Trinity Baptist Church

Have you ever heard anyone say that they didn’t feel as though their prayers got any higher than the ceiling? Maybe they didn’t. The Bible teaches that the following five things are essential in order to pray effectively:

1. Confessed Sin. (Psalm 66:18; Isaiah 59:1-2.) This means you would have, first and foremost, turned to God for the forgiveness of sin, through faith in Christ. In other words, you are saved. But, it also means that you do not hang on to little areas of sin in your life.

2. Believing what you pray. (Mark 11:24; James 1:6-7.) You don’t ask God, then wait to see what happens, but you pray believing. Effective prayer is really a claiming of God’s promise on a particular matter, not just thinking up some wild idea and saying that you are going to believe God for it.

3. Forgiving those who have offended you. (Mark 11:25-26.) About every time Jesus taught on the subject of prayer, He hooked this matter of forgiveness to it. Forgiving doesn’t mean that you are saying it’s okay, but rather that you are not going to call it against the person any more.

4. Treat your spouse right. (1 Peter 3:7.) In this day of political correctness, it is easy to become blinded to this simple truth of God’s word.

5. Pray with a correct motive. (Matthew 6:5; James 4:3.) Why do you want what you are praying for? How will it affect your walk with God?