PRAYING RIGHTFULLY

Pr. James Victor Lubwama

Matthew 7:8 (NKJV) 

"For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” 

Prayer is an appeal of the things you need unto the Lord; it is a mode of communication by which you speak to God - dialogue between man and God;: In prayer, we go straight to God the source only source of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17) Prayer is the power that propels you to your desired destination; it's the fuel that drives your life forth. In salvation, if a person cannot pray, then that person cannot receive; it is only after you ask that you receive (Mathew 7:8). 

Anyone who doesn't pray is food for the devil. A prayerless Christian is limited in achievement in any of his or her ventures; his or her life is stifled and a strain, there is no breakthrough and everything just drags with a lot of struggles. A family that doesn't pray together disintegrates but a family that prays together is cohesive!

Prayer is very vital in every Christian’s life, if there is one thing the devil hates, it is prayer; before he robs you of anything, he will first rob you of your zeal to pray. You must therefore guard your prayer life jealously. Prayer in a family is the weapon that guards us against the enemy, and when the devil wants to weaken you, he disarms you and takes your weapon.  

Authentic prayer is communication between your heart and God! Until your heart has spoken, you won't have prayed genuinely because God dwells in and checks the heart. Praying is a heart matter not logic matter - God honours prayers that emanate from the heart not from your mind. When we pray, we are pursuing fullness of joy, pleasure and abundant life in God, and to also experience his strength, mercy and grace 

Who Qualifies to Pray?

Mathew 6:9 (NIV) 
“This, then is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven......."

In the book of Mathew, Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, but at the beginning He mentioned who we refer to in prayer – Father. For anyone to pray and the requests be granted, there should be an existing relationship between the person praying and the one being prayed to - God. This implies that there must be a relationship i.e Father-Child relationship. It is only a child (son or daughter) who can pray or claim anything from his or her father. Its only sons and daughters with unlimited access to a parent; it's only sons and daughters with the right to inherit wealth from their father not friends, not admirers or neighbours.

Prayer is a language of a family; a medium of communicating unto the father. Your requests through prayer may not be granted if you are not a child, but will be granted if they are presented to the Lord by a son or daughter because a child has unlimited access to the father. 

How do we Become Children of God?
We become children when we get born again. John 1:12-13 (NLT) says; 
“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of GOD. 13 They are re-born not with a physical birth resulting from Human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.” 

Everyone was created by God but everyone is not a child of God! You therefore need to establish a relationship between you and your creator because prayers are only meant for God's children.  

How do we Pray?

The directions on how to pray are broken down in Mathew 6:5-8 (NLT) below;

“And now about prayer. When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who pretend piety by praying publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. Truly, that is all the reward they will ever get. 6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, all alone, and shut the door behind you and pray to your Father secretly, and your Father, who knows your secrets, will reward you. 7-8 “Don’t recite the same prayer over and over as the heathen do, who think prayers are answered only by repeating them again and again. Remember, your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!

What Hinders Our Prayers?

Rebellion brings about miscommunication between a father and a child, and it eventually takes away God’s presence. You may ask yourself, why is life so difficult? Why are my prayers not answered? The answer is summed up in one word - rebellion. We all rebel against God and choose to do our own things. Isaiah 53:6 (NLT) says; “All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God’s path to follow our own paths.” 

Rebellion against God falls into these three categories.

•      Sin - unintentional rebellion. The word “sin” is an archery term that means missing the mark or falling short. Romans 3:23 (NIV) says; “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” We sin when we fall short and don’t measure up to God’s standard and when that happens, He departs from us i.e. we become hollow because the Holy Spirit is no longer in us.
•      Transgression - intentional rebellion. Transgression is the opposite of falling short. It means to go beyond the boundary of something, or to be deliberately disobedient. We commit a transgression when we deliberately choose to break God’s command or law.
•         Iniquity - intentional disobedience intended to harm. It is caused by anger, resentment, envy, hatred, pride, or bitterness that creates a need for revenge or a need to intentionally hurt someone. It is hateful rebellion.

David used all three terms when he made this confession to God in Psalm 32:5 (NIV) that; “I acknowledged my sin to you, and did not cover up my iniquity. I confessed my transgressions and you forgave my guilt” 

He committed all the above in 2 Samuel 11 when he slept with Bathsheba and then after conspired to kill her husband - Uriah. Like David, we have broken God’s laws in all three of these ways which takes away God's presence. But find hope in this; no matter which one it is, whether you don’t measure up, or you intentionally went beyond the law, or you deliberately hurt someone, God will still forgive you if you confess to Him and repent (1 John 1:19)

For God to be referred to as our father means that He has responsibility and authority over us! Just like how any earthly father cares and provides for his children, God too caters for his children with a great measure more than a human father. Matthew 7:11 (TLB) teaches; 
“And if you hard-hearted, sinful men know how to give good gifts to your children, won’t your Father in heaven even more certainly give good gifts to those who ask him for them?”  

God is not limited by time, season or economic instability. He is an all round father; He has an obligation towards humanity and his responsibility is evidenced in His names that bring out his responsibility to us His Children.

i) JEHOVAH-JIREH - The Lord Will Provide (Genesis 22:14) 
He provided a sacrificial lamb to Abraham as a substitute for Isaac.  It is a name that assures us that our Heavenly Father is able to provide any need we have. Trust Him for that!

ii) JEHOVAH-RAPHA -  The Lord Who Heals (Exodus 15:22-26) 
He restores, he heals the physical and emotional needs of his people .Exodus 15:26 says; “.....for I am the LORD your healer." Literally, I am Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord who makes bitter things sweet. We live in a stressful world and society. Every day new problems confront us and we bend under the load of seemingly unsolvable problems, then Jehovah-Rapha brings healing to a sick world. 

iii) JEHOVAH NISSI -  The Lord My Banner (Exodus 17:8-16) 
The Banner under which Israel defeated the Amelekites. This name has to do with warfare. In this instance, the warfare involved God's very own. Our Father is willing to wage warfare on our behalf. One area of great battle has to do with our carnal nature. The Lord Our Banner desires to give us victory.

iv) JEHOVAH-RAAH - The Lord My Shepherd (Psalms 23) 
The my shepherd implies God watching over you day and night; the God who reveals himself unceasingly, feeds and leads you safely in the way of righteousness - his flock to pastures.

v) JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH  - The Lord is There (Ezekiel 48:35) 
The name indicates that God has not abandoned Jerusalem, leaving it in ruins but that there will be a restoration

vi) JEHOVAH-SHALOM - The Lord is Peace (Judges 6:24)

Shalom is translated as "peace" or "absence from strife." Peace expresses the deepest desire and need of the human heart; It represents the greatest measure of contentment and satisfaction in life. Shalom is the word used in "peace offering" where blood was shed as an atonement on which reconciliation and peace were based. Jehovah-Shalom is the name of an altar built by Gideon in Ophrah. 

Guard your life with prayer!