“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ–to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:9-11)
I have an employee, who during a performance appraisal, remarked: “I give my all everyday so when I go to bed at night, I don’t have to apologize to the Lord for anything.”
I thought she was just trying to make a point until she mentioned a verse from 2 Timothy, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7)
I hope that’s not the way you feel at the end of the day because the Bible says that we should be troubled by our sin. In other words, in spite of how good our day has gone for us, we are still sinful and the very presence of sin in our lives should bother us. The Apostle John said it this way: “If we say, ‘We have never sinned,’ we turn God into a liar and his Word is not in us.” (1 John 1:10)
The Bible is full of advice regarding how we should pray, but there are five biblical principles that I believe should always govern our prayer time:
1. Get Sin Out of the Way: Listen to the psalmist: “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. (Psalms 66:18) We may scoff at what that employee told me, but the truth is there’s not a one of us who hasn’t turned to the Lord from time to time and failed to realize just how much unconfessed sin can distance us from God. Prayer can only work when we are honest with God.
2. Ask Sincerely: It goes without saying that we should be sincere when we pray, but there are times when we aren’t sincere. Remember what the Word of God says: “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart.” (Hebrews 10:22)
3. Seek God’s Will: James says that we should never ask with the wrong motives. “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (James 4:3) Keep in mind that when Jesus said “Your will be done,” He was talking about the will of God and not the will of man.
4. Believe: Jesus told us at Matthew 21:22, “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” We all ask God for things, knowing before it leaves our lips that He won’t deliver, don’t we? Perhaps should believe God rather than just believe in God.
5. Jesus is the Answer: Finally, always be sure to end your prayer in the name of Jesus. I don’t believe prayers offered any other way will be answered. In fact, it was Jesus himself who said, “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:14)
These principles, when put to work, will strengthen your prayer life because they’re right out of the Word of God. Put them to work and you’ll develop a strong walk with the Lord Jesus, one that you can lean on when all else fails.
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