LET US PRAY - Lesson 1: What is Prayer?

What is Prayer?

"Prayer is the most wonderful act in the spiritual realm as well as a most mysterious affair." 

"Prayer is the union of the believer's thought with the will of God." Watchman Nee

Prayer is one of the most valuable assets we have as Christians. God allows us to partner with Him to fulfill His purposes on Earth.

Concerning any given matter, there is the possibility of having two different kinds of prayer.

1. The prayer that has it's source in our own will. It is based on our own thinking and our own expectations. The Lord may hear and answer our prayer, but such prayer has a very low value attached to it.

2. The prayer that results after our will has merged into God's will and our thought into God's thought. At this point, the question is then no longer whether our need is met but whether God's will is done. Prayer for personal need should be touched indirectly by first asking the Lord's will to be done. This is the secret of prayer and the key to victory in prayer.

When Jesus taught us how to pray in Matthew 6, at the top of the list He taught us to pray: "Thy will be done." When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane He prayed three times to the Father. In all three instances He prayed: "Yet not as I will, but as You will." "...Your will be done." God wants us to learn in Him what His will is regarding all things so that we can then pray according to His will, in Jesus' name.

Where do we learn what His will is? We learn it in His Word. We learn it from the Holy Spirit that resides within every believer.

We can only know His will that is found in His Word if we follow David's advice in Psalms: "I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You." Psalm 119:11. "...meditates on His law day and night." Psalm 1:2. We must read the Word, listen to the Word being read, meditate on it, study it, and talk about it. We need to consume it as a starving man might consume a bucket of chicken from KFC. Why? Because within the Word exist God's will. When you put God's Word in your heart, the Holy Spirit can then use it to teach you and show you God's will.

You are led by the Holy Spirit when you seek to have a pure heart, forgiven of all sins (Galatians 5:22). You must then ask the Holy Spirit to rule over your soul (mind, will, emotions). This is called surrendering your will to God's will. This is the oneness you must seek with God that allows you to know His will and pray "Thy will be done." When you know His will, you can see why you only need the faith of a mustered seed to see great things happen. If it is "In Jesus' name" it is a done deal.

1. God conceives a thought, which is His will.
2. God reveals His will to his children through His Word and the Holy Spirit.
3. God's children return His will by praying to Him. Prayer is responding to God's will from a heart that is wholly one with His heart.
4. God will accomplish His will.

Next week: "Pray According to God's Will"