Prayer

In Zechariah 2:8-10, God refers to Israel as “the apple of His eye.” As we know, the apple of the eye is its center, and He refers to it as such for good reason! Israel is the only nation created by God, which means Israel belongs to God Himself.

God is speaking to you as a Father speaks to His child. God is not an absentee Father. He's speaking all the time. He's speaking to you through the Bible, which is His written Word. He's speaking to you by His Holy Spirit and fulfilling the promise Jesus made in John 16: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.

Prayers based on God’s Word will be your best weapons against the attacks of your enemy, the devil.

The Word is filled with scriptures that cover every area of your life that the enemy would come against. Your safety and security, your health and well-being, your finances and prosperity, your relationships with people…no issue of life is left uncovered. Psalm 91 covers many of life’s issues that may come under attack. Make it your prayer of declaration often when the enemy challenges you.

First of all, a prayer of agreement is one that is based on God’s Word. Whether it be for salvation, healing, finances or deliverance, God’s Word addresses every life issue.

Once you locate the scriptures that apply to your situation, you simply declare those scriptures over it, always thanking the Lord for His answer according to His Word.

Answered prayer is based on having a covenant relationship with the Lord, as all Christians do. The promises of that covenant are expressed in the Scriptures. From God’s point of view, those promises are the legal provisions which He has supplied for His children. They define the covenant relationship and are inseparable from it.

If your loved one has determined that it is time to go home to be with Jesus after a long and fulfilled life, then you can pray in agreement. However, if he or she wants to live longer, then it is not right for you to pray for the passing because it is not scriptural to pray for someone to die before they are ready.

Remember, death was never part of God’s original plan for mankind, and He has never stolen any man’s life. Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). When God created man, He created him a free moral agent.

1 Timothy 4:3-5 tells us that our food is made acceptable by the Word and prayer.

So, when you bless your food at each meal, take the time to do more than a quick, “Bless this food.” This is your opportunity to pray protection over yourself—to bless it and sanctify it, and pray against anything that would cause illness, in Jesus’ Name. If you’re at a restaurant, you can include a prayer over the people who will be preparing your food—that they’ll handle it correctly with wisdom. 

Unanswered prayer is not the result of God’s unwillingness to use His power, but because of hindrances we allow to overcome us. The Bible says His eyes look to and fro throughout the earth to show Himself strong in behalf of those whose hearts are perfect toward Him (2 Chronicles 16:9). 

So, is there anything that can block prayers?

1. Praying Amiss (James 4:3). That means praying with the wrong motivation and praying outside the will of God. You can find the will of God in His Word, so be sure your prayers line up with what He says.

Psalm 127:3 says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,   the fruit of the womb a reward” (ESV). Deuteronomy 28:11 also tells of the blessing of children for those who obey God.

In other words, one of God’s promises to you is the blessing of children. Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy; and often, we have to fight the good fight of faith to receive every promise. You can pray and stand in faith for children! As you do, listen to the Holy Spirit for instruction and correction. He will lead and guide you into all truth. 

The answer can be found in Mark 4. There Jesus said that after God’s Word is sown in the heart, Satan immediately comes to take it away. He does this through afflictions, persecutions, cares of this world, deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things.

Whenever you sow the Word, Satan is going to send some of those things your way in an attempt to pry you loose from the Word of God, because he knows that Word will give you victory over him. 

Your desire to hear from God is a righteous one! God is talking to you all the time, and it is His will that you hear Him and feel confident in doing so. That’s why, in the New Testament, Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear,” 15 different times.

When Christians are new at hearing from God, there can often be uncertainty as to whether they are hearing from God, themselves or even the devil. But it is much simpler than you may think!

Parents often feel a great deal of pressure to ensure their children achieve good grades in school. It is understandable to want to see your children succeed in life! God wants that, too. His desire is that they be the head, and not the tail, in all things. The opportunity to achieve an education is a great one, but as you pray for your children, do so in faith, not out of a pressure to achieve a certain GPA. Encourage your children to do their very best, but understand it may not always translate into all A’s.

The prayer of agreement is one of the most powerful tools God has given us. It is a prayer that Jesus Himself guaranteed would bring results every time. “...If two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask,” He said, “...it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 18:19).

When you don’t see the results He promised, I’ve found the problem usually lies in one of four areas.

Your words are powerful. And speaking the Word of God over every circumstance is exactly what we’re called to do (Mark 11:23).

But what happens when it seems like your confessions aren’t working?

There was a woman who was hit over the head and mugged while out running errands. She was so upset and couldn’t understand what happened. ““How could this happen to me?” she asked. “I confess Psalm 91 protection over myself every day!”

Maybe you’ve felt the same. You’ve confessed a scripture and then seen the opposite results and wondered why.

Prayer that brings results must be based on God’s Word. It contains the answers to prayers we haven’t even prayed yet. Praying those answers from the beginning undergirds our confident expectation that God will do what He has said.

Jesus said, “But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!” (John 15:7). Need some help finding scriptures that cover your need? Here are a few of God’s great guarantees to get you started

Not always, but it can be. The good news is that it’s not hard to recognize the difference.

First, let’s establish this: It is always appropriate for a child of God to communicate openly with the Father. We don’t have to completely stop praying about something once we have taken a stand in faith. When we have taken a specific stand in faith, we can expect that God will continue to speak to us about that situation and He will give us the wisdom and insight we need.

There are many testimonies of rebellious or prodigal children making supernatural turnarounds solely due to the power of a praying parent. Just because you don’t see immediate results, don’t discount the power and influence you have in your prayer closet. Press in, keep on seeking, keep on knocking, keep on asking. The effective (based on the Word), fervent (continual, never-ceasing), prayer of a righteous mother or father will bring great results (James 5:16).

The Church is precious to God, and your prayers make much power available to it. Here are some of the best ways to pray for your church.

1.    Find scriptures to stand on concerning the strength and unity of your church. It is critical that we stand on the Word when we go to the throne of grace. As you pray over your church, pray according to the Word of God. His Word never returns void.

You can pray the prayer of intercession. Briefly defined, intercession is prayer made in behalf of another person or persons who have brought judgment upon themselves for wrongdoing. The Scriptures teach us that sin provokes God, and because of His just and righteous nature, sin calls for judgment (James 1:15; Romans 6:23). But God has no pleasure in judgment; instead He delights in mercy (Micah 7:18).

The Bible instructs us to “pray always with all prayer” (Ephesians 6:18, BRG). Other translations say, “all kinds of prayer” or “different kinds of prayer.” The AMPC says, “with all [manner of] prayer.” 

There is more than just one kind of prayer, and depending on what you desire from God, you it’s helpful to understand the importance of each one.