When you ask God, when you pray according to His will, our prayers become acceptable. When you ask your parents for things according to their will, they become delighted and are more likely to oblige. If you ask your boss according to his will, you are more likely to get your request granted. So a great key to making effective prayers is asking according to God’s will. This verse is from 1 John 5:14. Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. We can use this key and have a confident and fulfilling prayer life.
The prayer taught by Jesus: The most popular prayer from the Bible is what is known as the “Lord’s prayer”. This is also known as the “Our Father” prayer. When his disciples asked him to teach them to pray, Jesus taught this prayer for his disciples. Thus, it can be better referred to as the disciples’ prayer. This prayer can be found in Matthew 6:9-13
9 In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen
Before praying this, examining verses 12 and 13 is necessary. Here are a pre-condition for us being forgiven of our debts. We should be forgiving of the debts of others towards us. Examine if there can be any which can be forgiven? We should choose not to remember these or ask for them since we have forgiven. The Holy Spirit will lead you to forgive specific debts, which shows the Lord’s consideration for the poor people, the orphans, the widows, and similar people.
King David’s prayers. Many of the psalms are prayers written by David. In Psalm 25:4, we have, “Make your ways known to me, Lord teach me your paths”.
With great wisdom, God will guide you in terms of your long-term wisdom. He will give you the right thoughts. He will lead you through verses in the Bible. He will lead you through dreams. He will choose which way to guide you as you ask Him.
Paul’s prayer from the epistle to the Ephesians
This has been a favourite prayer written by Paul for the Ephesians. It can be found in Ephesians 1:17-21. I have paraphrased the prayer from this portion of the Bible for ease of use as a prayer.
Father God, I pray for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that I may know God better. I ask for wisdom and revelation that I may know Jesus Christ, God’s only son well.
I pray that the eyes of my heart may be enlightened in order that I may know the hope to which I am called to by Jesus.
I pray that I/we would know the riches of the glorious inheritance for me as a believer.
I pray that I/we would be aware that the power I/we have is the same as the mighty strength God exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated Jesus at the right hand in heavenly realms, far above all rule, authority, power and dominion and every name.
Here is the verses from Paul’s epistle to Ephesians 1:17-21 from the amplified version of the Bible so you can also get a feel of this beautiful and powerful prayer.
17 [For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him,
18 By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones),
19 And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength,
20 Which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His [own] right hand in the heavenly [places],
21 Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come.
Prayer of Jesus for Himself: When you journey in your spiritual maturity, the prayer of Jesus for himself is an extremely powerful one. Here you can see the beauty of oneness of Father, Son and the believers. The unity of the church. And the focus and determination with which Jesus completed the work He was assigned to. You can read this in the Gospel of John, Chapter 17.
Grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour and God the father and the Holy Spirit.
