote confess your trespasses to one another and pray. The word is intercede for one another. You're seeing here in the book of James to pray for other people. Confess your sins. Confess your trespasses to each other. If I've sinned against you, I'm sorry. I apologize for sinning against you and pray intercede for one another. Don't just look at him and says, "You're right. You did sin against me and maybe I'll forgive you for it." That's not Christianity. Christianity is I forgive you for your trespass and I'm going to pray. I'm going to intercede. I'm going to come stand between you and God. And I pray God bless you. And I don't need to do it in front of you. I'll do it privately because we are here to love one another. We are to serve one another and we are going to represent and show God's love to one another. God even blesses you. I was going to I was about to sell this. I was about to state it. I was about to spoil this whole thing when I started the prayer of intercession section, but let's be clear. When you're praying on behalf of other people, you are being blessed at the same time. Let me repeat that. We are praying for other people and situations and nations. And we're praying for God to move on their behalf. And the whole time God's blessing us at the same time. Let's take a look at that. Job 42:10. Quote, "And the Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends." Wow. Thank God. The Lord restored Job's losses. The thing that Job lost, those things that Job lost. And the Lord restored it. When Job prayed, when he interceded for his friends, when Job got to the point of interceding on behalf of his friends, the Lord restored him. Thank God. Let's keep going. Prayer type number four, prayer of thanksgiving, eukaristia. Okay, now we're getting to the good stuff. What is the prayer of thanksgiving? It's giving thanks to God. That's actually prayer. It's an expression of gratitude and appreciation for what God has done for you and is doing in you. Set it to music and we would call that praise and worship. So prayers of thanksgiving can be both verbal prayers. And they could also be songs, right? Singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. And it could be praise and worship when it's set to music. What is an example of thanksgiving? Father, I thank you for your mercy. I thank you for your favor. I thank you for giving me X, Y, or Z, whatever it may be. Gratitude is so important. Giving God thanks is so important and it is powerful. We're going to take a look in future seasons of the Simple Truth podcast. We're going to talk about prayer and we're going to talk about praise and we're going to talk about doing battle through praise and that your praise is a powerful instrument to change what's happening around you to change your own heart and to change what's happening around you. And we're going to cover that in future seasons. I don't mean to spoil it yet. So, why would you do a prayer of thanksgiving? Well, because God is worthy. He's worthy of our thanks. And thanksgiving keeps our heart grateful and aware of his goodness in our lives. What are biblical examples? Well, Psalm 100 verse4, we see here that giving thanks gets you into God's presence. Quote, "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise." Psalm 104, enter into God's gates. come before his presence with thanksgiving and into his courts into heaven with praise. Thank God. I don't know about you, but if I am destitute and I am scared or I have fear or I feel challenged or I feel overwhelmed, I know that through thanksgiving, I can get boldly into God's presence and I will offer up a sacrifice of praise and get into God's courts and into his presence and I will feel what it's like to be in the presence of the Lord. And in his presence is fullness of joy and at his right hands are pleasures forever more. There's so many good things and they come through thanksgiving which is the fourth type of prayer. We also see that thanksgiving it drives away heaviness and pressure. Right? Isaiah 61:3 quote the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. You take up the garment of praise. You put it on you like a garment. You start thanking God. Thank you Lord Jesus. Thank you for what you've done. Thank you for what you've given me. Thank you for family. Thank you for friends. Thank you for work or thank you for opportunities. Thank you for where I'm living. Thank you. You just go on and on. There's so many great things. Thank you for waking me up and for feeding me and for there's all the things that happen. All of you have unique reasons why to thank God. And as you start doing that, it casts off a spirit of heaviness because praise is spiritual warfare. And through praise, you can do all sorts of mighty things simply by thanking and praising God. We saw in the Old Testament, what was Jericho? It was praise and worship that defeated enemies and gave the Israelites victory because they came to God with thanksgiving and humility. Okay, got into it. There's a lot there. Four types of prayer, and there's more to go in this episode, so thanks for bearing with it. The first kind was supplication, right? And we all saw this in 1 Timothy 2. Supplication, asking God for something. An example, Father, help me. I need blank. Right? That's an example of supplication. Secondly, prayer, right? Puket, the general term for prayer. It's talking to and listening to God. Lord, what do you think about this? Lord, what do you think about that? It's an example of prayer. The third kind is intercession. It's praying for others. Father, please help them. They need X, they need Y, they need these things. You're interceding, you're standing between, you're standing on behalf of others. And the fourth one is giving of thanks. It's gratitude. It's praise. Thank you, Father, for what you've done. Thank you for this. Thank you for what you're doing. Thank you for I know you're bringing me, right? There's so many things that you could thank God for. You can pray in all four ways, but none of them work without faith. Which brings us to our next simple truth of the episode. You must pray to God in faith. Let's get into it. James chapter 1 verses 5 and six. When you ask God for something, he wants you to pray in faith, trusting that he hears you and is willing to give you what you need. This is what God instructs us to do. James 1 verse 5, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach and it will be given to him. Okay, this example that James is providing is a person asking for wisdom. But it could be a person asking for anything. And it says if any of you lacks wisdom, any of you is missing or in need of wisdom. Wisdom is skill. It's the ability to choose rightly or to do something right. By the way, many of us, you and I, should be asking for wisdom. We likely don't know or realize we should be. We are looking for skill. We're looking for the ability to do the right thing or to make something happen. We really do need that throughout the day. So, if any of you lacks it, let that person ask of God. Let that person request that from God or seek these things from God. It says because God gives to all liberally. God gives freely and generously. God is not stingy. God is not cheap. God is not stubborn. God is not holding on to grace because he's scared he'll run out of it. God gives freely. God gives generously is what James is saying. He gives it generously and without reproach. That means without insult or shame to the person who asks for it. Right? That's a term sometimes people didn't necessarily catch in that scripture. God gives without reproach, which means he will not shame the person who makes the request, the person who's praying for it. Prayer begins with believing God is willing to give you what you need. It's believing the fact that he doesn't withhold any good gift from his children. And so if you're asking for wisdom or if you're asking for the finances to pay for your apartment or if you're asking for a job or if you're asking for a child, whatever it is, those are good things. Pray for those things and believe that God is willing to give you what you need and have an ear open to hear what God wants you to do. That's the other side of it. James 1 verse 6. And here we're going to see that God does not just tell you to ask. He tells you how to ask in faith. James 1:6, "But let him ask in faith with no doubting. For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind." It says, "But let that person, that person who is asking for wisdom in verse five, let that person ask, that's to request, that's to petition God. Let them ask in faith. What is faith? We're going to have a whole season on faith, by the way. But what is faith? It's belief. It's confidence in God. It's a conviction to trust God. So that person should ask God in faith. They should ask God with confidence. They should ask God with the belief and in the conviction that God is trustworthy and gives good things to his children. With no doubting, with no doubting. To doubt is to waver. It's to hesitate. It's to be divided within oneself. Doubting is to go to God and say, "God, I know you give good things, but not all the time. God, I know you give good things, but maybe not to me." Right? It says, "Do not doubt. Do not waver. Do not hesitate. And don't be divided within yourself. For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven." That means you're pushed along by an outside force. That means you're no longer going in that direction that God called you to do. But you because of your wavering, because of your hesitation, because you're divided, you're not driving in a direction. You're being pushed back and forth by other forces. That means you've become passive, right? And tossed, blown about, agitated by the wind. You need to apply your faith when you pray or you'll be driven and tossed by doubt every single direction. There's nothing about this scripture in which God looks and says, "I just love your doubt." That's not it. In fact, if you're to look in the New Testament, you'll find that most of the time Jesus was uprading or he was correcting his disciples. It was because of doubt and unbelief. God feels very strongly that you should come to God, believe who he is, and accept him as he is. And we're going to take a look at this. I didn't want to jump ahead of my next verse. So, let's take a look at Hebrews 11:6. In Hebrews 11:6, we're going to see that when you pray, you must believe that God is real. You must believe that God is good and that he responds to those who seek him. He He does. He responds. In fact, he gives liberally and he does it without reproach, which means he won't put you to shame for asking it and seeking him for it. Okay. Hebrews 11:6, but without faith it is impossible to please him. For he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. But without faith, right? Again the words belief, confidence, conviction to trust God. Without confidence in God, without a conviction that you should trust God, it is impossible. That means not able to happen. Means it's unable to please him. That means it's impossible without faith to be acceptable or to bring delight to God. That's what it means to please. For he who comes to God, the person who approaches, who draws near to God, that sounds like prayer, doesn't it? The person who comes praying to God, who comes before God, that person must believe, they must trust, they must have confidence in, they must rely on that he is God and that he is a rewarder. That means he repays, he rewards, he gives due. He repays. He rewards those who diligently seek him, that put the effort in to seek God. Pray in faith, believing God is real, and he rewards those who seek him. Let's take a look at Mark 11:22 through 24. And here we're going to see that Jesus commands us to have confidence and conviction when we pray. Mark 11:22 quote. So Jesus answered and said to them, have faith in God. Have that's to hold, to keep, possess. Hold faith. Keep faith. Keep that belief, that confidence, that conviction to trust God. Without faith, right? Your prayers are just words. But with faith, those words engage God. They engage his power. Those words are spirit and they are life. Thank God. Mark 11:23. What we're going to see here is because when you pray in faith, even the immovable things can't stop God. Amen. Mark 11:23, quote, "For assuredly I say to you," Jesus says, "Whoever says to this mountain, be removed and be cast into the sea and does not doubt in his heart does not waver, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says." These are powerful verses. But let's get into it. What are what are we seeing here? For assuredly I say to you, Jesus says, "Whoever says, whoever speaks, whoever declares to this mountain, it's a mountain." That's what that word means. But it implies an immovable obstacle. Jesus isn't just talking about mountains. Mountains aren't our biggest issue in life. There are immovable obstacles. There are things that seem grand that seem impossible for you and I to move or do something about. It says, "He who speaks or declares to that immovable obstacle and does not doubt, doesn't waver, doesn't hesitate, is not divided within themsself and does not doubt in his heart, in your inner self, right? In your will, your intellect, your emotions, in your spirit, and but believes, but trusts, has confidence in, relies on those things he says will be done. They will happen. They will come to pass. They will become Prayer builds power because faith speaks with confidence in God. Mark 11 is a very powerful set of verses and I've seen some folks really take it in all sorts of directions. Uh and we're not going to weigh in on all those things just yet. We're just going to take a look at what these verses say and what they mean. But the reality is there's people who can interpret and misinterpret and try to take it in a direction where either they are always having what they say on one camp or on another camp where God never does anything for anyone ever. And I think quite clearly Jesus's words, he means what he says. He's clearly telling you that there are movable things in your life. And the person who speaks and declares that those things should be moved and doesn't waver in their heart, God will bring those things to pass. Okay? And we're going to see why in Mark 11 24. Prayers in faith and aligned with God, they come to pass. Right? Therefore, I say to you, Jesus says, "Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you will receive them and you will have them." Right? Ask. He says whatever things you ask, whatever things you request, whatever things you petition God when you pray, when you speak to God, when you approach him in prayer, he says believe, trust, have confidence in, rely on that you'll receive them. Take hold or obtain them. Okay? And you will have them. You will possess, you will hold, you will experience what has been given. These are the words Jesus is saying. He's saying that faithfilled prayer. It believes God's promise while we're waiting for the results. We've covered many important topics here on prayer. So, let's go ahead and put it together. Putting all together, why does God answer prayers? Why did Jesus say that the person who prays without wavering, he will have what he asks for? Why did Jesus say that? Well, God is not a formula, right? He's not some math equation. answered prayers, they come from that relationship with God. Okay? So through prayer, you talk to and listen to God, right? We saw this this episode, last episode. Through prayer, you stay connected to God. You align your heart with God's will and you receive strength and reassurance from God. So through prayer, you're communicating to God. You're connected to God. You are lined up with God. And you are strengthened and reassured by God. And that prepares you to pray. So when you pray, you pray prayers that align with God's will. And those prayers are in faith of who God is and what God can do because he can move immovable mountains. So listen to me closely. According to the Bible, God answers prayers that are spoken with faith, that are aligned with his will, and are persistently brought before him. If I were to summarize this episode and last episode, it would be that God answers prayers that are spoken in faith without doubting that are aligned with God's will. His kingdom come, his will be done. Amen. And persistently are brought before him as we saw with the parable of the persistent widow. Why God doesn't answer a prayer. Let's take the other side of it. If your prayers are not being answered, it's not because God isn't listening. He's listening. It may be due to one of the reasons below which we find in scripture. Number one, God won't answer a prayer that you never ask. Okay? I'm going to say that again. God's not going to answer a prayer that you never ask. Okay? Matthew 7. In Matthew 7:7-11, feel free to read that. We're not going to go into all of it. I'm taking an exerpt out of it, but you've all heard this verse before, folks. For everyone who asks receives. Okay? It assumes you are asking to receive it. Number two, God doesn't respond to prayers in doubt and unbelief. You're wavering. You're divided in yourself. You don't believe God is God, and you don't believe that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek God, right? As we saw in Hebrews 11:6. So, let's take a look at James. in James 1:5-8, which is the full context of it. But let's take an excerpt. It says, "For he who doubts is like the wave of the sea, which we saw before, and it says a little later in this verses, let not that man suppose he will receive anything from the Lord." Okay? Don't let that person suppose that they will receive anything from God because they're wavering, they're doubting, and they are not in faith. Interesting. Amen. Number three, a reason why God wouldn't answer a prayer. God doesn't answer prayers driven by selfish desires. Okay, let's take a look at James 4 in verses 1-6 to give you the full context if you want to read it. You know, we don't want to make this episode so long. So, you got that there if you want to follow up. But the excerpt I want to take that's important is in James 4:es 1-6 we see quote you ask and do not receive because you ask a miss okay you ask from God you pray to God and you don't get it from God because your asks are a miss they're for your own desires they're for your own lusts remember God's kingdom come's will be done in earth as it is in heaven coming to God and asking for or all sorts of foolish desires. That's not God's kingdom. That's not aligned with God's will, and those things will not come to pass. When prayers go unanswered, maybe something is off in your life. That's another thing, too. So, number four, God won't answer a prayer if you're mistreating your spouse. Let's take a look at that. In 1 Peter 3:7, it says, quote, "Dwell with them with understanding." It's talking about a man and wife specifically. Same could be said about a wife and a husband. It said, "Dwell with them with understanding that your prayers may not be hindered. Dwell with your spouse with understanding. Treat them appropriately. You should act appropriate and treat them appropriately and do so that your prayers will not be hindered before God." So if you're praying for something, it may be the way you're treating your family members. Number five, God won't answer prayers if sin is held on to. if you cherish it instead of repenting of it. Remember what Jesus asked us to do. He so told us to come and tells us to repent and to believe. If you are holding on to things that you know are wrong, that fall short that God wants you to get rid of their a weight that you're carrying and try to run with when God says get rid of that weight and run freely. Psalm 66 in verses 18- 20 we see here if I regard if I cherish if I hold on to iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear the Lord will not hear if I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear there are things that happen you need to release those iniquities you need to get rid of them let's take a look at first John 1:9 says here if we confess our sins then he God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we confess our sin, if we repent and turn away from our sin, God is faithful and he'll forgive us our sins. And he won't just forgive us our sins. He will cleanse us and purge us from all unrighteousness. He will restore us. He will answer our prayers. We've covered what prayer is. Let's take a moment to see what prayer isn't. What isn't prayer? Well, praying is not a religious ritual. It's not something you do to try to earn God's approval. That's not how prayer is. That's not what it's for. I prayed 10 times today. God likes me more than the person who prayed nine times. That's just not at all how that works. That's not how a relationship works, folks. Praying is not a magic formula. You don't pray a certain way to get what you want when you want it. That's not prayer. Prayer is not repeating another person's words without faith or understanding. Remember, prayer at its heart is a relationship. You don't have a relationship with a family member or friend by simply repeating something someone else said. God's looking for you to come honestly, to pour out your heart, like the scripture said, to come boldly before his presence. That's a very personal set of items, which means you are the person he wants to interact with. There's some brilliant and intelligent and spirit-ledd people out there, and that's great, but God wants to have a relationship with you. You're the one who matters right now in this conversation. Those folks can go out there and do all sorts of wonderful things, but God's talking to you. Praying is not an outward performance. It's not meant to impress God or people. God's not impressed by your performance. He's not impressed by your eloquence. He's not impressed by how complicated your prayers have become. He's not impressed by how funny or or the inflection of your voice. These things are outward appearance. God judges the inside. He judges the inside of your heart. He's not looking for an outward performance. And if you're doing it to impress God, you know you're mistaken. And if you're doing it to impress people, that's people pleasing. And that's sin. That's not what God wants you to do. God doesn't have you on this earth to grow on pleasing other people. God has you on this earth to have a relationship with him, to serve him, to please him, to do his will, and to fulfill your purpose. You should be singularly focused. You should be focused completely on God, and the people will take care of themselves. Okay? Praying is not a substitute for obedience where your words aren't matched by your actions. You go to God and you pray for all sorts of things and then throughout the day you do all sorts of things in contradiction. God wants you to be obedient to him and he wants you to pray. So don't think that the prayers that you say and the words that you say somehow replace your behavior during the day or during the night. Praying is not a one-sided monologue where you're just talking and you have no listening to God. Quite often we find why we're talking to and listening to God is God will straighten us out. God will correct us. God will get us in line. We may be praying about something and we're asking God to help fix it. And what we're realizing is that what we're trying to have God help fix is something that God wants us to have nothing to do with. God's saying, "If you just listen to me, I'd tell you, I'm not fixing it. I'm not doing anything for it. I'm getting you out of it." That's what God is telling you to do. So God wants to have a two-way conversation with you. He wants to have a dialogue, not a monologue. And now some final advice on how to pray. There's so much about prayer as you could see. And we want to try to keep it as concise as possible. But Amen. There's a lot to talk about. Final advice about praying. Okay. First of all, speak your prayers. Don't be silent. Thinking silently about God is not prayer. It's biblical meditation, but it's not prayer. Prayer in scripture is verbal. It's spoken. Remember, praying is talking to and listening to God. It's not silent. It's verbal. It's vocalized. So speak to God in prayer. Secondly, pray in faith. Believe that God hears you. And that God is able to respond. He loves you. He cares for you. When you have a chance, if you want to know more about this, check out Mark 11:4. Third, prayed to the father in Jesus's name. In the New Testament, Christians prayed to the father in the name of Jesus Christ or through Jesus Christ. Christians did not pray in the Bible to the Holy Spirit. That's not scriptural. Christians did not pray to angels. That's not scriptural. Christians did not pray to deceased relatives. That's not scriptural. Here's a set of verses. If you want to learn more about this topic, please feel free to check them out. Feel free to message us on Instagram, on YouTube. We'd love to chat with you more about it. But in scripture, prayers were to the father in the name of Jesus Christ. And I think why what it's important is this reason. We want our prayers to be heard and we want a relationship to be based on God's word. So, one of the most powerful ways for God to respond to you is for it to be aligned with his will and to be based on his word, which is what we're going to get to in just a second. So, fourth, pray according to God's will. Don't treat prayer like you're trying to get your own way with God. See what God wants. Right? If you want to know more about it, check out First John 5:14. As you can see, there's a lot of scripture in the Bible about prayer. Next, frequently speak God's word during prayer. This is one that a lot of people stumble on. Um, there are so much inspired scripture and there's so many prayers that Peter prayed and John prayed and Paul prayed and Jesus prayed that we can actually use those. And these are words that are inspired by God that we should use in our own prayers. The scriptures are inspired by the Holy Spirit. The the expression is their spirit breathe. Quoting God's word during prayer, it gets God's attention. It keeps you aligned with God and it strengthens your faith. Check out John 15:7 to see more about it. Be honest with God truthfully. Tell him your needs. Tell him about your burdens. Tell him about your shortcomings, your sins, and your desires. Check out Psalm 62:8 if you want to see more. Be honest with God. You're not telling him your faults so for him to be able to justify them. I'm sorry. Sin is sin and God doesn't want you sinning. He doesn't want you falling short. He doesn't want you displeasing him. But he's merciful and gracious and he wants to work with you to get you out of it. God loves you as you're dealing with your issues. And so confess them to God. Pray for assistance with them. Tell him where you're at and work with God at a place of honesty. He is near to all who call upon him. We saw to all who call upon him in truth. That's what it means to pray to God. Ask specifically. Bring real requests before God. Don't bring vague religious language. Again, you're not praying to impress somebody. You're not praying to impress God. God's not testing you on your knowledge of scripture. He's not testing you on your vocabulary. None of those things are happening. He will bless the simple just as much as he'll bless the educated. Check out Philippians 4:6 if you want to see more regarding that. Don't pray to impress people. Prayer is for God. Prayer is your relationship with God. It's not for performance. It's not for other people's attention. Check out Matthew 6:es 5 and 6 if you want to learn more regarding that. And continue in prayer. A powerful Christian life requires intensity. It requires urgency. It requires determination. Okay. Check out Matthew 11:12 if you want to learn more about it. But continue and be persistent in prayer. Sometimes prayer is going to feel like a fight and your job is to fight that good fight. Stick with it. Be persistent. Keep going with it. God is calling for you to do that. Okay? And most importantly, prayer is not just something we do. It's something the Holy Spirit helps us do. Okay? You have God's spirit in you. The Holy Spirit helps you know what to pray. The Holy Spirit tells you how to pray. The Holy Spirit even strengthens you when words are hard to find. Right? The spirit is your comforter. The spirit is your helper. The spirit's your advocate. Right? All of this. The Greek word is pariclete. These are the meanings of that word. When you follow his leading, your prayers move from a routine thought to spiritguided words that are purposeful and effective. You are not just looking to pray something you saw somewhere. You're not just looking to pray just your thoughts. You're looking to get into the point of praying as you're led by the spirit. You may remember in the beginning of this episode, we said you may be led to stand. You may be led to lie down, to kneel. You may be led to sit and to listen. As you are praying, seek to be led by God's spirit in the prayer. So, it's more than just words, but it's spiritguided words. It's a spiritual connection. So, what does it mean to be led by the Holy Spirit? Well, that brings us into our next episode of The Simple Truth. We've talked about connecting with God through prayer. Now, let's learn how to hear God's voice and follow his leading. We'll explore how to be led by God's Holy Spirit in our next episode. So, join us for the next episode, how to hear and follow the Holy Spirit. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Simple Truth Podcast. Prayer is not meant to be uncertain or ineffective. It's actually God's way for you to confidently approach him, stay connected to him, and receive strength for your daily life. So start applying what you've learned. Be intentional. Be consistent. And build a prayer life that is rooted in truth and strengthened by faith. This week, I want to challenge you. Commit to seven days of prayer. Set aside intentional time each day to talk to God, to listen to God, and to bring your requests to him with faith. Keep it consistent. Keep it honest. and watch how your connection with God begins to grow. And if this episode helped you, please be sure to like, subscribe, and share it with someone else who wants to grow in effective prayer. Next episode, we will get into how to hear and follow the Holy Spirit. Because as you get better at praying, you'll want to better recognize God's voice and follow his lead. It's been a pleasure talking about the Bible with you. I pray God bless you, God keep you, and guide you into a deeper, more powerful prayer life. Until next time, thank you for listening to the Simple Truth Podcast. For additional episodes, visit us at www.simpletruth.org.