Prayer And Waiting

Commentary

Devote Yourself to Prayer

Bible-based prayer is an absolutely vital part of your walk with Jesus. It’s your way of communicating to God, in a private and verbal way. Prayer should be done in conjunction with time in the Bible, either at the same time or in the general time frame, as God’s Word is the place where He most often speaks to our hearts. That’s not to say that He won’t speak to you in some other way, but it’s in that devotion time to Him that He speaks most often.

The Bible contains numerous passages regarding prayer and should be looked upon as the foundational tool upon which one bases their prayer life. There is a correct way to pray and incorrect ways.

In this study, we’ll look at some of the passages which teach about prayer and discover the lessons that God has for us on this most important subject.

Commentary

How We Are to Pray

There are times that we pray together either with others or for others in their presence. This is excellent and right, a key component to the ecclesia (assembling) of the body of Christ.

But when you’re talking to the Lord regarding your own personal time with Him, Jesus gives us clear instruction that we are to do this kind of personal prayer alone and in a private place.

The religious love to show others their high level of “devoutness”. Jesus, using the Pharisees of His time as examples, teaches that those types are only looking for worldly recognition for their outward display of piety.

Jesus gives us a structure for how our prayers should flow, in Matthew 6. You don’t need to say this prayer word for word, but this is a template for how you should structure your prayers. You should approach God with an attitude of praise, a thankful heart, asking for His forgiveness for anything that you need to confess and asking of Him as the Holy Spirit leads, seeking to honor His will.

Prayer is such a precious gift that God has given to His children. A communication tool that has real power for the born-again believer, because we ask in the name of Jesus, who is our Mediator, the only Mediator between God and mankind. God will not hear the prayers of wicked people, those who continue to show little to no regard for Jesus. But for us who love Him, prayer is unmatched by anything in this world.

Commentary

Allow the Holy Spirit to Lead

We won’t always know what to pray, but that should not keep us from daily prayer time. The Holy Spirit is able to search your heart and also knows the will of God. When those align, the Spirit will intercede for you, on your behalf.

It’s human nature to want to prescribe to God what He should do in our prayer requests. But God knows our hearts completely; we cannot know our own hearts. And it’s God’s Word that reveals to us that our hearts are deceitful.

So if our hearts are deceitful, then what should we do? James, by way of the Holy Spirit, tells us to seek God for any wisdom that we need. To have complete faith that He will give us the wisdom that we need in any situation. By allowing the Holy Spirit to lead your prayers, you will be in alignment with God’s will in what you ask. This puts you in a place of understanding and proper expectation.

Commentary

Wait on the Lord

Waiting on the Lord is an exercise in patience, and it can be quite difficult to muster up that level of patience. But it’s important to wait on Him for an answer to your prayers. Understand that God answers prayers in His time, and His answers won’t always be what you wanted. But His answers will be what is ultimately best for you.

There will be temptation to attempt to force God’s hand on something that you are eager about. This is not wise and may lead to bad situations. You see, God respects most of our free will choices; otherwise, we’d not really have free will. So if your prayer is something like, “Lord, I’m going to do such and such, but please keep me from making the wrong choice”, then you could be signaling to Him that you’re going to take the action that you desire first, then hope He helps you.

It would be wiser to ask the Lord first for guidance on a situation, then spend time in His Word and wait patiently on Him for direction. He might respond quickly, or it realistically could take days, weeks, months, even years. But if what you’re asking is His will, then He will make it happen regardless of if it looks to be too late or impossible; everything He does is in His perfect timing.

For the believer, the Lord’s voice is often quiet and calm, patient and peaceful. He doesn’t shout for your attention or impose Himself on you. You must be listening closely for Him, with a focus on Him, as Elijah experienced in his own walk with the Lord.

Elijah was depressed since Jezebel had placed a bounty on his life. He wanted something big to happen, perhaps for God to change the hearts of the people or maybe to avenge God’s vengeance on Jezebel. He was hoping for and looking for signs from God in all those big, loud, and great events, but God was not in those. That’s how your heart’s desires are, loud and screaming to you, pushy and impatient; those desires paint a picture in your mind of how “awesome” life could be if only...

Listen, your heart will lead you into trouble and have you chasing the wind. And if you let it, your heart will drown out God’s gentle and calm voice speaking to you. Do not allow it to rob you of the Lord’s will for your life.

Commentary

It’s All About God’s Will

We’ve learned prayer is reserved for the believer and is all about communicating to God. If we allow the Holy Spirit to lead our prayer time, then what we ask will be in alignment with God’s will. We learned that God often speaks in a still, small voice to His children and that every answer that He gives will be His will for you.

No matter how much you want something, if it doesn’t align with God’s will, then you will never receive His blessing for it. As this passage states, “So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it”. To know that you are to submit to the Lord in all things, yet continue to impose your own will, is a sin. When Jesus was on Earth, even He submitted to the Father’s will.

You may not always want to do what God places on your heart or accept a “no” answer for something that you really wanted God to say “yes” to, but ultimately it’s better to submit to God’s will.

There are times when immediate action is required on your part as you petition the Lord, like applying for jobs or being in a situation that requires using the abilities that God has already equipped you with, like a police officer praying for protection as he runs into an active crime scene. But then there are situations when you must stop and wait on the Lord, like thinking about marriage or following a dream that you have; these require that you’ve first consulted with the Lord and have received His answer. It’s foolish to disregard the will of God and to follow your own desires.

By submitting to Him in all things, your life will be much less turbulent. Because if you seek your will, instead of God’s will, then your life will be like a raging sea, with constant crashing and never-ending uneasiness. God does not want that for your life; He’d rather that you seek Him in all things and wait on Him for everything.