Introduction

In this post I am attempting to tackle a topic that has been the subject of countless books, devotionals, sermons, small group studies, bible studies, songs, Christian articles— the list goes on and on. The subject is that of prayer. What can I bring to the table that hasn’t already been brought concerning one of the most fundamental aspects of our Christian walk?

My intention here is to do my best to provide an in depth look at prayer— specifically how we can experience true effective prayer in our Christian walk. In regards to prayer, I think it’s safe to surmise that one of the most common questions believers have, concerns why their prayers are not being answered, or at least— answered in the way that they would like them to be. Many in the church pews might say that their prayer life is rather dry, and uneventful.

This was me for a long time in my Christian walk. I grew up being taught the basics— that prayer was how we talked to God, how God always hears us when we pray, how His three answers to prayer are: yes, no, and wait— stuff that we all learned in Sunday School from kindergarten- onward. By the time I was a teenager, my prayer life consisted of praying every so often, usually when hard times were hitting. Sometimes what I prayed for would come to pass. A great majority of the time I didn’t see any changes. That of course was no help to my wavering faith. The sparse occasions when I did see something happen that I prayed for, was more likely to get written off in my head as mere coincidence. Does any of this resonate with you?

My hope is that those who read this two-part blog study, will walk away from it with insights and tools that if properly applied, will lead them to have a truly powerful, effective, supernatural laden prayer life. It is my contention that such a prayer life is something that a great majority of believers do not have, and have never experienced. The reasons for this are multilayered, though I believe that an overall underlying factor has to do with a lack of biblical literacy within church pews (quite sadly, this is often not the fault of the parishioners).

Many have not taken the time to systematically study the Scriptures— in this case, what the Scriptures say on prayer. In this study, we will actually learn that a lack of studying God’s Word and an ineffective prayer life go hand in hand in multiple ways— not just in regards to ignorance of prayer passages. Those who study God’s Word are those who have a firm relationship with God, and those who have a firm relationship with God, are those who will see their prayers answered the way they would like them to be.

What I will cover in this two-part study, finds its root in: 1) what I have gleaned through in-depth exegetical examinations of specific prayer passages, 2) what the Holy Spirit has taught me on how to properly apply the insights I have gained from this exegetical analysis, and 3) my own life experiences that the Holy Spirit has brought me through, involving praying properly and effectively.

I should also mention right off the bat, that this study does not intend to exhaust all passages and stories in the Scripture dealing with prayer. The topic of prayer is one of the most prevalent things in both Testaments of the Bible, which is why whole books have been written on prayer by many Christian authors. Bear in mind, I am trying to limit my focus here to effective prayer specifically. Despite what some might think, I believe that if you put the jigsaw puzzle of the Scriptures together, you do have an actual blueprint for a powerful and effective prayer life. This blueprint for effective prayer has three points that we will examine each in-depth. The three points are: Spirit-led prayer, Fervency, and Godliness. This Part 1 of our prayer study will focus on the first of these.  

Spirit Led Prayer  

I have put this one first because as we will see, within it is the mechanism that holds the other two points together in one’s Christian walk. The primary NT passages that speak of praying in the Spirit are Eph. 6:18, and Jude 20:

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Eph. 6:18, NIV).

 “But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 20).

Upon reading these passages, the obvious question would be— what exactly is praying in the Holy Spirit? If you asked the average churchgoer, they probably would shrug if you asked them what exactly this is. Since all of us who are saved have the Holy Spirit living within us by default, does that mean we are praying in the Spirit whenever we pray? The answer to this would be no.

In Jude’s letter there is possibility that he was addressing both believers and non-believers, since he mentions those who have secretly slipped in among them (Jude 4). But Paul’s audience in Ephesians was undoubtably a group of primarily believers. And yet though he is writing to those who are Holy Spirit filled, he still admonishes them to, “pray in the Spirit.” This is similar to how in Eph. 5:18 the apostle encourages his readers to be, “filled with the Spirit,” instead of getting drunk with wine. Indeed being “filled with the Spirit,” and “praying in the Spirit,” are concepts that are interconnected (Snodgrass, 1996, 344).

Commentators are generally in agreement that praying in the Spirit is essentially this: it is praying according to the Spirit’s guidance, direction and will (Arnold, 2010, 464; Best, 1998, 604-605; Lincoln, 1990, 452). Remember, in John 14:26, Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit Whom the Father would send, would teach Christ followers all things, and remind them of everything Jesus said while on this earth. One of the things that the Holy Spirit will instruct us in, is exactly what we should be praying for on a regular basis in our Christian walk.

Each of us have different specifics that need prayer for, as we each have our own unique life situations. But what all of us should have in common— is all of our prayers being rooted in God’s kingdom purpose in our lives— so that He can use us to spread His kingdom on this earth. The Lord’s prayer in Matt. 6:9-13 (cf. Lk. 11:2-4), is provided for us as a model for what our prayers should look like in regards to our heart focus, and its root is indeed in God’s kingdom plan for this Age (Matt. 6:10). The Holy Spirit has been sent to remind us in our believers walk of Jesus’ words— that He wants us to have this kingdom focus, and live and make all our life decisions according to it.

Here is where it gets tricky for lots of believers, and this is something that I feel is not emphasized enough in many churches. Many who identify as Christian, are not being taught, led, and guided by the Spirit, mainly because they are not seeking the Holy Spirit’s influence over their life. Consequently, their prayers are not getting answered. They are not lifting up prayers that coincide with what the Spirit wants them to pray for- aka- what God’s will is for their life for various things. If you want your prayer to be effective— in other words, if you want your prayers to get answered— you need to start praying prayers that line up with God’s will for your life. Consider the words of the apostle John:

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 Jn. 5:14-17).

For some people, it may not be God’s will for them to get a brand-new house in a particular area in Southern California. They keep on praying for the financial means to appear, but they never do. Yet, there may be a believer who could make good use of living in that area in a good reliable house, for whatever God is leading them in within their current life situation. It is THAT person who may indeed be led by the Spirit to pray for the financial means to purchase such a house— as owning and living in it will assist in the purposes that God is using them in. Those who’s prayers are in alignment with God’s will for there lives, will be the ones who’s prayers are answered.

Here this— The reason why many Christian’s prayers are not getting answered, is because their prayers are not in alignment with God’s will for their lives. And their prayers are not in alignment with God’s will for their lives, because they are not actively seeking to find and live out His will for their lives on a regular basis. God is waiting for you to start praying prayers that are rooted in a genuine desire to live out His specific calling and will for your life. Many believers are simply not praying such prayers. All this is perfectly encapsulated in this passage below:

“… You do not have because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” (Jms. 4:2b-3).

First, let me make a brief note on James warning against, “pleasures.” There is nothing wrong with pleasure in general, for God has certainly given us pleasures in this earthly life to enjoy. However, it is prioritizing the temporal comforts of this life that the apostle sternly opposes. God has no problem blessing us with earthly comforts and enjoyments, yet these can be experienced all while still keeping our focus on His will and purpose for our life.

I personally view the earthly pleasures that God allows us to enjoy, as the icing on the cake so to speak of the overall Christian walk. The Christians who are led astray into thinking that their mindset should be only on temporal pleasures, will never find true satisfaction in this life. These are the many Christians that you see going in and out of recovery groups, on anti-depressant medications, have gone through multiple divorces, are in debt, etc. (I believe the number of Christians who fall into this category nowadays in the 21^st century church is very high). The believers who put God and His kingdom purposes first, and still get to experience some of the earthly pleasures that this life has to offer— are the ones who will truly be happy and content.

But let’s look back again at the beginning of James’ statement in v. 2—“You do not have because you do not ask God. ^“ Many churchgoers have said time and time again, that they wish the Lord would do a work in their life. But are these believers asking God to do a work in their life—with a true and sincere heart to put Him first and make His kingdom purposes a priority? The Lord is looking for Christians who are asking to be partakers in his will for the earthly kingdom. We find correlation here with Jesus’ famous words in the Sermon on the Mount:

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matt. 7:7-8).

When interpreting and applying Matt. 7:7-8, it is important to remember where it is found. The context here is the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus is going over the ethics and guidelines for living that permeate the Kingdom of Heaven. The “asking” that He mentions in v. 7, pertains to prayers that concern the purposes of the Kingdom. Those who with sincere hearts are asking to experience and take part in spreading God’s kingdom will be granted this.

It is the kingdom mindset that will bring about effect prayer. It is a mindset that puts God’s will ahead of yours and causes all the prayers you lift up to correspond with the overall plan and will God has for your life. Mind you, there are two types of will that we are dealing with. First, we have the unique will for your life that God has for you. This pertains to the journey that He takes you on— your career, who you get married to, how many kids you have, the different places you will live, etc. Secondly, we have the overall will of God for your life, which concerns you living out the purposes of His kingdom here on earth, and abiding in the commands and statutes that His Son gave us before ascending to Heaven (Matt. 28:18-19). As long as you are walking hand in hand with Him, His unique will for your life will line up perfectly with this overall will that I have mentioned.

So whenever you are about to pray for something— whatever it might be— ask yourself, “Does this thing that I’m praying for line up well with God’s plan and will for my life?”

It might indeed line up quite well with His will for you. God may very well have a plan for you to get married one day and thus praying for a future spouse, lines up perfectly with His will. God may very well intend for you to purchase a nice house, or a reliable vehicle, or whatever it might be. Thus, praying for such things are not always wrong— indeed they are at times necessary. However, these prayers must be lifted up all while maintaining the mindset of God’s overall kingdom plan.

The Holy Spirit will help us to maintain this proper mindset when we pray, and accordingly Paul admonishes us in Eph. 6:18 to, “pray in the Spirit on all occasions…” Yet, those who are not actively seeking the Spirit will not be able to pray in the Spirit. Remember, just because you are saved and have the Holy Spirit within you, does not mean that every time you pray, you are automatically praying in the Spirit. One has to be actively seeking the Spirit’s guidance in their life.

I believe that this is why so many believers in general have ineffective prayer lives. Their prayers are not getting answered because they are not actively seeking God and putting His will first in their life. The more one is walking with the Lord, the more their prayers will naturally fall in line with what His will is for their life. The more their prayers coincide with His will, the more they will see their prayers answered in full. As a result, God will take you on a journey where He will blow your mind with everything that He has in store for you.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Eph. 3:20-21).

This marks the end of Part 1 of this two-part blog study on prayer. In the next post, we will examine the two other layers of this prayer blueprint we find in the Scriptures: that of fervency and godly living.

Bibliography

Arnold, Clinton E. Ephesians. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2010.

Best, Ernest. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Ephesians. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 1998.

Lincoln, Andrew T. Ephesians, Volume 42. Thomas Nelson, Inc.: 1990.

Snodgrass, Klyne. Ephesians: From biblical text… to contemporary life. Terry Muck, (ed). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996.