Prayer moves the hands of God. It is also the force that touches His heart.
In the process of being converted to Christianity, we are taught how to pray, when to pray, and where to pray. Many patterns, forms, shapes, formulas, and ways to pray are introduced to us but for some of us, we are confused about what kind of prayers are really effective and avail much.
God ALWAYS looks at the heart. God listens to prayers uttered in honesty, humility, sincerity, and truth. God is not moved by the words of our prayers or how powerful we pray against all forces of darkness.
God is more interested in the attitude, meditation, and motivations of the heart when we pray. He always sees our inward man.
In the Bible, the men and women of God whose prayers are answered are those who are hungry and thirsty to see the face of God, seek His presence, and commune with Him wholeheartedly.
They are also like us. These characters in the Bible are not perfect. They do not have it all together in life and yet God listens to them. Most of them have severe issues in life, obvious flaws, and brutal disobedience against God and His laws. Yet, God overlooks all those offenses and forgives them when they come to Him in true repentance and humility.
God is the Triune God—Father, Son, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit. We pray to God from our heart of hearts. We approach Him in humble yet bold expectancy and confidence believing in faith that He will hear us.
We can pray to God as if we are talking to our best friend or spouse. The Church is the Bride of Christ. We can talk to God without any apprehensions, pretenses, inhibitions, or doubts. We can tell Him exactly how we feel, what hurts inside, and which problems linger in our lives.
Prayer is a two-way communication or dialogue with God. After we have poured out our heart to Him, it’s now time to listen to His voice. We will not hear God clearly if we are not in a position of rest. We need to relax, take the time to settle down and be still and quiet before Him.
His voice will not contradict His Word (Scriptures). The Bible is His expressed will for mankind. It serves as the guiding principles in living our lives. More than that, the Word is life itself because Jesus is the Word (Logos). When we spend time in the presence of God and meditate on the Bible, the Words will become alive to us (Rhema). His Word imparts life to us so our prayers to God are re-aligned to His Word, will, and ways.
Consequently, we will find ourselves right in the center of His perfect will as we are praying according to His Word and perfect will and listening to His voice.
God is always the answer to all our prayers. If we seek Him more than seeking answers to prayers, we will find Him and realize that if we have Him, we have everything there is.
