A Formula For Prayer

Prayer can be best defined as the act of communication with God.

Prayer is a significant part of the post–salvation spiritual life, yet it is no more than a ritual practice for some and neglected by many others.

Having a solid knowledge and understanding of those we desire to have a relationship with and the ability to communicate effectively with them are essential parts required to build and maintain a working relationship.

This principle applies in the natural realm in our relationships with other people and it applies in the supernatural realm in our relationship with God.

In the development of our communication with God, our prayer life and our daily devotional time spent in the Word of God are closely related.

During our prayer time, it is we who do most of the talking as God listens. In our devotional time spent in the Word of God, it is God who does most of the talking while we listen.

Effective communication is a two–way street. Having a relationship where only one party does all the talking and never listens to the other is going to end up dysfunctional.

When a person has spiritually matured, he is occupied with the Person and presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. He therefore is in a constant state of prayer as he talks with God in the privacy of his soul as he walks with God & goes through all of the events and spiritual challenges of each & every day.

As a believer matures spiritually, the content of his prayer life will be focused on seeking God’s will and not on his own desires. (Matt.6: 10/Matt.26: 39).

All desires that were independent of what God had planned for his life were all left behind along the road to spiritual maturity. (Matt.6:24).

Of the secular issues that remain, he has learned to automatically arrange them in their appropriate places in the believer’s list of priorities. (Luke 14:26).

Specific prayer is certainly appropriate in times or events of crisis, but there is something dramatically wrong with our relationship with God when the only time we pray is when our prayers are of a “9–1–1–“ nature.

We must be cautious when developing a prayer life that we do not become so dogmatic in its content or format that we lose the intimacy with God that our prayer lives should enhance.

There are never the less principles found in the Bible addressing the issues of prayer that must be considered if we are to develop a meaningful prayer life.

In the spiritual realm, there isn’t ANYTHING that can be done “…apart from me…” (John 15:5 NIV). Prayer is no exception.

All spiritual activity must be done under the filling (control) of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise it is no more than religious activity void of true spirituality. 1 Cor. 3:12–15).

All believers have, from the moment of salvation, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. (1Cor.3:16/Eph.4:30/1Cor.6:19).

However, we are not always under the filling (control) of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 7:5).

The fallen nature does not go away as a result of our salvation. In fact, as time goes on, its potential influence grows stronger and stronger as it competes with indwelling Spirit of God within us for the control of our minds and inevitably our actions.

Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote of this internal conflict between the indwelling Spirit of God and the fallen nature within him (Rom.7). Paul wrote this nearly 30 years after his conversion!

When we choose to accept the leading of the fallen nature within us, we sin. As a result, the indwelling Holy Spirit does not leave us (Eph.4:30)but is no longer in control of our thinking and ultimately our behaviors.

Our fellowship with God, and the control (filling) of the Holy Spirit is restored when we “confess” our known sins, according to 1 John 1:9 NIV.

This is very relevant to the effectiveness of our prayer life, since we cannot do anything in the spiritual realm, including pray, when we are not under the “filling” (control) of the Holy Spirit. (John 15:5).

Jesus taught that the confession of our sins (and the forgiveness of those who have offended us) is one of the primary functions of the prayer life. (Matt.6:12).

The ONLY prayer that God will receive from an unbeliever is one that is responding to the message of the Gospel under the pre–salvation ministry of God the Holy Spirit.

The ONLY prayer that God will receive from a born–again believer is one that is executed while under the “filling” of the Holy Spirit.

It stands to reason then that the first issue that a believer is to address when entering into prayer is the “filling” of the Spirit.

This is accomplished by the private confession of all known sin(s) if at the time of the prayer there are any unconfessed sin(s) in his personal life. (1John 1:9) There usually are! (Romans 3:23/1John 1:10).

With the issue of the filling of the Holy Spirit being resolved, the believer then can enter into prayer with the assurance that his is doing so with the required and enabling power to effectively do so.

Another principle to considered is to Who are we to address our prayers.

All three Persons of the Trinity are involved in the function prayer. According to the Bible, we are to pray to God the Father, in the name (authority/access) of God the Son, and in the power (filling) of God the Holy Spirit.

Although all three Members of the Trinity are involved in prayer, the Bible is clear that we are to address our prayers to God the Father. (Matt. 6:9).


The next issue is WHAT we are to pray for. What it is we pray about and pray for are clear indicators as to where we stand in our relationship with God.

If we are living for self, our prayers will be self–centered. If we are living for God, they will be God centered.

This is not to say that we can’t or shouldn’t make personal requests to God, but they are to be made according to His will and in their proper place of priority.

Excluding the events that justify the “9–1–1” need for prayer(s) regarding a specific issue, our prayer life should include, but not limited to, the following:

1. Confession of all known sin. (1John 1:9).
2. Acknowledgment of God. (Hebrews 11:6).
3. Praise of God. (Psalms 41:13).
4. Thanks to God for everything He has given. (Psalms 136:26).
5. Prayer for the needs of Church leaders, Family of God, the local Church, pastor–teachers, and evangelists. (1Thess.5: 25).
6. Prayer for the needs of our nation, national leaders, and all those who serve our country in both military and civilian capacities. (1Tim.2: 2/Romans 13).
7. Prayer for the local community. (Rom. 13/1Tim.2: 2).
8. Prayer for the needs of our family members. (2 Sam.12: 16).
9. Prayer for our ”enemies”! (Matthew 5:44).
10. Prayer for our own personal needs. (Psalms 4:1).

We must however, be careful that we do not reduce our prayer life to a mechanical ritual in the process of developing a “well–rounded” prayer life.

For the spiritually mature believer, prayer is as much as a state of mind as it is a function that he performs.

There are those in our nation who are determined to take God and the things of God such as prayer out of the public life in our nation.

To some degree, we must acknowledge that as our nation becomes more & more divers, the only way to insure our freedom to worship (or not to worship) as we please, is to afford the same rights, consideration, and opportunities to others who hold differing beliefs.

However, there is no law, government, or power on earth that can get into one’s head and stop anyone, anywhere, at anytime from praying to God in the privacy of one’s soul.

The government has a duty to protect the practice of public prayer for those who wish to do so and to protect the right of those who do not wish to do so from being forced or pressured.

God has granted every human being free will to choose. We as Christians should do no less.

Christians who are upset with the fact that Christian prayer was taken out of the public schools should consider how they would feel if their children were forced to pray to other “gods”.

For that matter, the majority of Protestant Christians would be just as offended if their children were pressured to recite the Hail Mary.

The happy median here is simply to set aside a moment in the agenda at which time those who wish to pray according to their own conscience may do so, and those who do not desire to do so are not being forced.

Public and corporate prayer “to be seen by men” (Matt.6: 5) will prosper those making such prayers nothing.

To open a public gathering with a “word of prayer”, but then leave God and the things of God outside of what follows, is a mockery!

With corporate prayer there is the tendency for the orator to utilize language and emotional tactics in his presentation in order to impress the hearers. Such hypocrisy is noted by believers and unbelievers alike and would cause any thinking person to question the sincerity of those speaking.

God is not impressed with the expression of emotions that are not genuine in order to “spice up” the presentation nor is He impressed with drama.

In prayer, God seeks genuine feelings and conversation, not theatrics and/or 14th century English terminology.

I must confess that I must use great restraint to resist the urge to confront such a performer and ask him, “Why doth thou not crieth nor speaketh unto me now as you doeth when thou prayeth in thine Church?”

Let’s consider the practice of many to conclude prayers with such phrases as, “ and in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen.”

As stated earlier, we ARE to pray in His Name, but this practice, by many, is no more than an attempt to purchase what I call “Prayer Insurance” based on a false interpretation and/or application of Matt.18: 19 and John 14:14.

Prayer was not given to us in order for us to receive blessings or avoid problems in this life. If this were so, then prayer would be the solution for any problem and or desire that comes along. There would be no need to study the Bible or to develop a life that God could bless.

We could just simply attach the Lord’s Name to our requests and they would all be granted if that were the purpose of prayer & the correct interpretation of such passages.

It can be safely assumed that prayers are made every day for the protection of people who are in “harms way” serving in the military or in any of the public safety services in the capacity of a civilian.

There is hardly a person or a family member of a person in the hospital who don’t pray for a healing.

We should certainly pray for such persons, rather they are known to us personally or not.

Never the less, many of these will die if it is their appointed time.

It’s not that these prayers were not answered, but they were not answered in the way we desired.

God cannot and will not grant a request of prayer that is contrary to His character and will.

For example, God will not violate the free will that He has given to every human being and force someone to be saved or to “straighten his or her lives out”.

He will, however, respond to prayers by sending or allowing all kinds of adversity to come upon the life of one who needs a wake up call in order to consider the gospel message and/or learn and apply Bible Doctrine.

When we pray for the salvation or sanctification of others, the problems that they will face may very well be God’s answer to our prayers!

Such answers to prayer can be hard to accept, but like Peter, we must learn to see things from God’s perspective not Man’s. (Mark 8:33).

Jesus’ promise to give us anything that is asked for in “His Name” is a reference to anything that is needed in order to carry out the individual’s post–salvation spiritual life.

For these “things”, we can rely on God to provide.

The power of prayer is not to be denied. Having survived a 30–year law–enforcement career and many personal crisis and health issues, I can attest to the power of prayer.

Prayer is to be practiced for the purposes for which it was given.

Prayer was never intended to be a “wish” list for the means to obtain the blessings of God.

In grace, God gives us many things that we do not deserve and could never earn, even if we wanted to.

The blessings from God, as opposed to grace gifts, are given to the born again believer who has reached a certain level of spiritual maturity who will then use the blessings he receives for the glory of God, not for his own self–promotion or gain.

Prayer was never intended to be the means of “penance” in order to receive forgiveness from God.

Regarding salvation, we are forgiven of all sin (past present and future) the moment were we born again by believing in the Person (who He is) and the Works (what He did on the cross) of the Lord Jesus Christ.

For the purpose of restoring our fellowship with God during the post–salvation spiritual life here on Earth, we are forgiven when we confess our known sins to God (1John 1:9).

To this limited extent (confession), prayer is involved in the process of receiving forgiveness. Prayer is not the means to work off our sin debt.

The ONLY work that God has ever, is now, or will ever accept for the payment of sins was the WORK of the Lord Jesus Christ while on the cross.

All other attempts to secure forgiveness, including citing prayers as penance, are “acts of self righteousness” that are rejected by God as they are no more than “filthy rags” in His sight (Isa.64: 6 NIV). Such attempts are blasphemous as they are an attack on the character and nature of God and the Work that He accomplished.

God is not impressed with repeating the words of a prayer(s) over and over again. (Matt.6: 7).

Prayer is the means of communication. If we are to make the best of our prayer life, like anything else in the spiritual realm, we must do it God’s way and with His purposes and objectives in mind (Prov.14: 12).

Having said this, let us pray……………….