Prayer

I want to ask you a question or maybe two: Do you believe in prayer? Do you pray? Do you believe your prayers are really making a difference? Think about it: Deep in your heart, do you ever wonder if God is hearing you when you pray? When you finish praying, are you convinced that your prayers have accomplished something? Are you satisfied with your prayer life? Do you really know how to pray? Are you longing for a deeper, richer, more dynamic relationship with God through prayer?

I believe many people today are asking the same questions Jesus' disciples asked almost 2000 years ago: "Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1). Even though they spent a great deal of up-close and personal time with Him, listening to Him, learning from Him, and watching Him work miracles, they still felt the need for His instruction on prayer. The disciples went to Jesus as a group asking Him to teach them to pray, but as I made that same request as an individual, God answered me in a powerful way and brought wonderful improvements to my prayer life.

One of the most important, most life-changing prayers a person can ever utter is: "Lord, teach me to pray." It is not just, "Lord, teach me to pray," but, "Lord, teach me to pray." You see, knowing about prayer is really not enough; we have to know how to pray as individuals who are in an intimate, dynamic personal relationship with the God to whom we pray. Although there are principles of prayer that apply to everyone, we are individuals and God will lead each of us individually. I attended many "prayer seminars," and then attempted to duplicate in my prayer experience what I heard others say about their own prayers. Eventually, though, I realized God had a personalized plan for me—a way for me to communicate most effectively with Him—and I needed to say, "Lord teach me to pray."

I have moved from praying panic-based, carnal, soulish prayers (prayers that come from a person's mind, will, or emotions) to praying Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, faith-based prayers.

• I no longer focus primarily on prayers for my "outer life" (my circumstances, the activities I am involved in, the things that happen around me). I now pray for my inner life (the condition of my heart, my spiritual growth, my attitudes, and my motives). As God has taught me to pray, I have learned that my job is to pray to be strengthened internally and to ask Him to help me live out of a pure heart from the right motives; and His job is to take care of the externals.

I believe if you will ask God to teach you to pray too, that you will also experience great changes in the way you pray, increased effectiveness in your prayers, tremendous satisfaction in your relationship with God, and a refreshing freedom and enjoyment in prayer.

When our hearts cry out, "Lord, teach me to pray," God answers. We do not learn how to pray simply by becoming a Christian or by going to church—even if we have been attending for years and years. We learn to pray more and more effectively over time as we develop a personal relationship with God. He has made each of us uniquely and He teaches us to pray in ways that celebrate and express who He has created us to be. He wants us as individuals to relate to Him through prayer in uniquely personal ways.

Our personal faith in God and our personal relationship with Him directly affect the quality and the effectiveness of our prayers. In fact, being God's friend is the most important key to a vibrant, dynamic prayer life. He wants us to draw near to Him, to trust Him, to love Him, to share our hearts with Him, and to listen as He shares His heart with us. In the context of friendship with God, we will continue to learn how to pray.