The hardest thing about prayer is just doing it faithfully and regularly. We can learn a great deal about prayer from the Bible and from the experiences of others. But, until we actually pray, all the promises and testimonies won't help us do a better job of praying.

So, our first instructions on prayer are found in Luke 18 and 1 Thessalonians 5. In Luke 18:1, the Lord instructed his disciples that, "man ought always to pray, and not to faint." In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Paul instructed us that we are to, "pray without ceasing." When you think about those instructions, you see how hard it is to do what we have been told to do. If we would simply pray, we would accomplish a whole lot more than if we spent our time "learning to pray."

Now, there are many promises on prayer in the Bible, but we will only take seven of them here. Keep in mind that many of the promises in the Bible are conditional. That is, there is generally a condition that must be met before the Lord will answer the prayer.

1. Promise: God will hear your prayers, 1 John 5:14. Condition: you must ask according to his will (Matthew 8:2-3). So often, men want God to do everything they ask. However, since we do not know everything about God's providential dealings, it is very important that we submit to God's will in everything. Sometimes what we think God should do for us may not be the best thing. Since we know that Romans 8:28 is true, we must realize that God's will is better even in the worst of circumstances than our will is in the best of circumstances.

2. Promise: God will answer your requests, Matthew 7:7. Condition: you must ask and you must ask for the right reasons, James 4:3-4. Too often, things in your life don't turn out the way you think they should. And somehow, God ends up getting the blame. However, review the circumstances and see where you forgot to ask God for the things you realize now that you needed. Also, look at those things you asked for purely for selfish reasons. This may help you to understand what has gone wrong with your prayer life.

3. Promise: God will grant your desires, Mark 11:24. Condition: you must believe and not doubt (March 11:23). Having the faith to believe that God will do something is based upon believing his word. That's because, "faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God," Romans 10: 17. These days, Christians profess to pray a lot but they are spending very little time in their Bibles. Consequently, their faith is extremely small. We hear a great deal about faith but very little about the basis for that faith. If you are not spending a great deal of time in your Bible, you will find that your prayer life has really suffered. Read the Bible and believe it!

4. Promise: God will give you joy, John 16:24. Condition: you must ask in Jesus' name. When you were younger, your parents gave you things hoping to make you happy. On your birthday, for instance, you opened something nice from your parents and shouted with glee. Your parents were delighted to see you rejoice, since that was one of the main reasons for giving you a gift. Likewise, with God, the same is true. He wants us to experience great joy in our salvation. And truthfully, the joy you get from the gifts he gives should be far greater than the gifts, themselves. Too often, however, Christians keep begging God for things but never experience the real joy of their salvation. Ultimately, you are much better off having joy without the things, than having the things without the joy (2 Cor. 8:1-2).

5. Promise: God will give you grace, Hebrews 4:16. Condition: you must come boldly to his throne. When you are in a difficult situation or you are experiencing a trying infirmity, the thing you want the most is to get healed or get out of trouble. However, Paul showed us that sometimes getting loaded up with God's grace is far better than getting healed. He learned to glory in his infirmities because of the power that Christ gave him when He sustained him with His grace, 2 Cor. 12:7-10.

6. Promise: God will grant you peace, Philippians 4:6-7. Condition: you must pray with thanksgiving. Herein lays one of the biggest problems for Christians. You are all the time asking and begging God to change the circumstances you are in, to give you health, or give you the things that you need. But you spend very little time thanking Him when He answers your prayers. Consequently, you never experience the level of peace that keeps your heart and your mind, a peace that passes all understanding. You can handle anything with that kind of peace.

7. Promise: God will deliver you, Psalm 50:15. Condition: you must glorify God. You may be finding yourself in a very difficult situation right now and you have probably been praying for God to deliver you. Just remember that God will provide the deliverance at the very moment in which He can gain the greatest glory. And if you have been delivered from a difficulty, and have failed to glorify God, that may be the reason why your prayer life is suffering now. Tell others what He has done for you and give God the glory (Ps. 66:16)!

There are certainly other things that can be said about prayer. However, there is enough information in these verses to keep all of us busy for quite a while.

Hope this helps,

Pastor Welder