Jesus loves to walk with us. As He does, He talks to us, primarily through His Word, the Bible. We too have to respond by talking with Him. Otherwise, it becomes a one-way line of communication, which is usually ineffective.
Prayer is simply talking with God. It is natural to talk with someone we love. Prayer shouldn’t be a burden to us but an opportunity to fellowship with our loving Father and Saviour through the power of the Holy Spirit. How then can we pray joyfully, meaningfully and effectively?
Joyfully
The joy of the Lord is my strength. As we enter the presence of God with praise, adoration, and thanksgiving, He pours out the oil of joy on us. I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart. In the presence of God, there is fullness of joy and pleasures forever.
Meaningfully
Praying meaningfully is more of the heart than the lips and the words we use. God sees our hearts and our real needs. Sometimes we may not have the right words to express our concerns but, thankfully, God is above our thoughts. He promises to answer us even while we are yet speaking … before the words are fully out of our lips. Hannah prayed from her heart. Her lips moved but no words came out. Yet she “spoke eloquently ” to the Almighty God Who granted her request.
Effectively
Effective prayers bring results. They touch heaven and heaven touches them. Elijah prayed and got results. Moses did. How about Daniel and so on? These are human beings like us but they developed their relationship with the Lord and grew in confidence as they spoke with the Lord.
Oh Lord, teach us how to pray!