Let us pray – Part 42

Note that the high priest’s prayer for the forgiveness of the Israelites’ sin on the Day of Atonement would not be heard until his own sinful condition had been cleansed.

(5) Finally, for our prayers to be effective we must be persistent in prayers and faith. This is the main point of the parable of the persistent widow (see Lk 18:1-7). Jesus’ instruction to “ask… seek… knock” (Mat 7:7-8) teaches perseverance in prayer (see Mat7:7-8). The Apostle Paul also urged us to devote ourselves to prayer (Col 4:2; 1Thes 5:17).

Likewise, OT saints recognised this principle. For example, only as long as Moses persevered in prayer with his hands lifted toward God were the Israelites successful in their battle against the Amalekites (see Ex17:11). After Elijah received the prophetic word that rain was coming, he still persisted in prayer until the rain came (1Kgs 18:41-45). On a previous occasion, this great prophet had persistently and earnestly prayed that God would give life back to the dead son of the widow of Zarephath until the Lord answered his prayer (1 Kgs 17:17-23).

Scriptural Elements and Methods of Effective Praying.
• What Elements Constitute Effective Praying?
a. To pray effectively, we must genuinely praise and adore God (Ps 150; Acts 2:47; Rom 15:11).
b. Closely related and equally important is thanksgiving to God (see Ps 100:4; Mat 11:25-26; Phil 4:6).
c. Sincere confession of known sins is essential to the prayer offered in How ought we to pray? faith (Js 5:15-16; cf. Ps 51; Lk 18:13; 1Jn 1:9).
d. God also instructs us to ask according to our needs; as James writes, we do not receive the things we want because we do not ask, or we ask with wrong motives (Jas 4:2-3; cf. Ps 27:7-12; Mat 7:7-11; Phil 4:6).
e. And we must pray fervently for others (Num 14:13-19; Ps 122:6-9; Lk 22:31-32; 23:34).
(2) Jesus emphasises the sincerity of our hearts, mere empty words or ritual will not be heard (Mat 6:7). We can pray silently (1Sam 1:13), or we can pray aloud (Neh 9:4; Ezek 11:13).

We can pray in our own words or use the words of Scripture. We can pray with the mind or with the Spirit (that is in tongues, 1Cor 14:14-18). We can even pray by groaning, that is not using any human words (Rom 8:26), knowing that the Spirit will bring those inaudible requests to the Lord. Yet another method of praying is singing to the Lord (Ps 92:1-2; Eph 5:19-20: Col 3:16). Earnest prayer to the Lord will at times be accompanied with fasting (Ezra 8:21; Neh 1:4; Dan 9:3-4; Lk 2:37; Acts 14:23; see Mat 6:16).

(3) What posture is appropriate for prayer?
•Email:[email protected]. Facebook: Yetunde Mercy OlumideThe Bible records praying while standing (1Kgs 8:22; Neh 9:4-5), sitting (1Chr 17:16; Lk 10:13),