Obstacles to Prayer
Even though we all long for the kingdom of God – f or unity with
God and for the total dominion of the Holy Spirit over all other spirits
– we know that we are obstacles to this kingdom. Our own nature is always
interfering when God tries to reveal himself. Our personalities get in the
way, because in each of us there are countless thoughts, feelings, and traits of
character that are not completely centered on the kingdom of God or compatible
with the spirit of Jesus. Every prayer is therefore inevitably burdened
with personal mistakes and desires.
In addition to our own failings, we are often besieged by dark clouds of
worry. When this happens we need to ask for the freshening wind of the Holy
Spirit so that, surrounded by God’s pure, clear atmosphere, we can pray tirelessly
to God, asking him to banish our anxiety and prove that he is the ruler
over life and death. By praying we can resist temptation (Matt. 26:41).
Even more dangerous than the most nightmarish anxiety is the force that
drives away the Spirit—sin. Sin fights against life and leads to death through
the demonic darkness of unrighteousness, impurity, covetousness, self-seeking,
self-will, lying and deception.
These demonic forces will yield only to prayer offered in a spirit of self-denying
love. Sin and the prayer of faith exclude each other. We cannot meet God
unless we are free from hate, anger, quarreling, and all wrong done to others (1
Tim.2:8). If we are serious about praying we must be cleansed of all sin. God
dwells only in hearts that have been completely purified. We cannot speak to
God, who is holy, unless we have prayed for the forgiveness of our sins with a
converted and changed heart and truly believe in and live in this forgiveness.
“Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness”
(2 Tim. 2:19). That is the clear stamp by which God can recognize his
own. If we refuse to listen to God’s demands for righteousness, our prayer is
16
The Prayer God Answers
Obstacles to Prayer
an abomination. It is loathsome to God. As long as we continue to shed the
blood of others, none of our prayers will be heard. With all the strength and
determination we can muster, we must reject evil and strive to do only what
is good. We must try to show justice and love to all people, especially to the
poor and deserted, the widows and orphans. We must be ready to fulfill the
will of God with the willing obedience of faith. Only then will God take away
our sins and accept our prayers.
Unless we have utterly surrendered ourselves to God and left behind all
selfishness, our prayer for God’s gifts will have no effect ( James 4:2-3). Everything,
absolutely everything, that stifles our love for him must be burned
or melted away.
The sin that separates us from God most is the cold arrogance of a selfcentered,
individualistic life. The key to prayer is to give up all the privileges,
rights, and demands of self-esteem, all self-justification and all clinging to the
good things we have accomplished through our own virtue. Self-importance
is the opposite of love and goodness and is the deepest root of sin. Conversely,
the root of community with God and love to others is the awareness that we
receive undeserved grace and good gifts from God. If we are full of ourselves,
thinking we are better than others, our prayer will never reach God. But if we
are aware of our guilt and recognize that we are worse than others, and ask
God for his mercy, he accepts our prayers (Luke 18:9-14).
Our prayers are blocked whenever our hearts remain unmoved. To experience
a fundamental change of heart and direction and to enter a new
life in God, we must first feel profound remorse for the heartless evil of our
self-governed lives. A person who sees his guilt as it really is, learns through
God’s judgment to detest sin and to turn away from it forever. He spends
the rest of his life in awe before God, for now he knows that the Father to
whom he prays is no respecter of persons but judges each according to his
actions, and that the purpose of his judgment is to destroy what is evil in us.
When we have been overpowered by God in this way, we will keep watch in
every area of our lives and in all our relationships, particularly in marriage
(1 Cor.7:5). We will not let pleasures, especially those of possession and sensuality,
distract us from God and hinder our prayers. Prayer demands clearheaded
moderation.
Wednesday 12 October 2011
Contact Eliza Mariana Wilson Powerful Miracle Prayers (or The Seven P’s in Prayer)
What makes a prayer more powerful than other? What is the secret of an answered prayer? How can we use it to bring a miracle in our life or the lives of the people around us? How can we make the best of this amazing tool God has given us? The way from ordinary to extraordinary is within our reach. There are just a few simple steps to follow. Learning to trust God is one of the most important. Having the courage to pray for a miracle is another.
And we could go on... Having the spirit and the passion of the first Christians. Being honest about everything, including our doubts, but keeping a positive outlook on all (“I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief”). Experiencing God. Becoming receptive to his voice. Persevering. Trying again and again. Having patience.
Here is a list of what I call “the Seven P’s in Prayer”. Or, in other words, the attributes of a prayer that can move mountains...
PATIENT
Patience actually refers to the period after praying. Wait patiently, even if you can’t see immediate results. Rest assured that God will answer you, in one way or another. When I was in college, after each exam I had to wait for the results. Waiting wasn’t easy but I knew in my heart I had done my bit. I had tried my hardest and now it was time to lay back and wait. Do what depends on you and God will do what depends on Him.
PERSEVERENT
Keep praying. Don’t give up. Persevere in your act of communication with God. When you feel like giving up, ask God for help to go on. When you feel you can’t pray, ask him to help you with that too. Whatever your feelings are, talk to God about them. Whatever you need, ask for it. Patience and perseverance are very important in any human activity. Without them, you will never cross that edge to achieving the best performances.
PERSONAL
Be personal. Use your own words. Describe how you feel in an honest and straightforward way. Remember God knows your heart anyway, so there is no need to hide anything. Let the words flow from inside and when they don’t come, remember God can see beyond words. The strength of a prayer is not measured in what you say, but in how you say it and in how you feel. Sometimes the silence is the most powerful prayer. I’ve met someone who was often lost for words when praying but her emotion was real. She told me that there were times when all she could say was “You know, my Lord. You know, my Lord.” There was no need for anything else, because, indeed, the Lord knew what she meant and what her prayer was all about.
POWERFUL
A powerful prayer can move mountains. But what makes a powerful prayer? When Jesus prayed, He prayed with authority and taught his disciples to do the same. He said: pray as if you’ve already received what you are praying for. What exactly did he mean? How can we gain that confidence? How did Jesus gain it? Through a close relationship with the Father. Through experience. The first time when we ask for something, we are reluctant because we don’t know whether we are going to get it or not. But as we learn how God works, as we learn to distinguish His voice among the confusing whispers of this world, we also learn to rely on Him. We learn to trust Him. We learn to love Him. That is what it’s all about. Faith, trust, love. We are not talking to a stranger anymore. We’re talking to our friend, to the One who knows everything about us, who loves us for who we are and wants us to have the best, here and in Eternity.
PASSIONATE
Passion is putting your heart and soul into something. You can’t be cold-hearted in prayer. It is the heat that rises up to the throne of God, it is the flame that pierces the sky and makes its way to the heart of the Father. God loves passion. As a Creator and an artist, He knows that nothing great is achieved without passion. Sometimes passion involves pain and tears, making yourself vulnerable, becoming exposed, giving everything. But it’s a risk that is worth taking. And in relationship with God, it might prove not to be a risk at all.
PROFOUND
‘Profound’ is a synonym for ‘deep’. A mountain-moving prayer has to be as deep as deep can be. Now ‘deep’ can be understood in several ways. A profound prayer can be a prayer reflecting your most hidden inner feelings; a prayer that goes much beyond the surface, into places you normally don’t reveal to anybody. A profound prayer can also refer to a prayer that plunges deeply into the causes and roots of exterior things and circumstances. Both these aspects are very important. When you ask for a miracle, you already go into ‘profound’ territory. Unknowingly, you step into a realm where faith stands face to face with physics, medicine, philosophy, history, psychology, and it has to prove stronger than any of them. It is quite a challenge! But as it has been proved many times, it can stand its ground and pass the test.
POSITIVE
We don’t know the complex mechanisms of this universe and how it all works. But we do know there is a balance between good and evil, between positive and negative. The very laws of Chemistry and Physics prove it. God doesn’t ask us to understand. But He does want us to stick to the positive side. The most minor of our thoughts can alter the balance of the universe. We’ll never know how much good we’ve brought into the world by one single positive thought, word or action. But we do know praying is one of those things that can mysteriously alter this balance. It is, in a way, like throwing stones into a river. Each time we struggle to throw further and we can watch the stone as it goes but only up to a certain point. We’ll never know how far and how deep it went beyond the surface.
And we could go on... Having the spirit and the passion of the first Christians. Being honest about everything, including our doubts, but keeping a positive outlook on all (“I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief”). Experiencing God. Becoming receptive to his voice. Persevering. Trying again and again. Having patience.
Here is a list of what I call “the Seven P’s in Prayer”. Or, in other words, the attributes of a prayer that can move mountains...
PATIENT
Patience actually refers to the period after praying. Wait patiently, even if you can’t see immediate results. Rest assured that God will answer you, in one way or another. When I was in college, after each exam I had to wait for the results. Waiting wasn’t easy but I knew in my heart I had done my bit. I had tried my hardest and now it was time to lay back and wait. Do what depends on you and God will do what depends on Him.
PERSEVERENT
Keep praying. Don’t give up. Persevere in your act of communication with God. When you feel like giving up, ask God for help to go on. When you feel you can’t pray, ask him to help you with that too. Whatever your feelings are, talk to God about them. Whatever you need, ask for it. Patience and perseverance are very important in any human activity. Without them, you will never cross that edge to achieving the best performances.
PERSONAL
Be personal. Use your own words. Describe how you feel in an honest and straightforward way. Remember God knows your heart anyway, so there is no need to hide anything. Let the words flow from inside and when they don’t come, remember God can see beyond words. The strength of a prayer is not measured in what you say, but in how you say it and in how you feel. Sometimes the silence is the most powerful prayer. I’ve met someone who was often lost for words when praying but her emotion was real. She told me that there were times when all she could say was “You know, my Lord. You know, my Lord.” There was no need for anything else, because, indeed, the Lord knew what she meant and what her prayer was all about.
POWERFUL
A powerful prayer can move mountains. But what makes a powerful prayer? When Jesus prayed, He prayed with authority and taught his disciples to do the same. He said: pray as if you’ve already received what you are praying for. What exactly did he mean? How can we gain that confidence? How did Jesus gain it? Through a close relationship with the Father. Through experience. The first time when we ask for something, we are reluctant because we don’t know whether we are going to get it or not. But as we learn how God works, as we learn to distinguish His voice among the confusing whispers of this world, we also learn to rely on Him. We learn to trust Him. We learn to love Him. That is what it’s all about. Faith, trust, love. We are not talking to a stranger anymore. We’re talking to our friend, to the One who knows everything about us, who loves us for who we are and wants us to have the best, here and in Eternity.
PASSIONATE
Passion is putting your heart and soul into something. You can’t be cold-hearted in prayer. It is the heat that rises up to the throne of God, it is the flame that pierces the sky and makes its way to the heart of the Father. God loves passion. As a Creator and an artist, He knows that nothing great is achieved without passion. Sometimes passion involves pain and tears, making yourself vulnerable, becoming exposed, giving everything. But it’s a risk that is worth taking. And in relationship with God, it might prove not to be a risk at all.
PROFOUND
‘Profound’ is a synonym for ‘deep’. A mountain-moving prayer has to be as deep as deep can be. Now ‘deep’ can be understood in several ways. A profound prayer can be a prayer reflecting your most hidden inner feelings; a prayer that goes much beyond the surface, into places you normally don’t reveal to anybody. A profound prayer can also refer to a prayer that plunges deeply into the causes and roots of exterior things and circumstances. Both these aspects are very important. When you ask for a miracle, you already go into ‘profound’ territory. Unknowingly, you step into a realm where faith stands face to face with physics, medicine, philosophy, history, psychology, and it has to prove stronger than any of them. It is quite a challenge! But as it has been proved many times, it can stand its ground and pass the test.
POSITIVE
We don’t know the complex mechanisms of this universe and how it all works. But we do know there is a balance between good and evil, between positive and negative. The very laws of Chemistry and Physics prove it. God doesn’t ask us to understand. But He does want us to stick to the positive side. The most minor of our thoughts can alter the balance of the universe. We’ll never know how much good we’ve brought into the world by one single positive thought, word or action. But we do know praying is one of those things that can mysteriously alter this balance. It is, in a way, like throwing stones into a river. Each time we struggle to throw further and we can watch the stone as it goes but only up to a certain point. We’ll never know how far and how deep it went beyond the surface.
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