Many Christians misunderstand prayer, and the devil has capitalized on this confusion until some of us no longer recognize how powerful prayer is. The enemy knows that, done properly, prayer can completely shut him down. Lots of churches follow a formula for prayer that relies on empty words, but prayer is two-way communication with God. Talking with him in this way connects us to his unlimited power and love.
Religion teaches us that prayer is hit-or-miss, and that we won’t always get an answer from God when we pray. But, he has answers for every prayer we offer him. “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Luke 11:9, 10). If we didn’t hear his response, it may be because we weren’t tuned in to his frequency the way we should have been. Our motivations when we pray are also important, and when we come to him with unselfish motives, he hears us.
I didn’t always know how to pray. At one point, I was so bound up that I thought I had to pray a certain number of hours a day to be righteous. I prayed out of fear and a sense of duty and obligation, but my heart wasn’t in it. I started to dread these forced sessions, because I was the one doing all the talking, and I wasn’t giving God a chance to answer me.
Prayer needs to be real and straight from the heart. God already knows everything that’s going on with us, and it’s impossible to be phony or hide anything from him. We simply need to be honest and pour out our hearts to him. “Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray” (Psalm 5:1, 2).
One of the beautiful things about our prayers is that sometimes we don’t even have to utter a single word. When we don’t know what to say or how to say it, God still hears us. Prayers originating from the meditations of our hearts are acceptable to him (Psalm 19:14). No excess verbiage is needed!
One of the most effective ways to hear from him is to meditate on his word. When we read and study the Scriptures long enough, we’ll hear his voice talking directly to us and giving us the specific answers we seek. We’ll know it’s him because it lines up with the written word and brings us peace. “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
Hearing from God requires us to screen out all internal and external distractions that prevent us from focusing on him. We have to hush and listen to what he says, but we also need to quiet ourselves on the inside (Psalm 46:10). In these last days, the stakes are too high to risk missing his message to us. Are you listening?