Prayer is a child talking to his father and best friend. It is more from the heart than the head. Psalm 62:8 says, “Pour out your hearts to Him.” Don’t give God a lecture in theology. Say, “Lord, I feel depressed about my marriage, or I’m not happy about my son. I thank you for listening and understanding.”
Let us note the 7 Simplicities of Powerful Praying (or Stupendous Supplications)
- Pray Secretly – Prayer is not a spectator sport. Therefore when you pray, go into your room, shut the door, find a closet, an empty office, up a tree, room over garage, a place where you will be away from people and alone with God. No Distractions.
- Pray Selectively – Choose a place you love, which has a kind of aura surrounding it. Jesus chose the Garden of Gethsemane. Choose your own “Garden of Gethsemane” a holy place, where God meets you and you “hang out” with Him.
- Pray Sincerely – Do not babble, avoid worn out clichés. Don’t engage in meaningless repetitions, “Bless me and my wife, my son John and his wife, us four and no more.”
- Pray Scripturally – How easy to use jargon. Certain phrases sound so pious, and so spiritual that people string them together and call that prayer. Ex: I hear Christians all the time pray earnestly, “Lord, please be with me tomorrow as I begin my new job. Watch o er me.” Sounds holy, but silly because we are asking to do what His is already doing. Read Hebrews 13:5; “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” and Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” and John 14:18 “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
- Pray Sanctifyingly – A person sits down to a meal that is a nutritional nightmare – grease is bubbling, salt glistening, the sugared drink ready to slosh the stuff down, and we pray, “Dear Lord, bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies.” Don’t ask God to bless junk food. Doing that is like the sixth grader who after taking a geography test prayed, “Dear God, please make Detroit the capital of North Carolina, or Boston the capital of Vermont ”
- Pray to Somebody – Remember when you pray you are praying to somebody who is your loving Heavenly Father. God wants us to talk to Him, personally, reverently, earnestly, lovingly. God doesn’t want us to pile up impressive titles for Him. Illus: When I was pastor of the large First Baptist Church, Fort Smith, my son David would come asking for money to purchase a banana split, He would not say, “O, Majestic Pastor of the Magnificent First Baptist Church, I beseech you to grant me 8 silvery quarters to purchase a delectable banana split that I might satisfy my gastronomic propensities.” Rather, he would say, “Daddy, I’m hungry, I want a banana split, and please give me $2.50.”
- JUST SIMPLY PRAY and pray simply. I can read about prayer, write about prayer, attend prayer seminars, quote Scriptures on prayer, preach and teach on prayer, sooner or later I must fall on my knees and just PLAIN PRAY. Then, and only then, will I be really praying and only then can I expect God to hear and answer my prayers. Illus: Campbell Morgan said, “It is very dangerous for a person to learn much about prayer and not pray.”