Yesterday we found that Jesus’ instructions on prayer are imperatives, not suggestions.  How do we pray with the continual urgency he commands?

Begin.  Make an appointment to meet with God.  A man put on his calendar each day, 7-7:30, prayer.  But he kept missing his appointment.  Then he changed it to say 7-7:30, God.  That's harder to neglect.  Keep a specific prayer list, and note the ways God answers your requests.

Pray in Jesus' name: "I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.  You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it" (John 14:13-14).  To pray in Jesus' "name" is to ask by his merit, to draw on his "account."  If I write a million-dollar check and sign it with my name, the check is worthless.  If it’s signed with a billionaire's name, the check is good.  To pray in Jesus' name is to ask the Father's help by the merit of his Son.  He never refuses such a request.

Pray according to God's will: "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him" (1 John 5:14-15).  He will give us what we ask, or something better.

Pray for God's glory: "I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father" (John 14:13).  Do you seek your glory or his?

Pray with a clean heart: "If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my prayer" (Psalm 66:18-19).  Is anything blocking your fellowship with your holy Lord?  If you're not sure, you may ask him.

If God seems silent, check yourself by these biblical standards.  But know that your Father wants to hear you even more than you want to be heard.  So pray.  Let nothing stop you.  Meet with him today.

Now we come to a hard question: why?  Why pray with continual urgency?  If God is omniscient, he knows what we need.  If he is omnipotent and all loving, he can and will do what is best.  So why pray?

God has given us free will, and will not violate it.  As a result, when we need him to act in ways which require our permission, we must first give that permission.  Prayer doesn't change God, but it changes us.  And it positions us to receive that which God wishes by his grace to give.  Know that he will always give you what you ask, unless he can give you something better.  Like any child, you may not understand your Father's will at the time.  But his loving purpose is always for your good and his glory.

When you pray but God seems silent, consider several possibilities.  Perhaps he is still preparing you for his answer—you need more time in prayer to be able to hear him and obey his will.  Perhaps he is still preparing your circumstances.  You're praying for a job, for instance; God must move the person in your job to their next place so you can take theirs.  He's not done with what he must do to answer you.

Perhaps you're not obedient to what he is saying; maybe sin clouds your eyes and ears, and you need more time in prayer to be right with him.  Often he has a better answer than the one for which we are asking.  He has already answered us, but we must keep praying until we see that he has.

Prayer is spiritual breathing.  So "pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  There is much we can do after we pray, but little we can do until we pray.  Is your Father waiting on you now?

Tomorrow: How can I know the will of God?

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