God’s Life-Transforming Gift of Prayer

For Jesus, prayer was an intimate relationship with His Father and the very foundation of His life. It is to be the same for us.

Pray As Jesus Prayed

Matt 14:23 “ … he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When the evening came, He was there alone.”

What might it really mean to pray as Jesus prayed, and how might our lives be different than the average Christian life? Spirit-led prayer results in an ever-deepening personal relationship with God, alignment of our prayers and lives with His will, and releasing Him to both transform us and accomplish His unique kingdom missions through us. We learn to communicate with our Father God at all times. Through John 11: 41b, 42, Jesus reveals much about His continuous relationship as He says, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”

God has designed His kingdom so that the Spirit-led prayers of His people are essential for accomplishing His will in both the spiritual and earthly realms. In James 5:16 (NKJ) He shares, “The effective and fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” Consider also John 6: 63 where Jesus shares, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” Our prayers are to be led by His Spirit, not our flesh.

Let us learn to join the great preacher, Charles Spurgeon, in thriving according to his statement, “Prayer has become as essential to me as the heaving of my lungs and the beating of my pulse.”

Charles Spurgeon

Aligning Us With God’s Will

Spirit-led prayer aligns us with God’s will, instead of insisting on our flesh’s desires. We are transformed from the self-focus of infancy in Christ to the maturity and empowerment of asking God to reveal and align our will and prayers with His. Incredibly, both our prayers and lives are then filled with the faith and power that come only through the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Consider the following scriptures which exhort us to mature and thrive in this life.

1 John 5: 14-15 “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”

Our confidence and faith result from praying “according to his will.” God always encourages us to share our desires, but we are to ask Him to lovingly align our desires with His Sovern will.

John 15:16b “… I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit … that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give it to you.”

Asking “in my (Jesus”) name” has lost Scripture’s meaning for many of us as it has become a casual closing to every prayer, as though saying “in Jesus, Amen” is some magic incantation that requires God to give us our desires. Asking “in my name” conveys asking according to His will as it is revealed through Scripture. Jesus’ name is always to be spoken with the greatest reverence and never used lightly or presumptively from habit.

Luke 22: 40-42 “He (Jesus) … knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.”

Jesus’ foundation for every prayer was to bring honor to His Father by praying for and walking in His will. We are to pray in the same love, obedience, and freedom.

James 4: 2b-3 “You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and you do not receive, because you ask wrongly, that you may spend it on your passions.”

Beware of those who teach “you do not have because you do not ask” without including the more powerful exhortation that “you do not receive, because you ask wrongly.” Clearly, we ask wrongly when we seek our will, instead of aligning with God’s.

God’s faith and power result when we pray for His will under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Prayers of the flesh accomplish nothing.

Desires Of Heart: Are They Always Met?

Each of us have either heard others cry out to God or done so ourselves, when we have asked for but seemingly have not received the desires of our hearts. Many in mankind’s church teach Psalm 37:4b, “and he will give you the desires of your heart,” in isolation. They exclude accompanying truths from both the surrounding verses and Scripture as a whole. God keeps all of His promises, however, we are to interpret them according to all of

Scripture

How would our understanding of this single statement shift when viewed in context with accompanying Scriptures in Psalms 37:3-7?

Psalms 37:3 – 7 (NKJ)

“Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.

He shall bring forth your righteousness as the noonday.

Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.”

These scriptures describe a lifestyle that ensures our heart’s desires are aligned under His sovereign will, because our prayer life and daily walk bring us into an ever-deepening relationship that is under the Spirit’s leadership. Sometimes, not receiving our heart’s desires is devastating, but we must still trust Him.

Two Elements of God-Honoring Prayer

Thankfully, God fulfills all His promises according to His loving sovereignty, not our interpretation. Importantly, even when the interpretation of the promise is clear, His sovereignty determines the “when and how” He fulfills it. Matthew 8: 2-3 helps us honor not only Jesus’ ability (He can do all things) but also His willingness. The leper says, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus responds, “I will; be clean” and heals Him. Jesus teaches there are two components to faith and prayers of faith. These are faith in God’s ability, and surrender to God’s willingness, His sovereignty.

His sovereignty also includes the “how and when” He answers. God’s view of faith is powerfully revealed in Hebrews 11. In verse 13 (NKJ), He shares, “These all died in faith, not having received promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them …” God shall fulfill all His promises in His way and in His time. This is always for our best.

Application

What has prayer meant to you up until now? Which Scriptures support your beliefs?
How would your prayer-life change if you not only shared your desires but also asked God to reveal His will for each situation?

Here is some related reading for you: 10 Events Seen in All 4 Gospels

Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Author’s Bio: Curt Martin is an author, speaker, seminar leader, and organization consultant. God has filled him with the passion to see every individual and organization become the unique and incredible masterpiece God designed. Little touches Him more than helping awaken all God placed within you, so you thrive in His freedom, purpose, and power as you learn to walk in God’s Spirit. Only those who commit to this journey experience the fullness of living God’s victorious life. Articles include excerpts from his award winning book, “Whose Life Are You Living.”