Did you ever wish to transform your boring and dull prayers into powerful and inspiring prayers? If yes, then you came to the right place, in this post, let me share with you the seven indispensable qualities that you should have in your prayers!
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You and I know the importance of prayer in our lives. Your quest to improve your prayer life brought you here.
You see, not all prayers are equally effective. There are prayers that God is pleased with while there are also prayers that God is not pleased with. The Bible tells us that there are prayers to which God gives a yes while others to God give a no.
Now, you might say, “Are you sure, Josh? Is that something biblical? I thought all prayers are equally good?”
Well, don’t just believe me, believe what the Scripture says.
Let’s go to Proverbs 28:9:
One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
So, for those who don’t follow God’s laws and commandments, their prayers become an abomination!
On the flip side, we read in James 5:16:
Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
The righteous man prays an effective, fervent prayer. As you can see, there are bad prayers and good prayers, and certainly, we want to pray the right prayers, right?
So, in this free masterclass, I want to teach you straight from the Bible how to pray effective prayers, and to do this, we will discuss the 7 Indispensable Qualities of Highly Effective Prayers. I describe these qualities as indispensable because these are absolutely necessary in order to have effective prayers.
Alright, without any delay, let’s go straight to the core of our discussion.
Quality No. 1: Humble Prayer
The first quality I want to discuss is humble prayer. Our prayers should come from a humble heart. Notice the role of humility in prayer. We read 2 Chronicles 7:14:
If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
So, what does it mean to be humble in prayer? Here are some answers:
We must acknowledge our own sinfulness
A humble person acknowledges his or her sins. He won’t deny or hide them. If we can’t see our hopeless situation apart from God, we won’t be able to pray effectively because we are going to rely on our own righteousness rather than God’s righteousness.
This point is well illustrated in the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector. We read in Luke 18:9-14:
9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
So those who are humble will be exalted and those who are filled with pride, will be humbled. When we acknowledge our sins, we can better repent of them and change for the better. This leads us to the second answer.
Ask for forgiveness
You can’t truly and sincerely ask for forgiveness if you are filled with pride. That’s why you need to be humble first before you can come before God.
Recognize God’s greatness
Being humble before God is recognizing His majestic, almighty power. We recognize that God is way greater than any of us.
Nothing compares to His glory and wisdom. When we consider the omnipotent power of God, we can’t help but be humble before the presence of God.
Submit to God’s will
Jesus Christ, or properly known as Yahshua the Messiah, tells us that we should include in our prayers for God’s will to happen in our lives.
We read in Matthew 6:10:
Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
It takes a truly humble heart to ask for God’s will to be done and not our will.
Quality no. 2: Worshipful Prayer
Our prayer should start and end with worship and praise to Yahweh, our heavenly Father. We don’t worship God because He needs our words of admiration and praise. Rather, we worship God for us to recognize who God really is.
In Matthew 6:9, Christ instructed us to start our prayer with this mindset:
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.”
To hallow God’s name means to treat it with reverence, respect, and honor. It means to acknowledge that God is holy and that He is worthy of our worship. When we hallow God’s name, we are also acknowledging His power and authority over us.
That’s why, when we pray, it shouldn’t be all about ourselves. It should be about worshiping and praising God.
We are all created to worship something. The question now is, what do you worship? I hope the answer is that we worship the Creator rather than any of His creations.
Now, what’s interesting about worshiping God is that it inevitably leads to thankfulness. This means that when we pray, we should express our gratitude to God. We must be thankful in His presence for all the wonderful blessings He has given us. And that is what it means for us to have a worshipful prayer.
That’s the second quality, now let’s continue.
Quality no. 3: Faithful Prayer
The third indispensable quality of effective prayer is faith. Notice what Hebrews 11:6 tells us:
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Did you grasp that? Faith is an essential part of our prayer because, without faith, it is impossible to please God. It didn’t say that without faith, it is difficult to please God, but rather it says, it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God without faith. It just won’t happen. In other words, there’s no way you can please God without faith.
Thus, we must understand that faith is an important part of prayer. It is the belief that God is listening and that He will answer our prayers. When we pray with faith, we are showing God that we trust Him, we believe in His power, and we recognize Him as the Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Now, I know that doubts and fear can easily torment us especially when we go through life’s challenges and difficulties. However, we must also realize that prayer does not only require faith, but prayer can also build and strengthen our faith.
So, don’t hesitate to pray when you are having doubts. It is during those times that you need to pray even more fervently.
Quality no. 4: Specific Prayer
The fourth quality of prayer is specific prayer. Your prayer should be specific. Now, you might say, “Why should we be specific in our prayers? I thought God already knew what’s in my heart.”
That’s a good question. I remember one of my professors in college. He jokingly said that when he prays before meals, he will simply say, “Thank you, Lord. You know what we mean. Amen.”
Now, what do you think about that prayer? If someone tells you, “Thank you,” wouldn’t you want to hear from that person what he or she is thankful for?
In the same manner, while God already knew what is in our hearts, He wants to hear from us. He wants to listen. Talking to God and spending time specifying what we are praying for or thankful for allows us to draw closer to our Heavenly Father.
It is true that God already knows what is in our hearts. However, there are many benefits to being specific in our prayers.
Being specific in our prayers helps us to focus our thoughts and emotions on Yahweh. When we pray specifically, we are forced to think about what we really want and need. This can help us to clarify our thoughts and emotions, and to focus our prayers on the things that are most important to us.
Aside from that, perhaps the most important reason to be specific is to help us grow in our relationship with God. When we pray specifically, we are opening ourselves up to God in a deeper way. We are sharing our hopes, dreams, and fears with Him, and we are asking for His guidance. This can help us to grow in our relationship with God and to experience His love more fully.
Being specific in our prayer is something we can learn from the healing of two blind men as recounted in Matthew 20:29-34:
29 Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. 30 And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”
31 Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”
32 So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
33 They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” 34 So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.
As you can see, Jesus or Yahshua already knew that these men wanted to have their eyes opened. Yet, Christ still asked them what they wanted. The Messiah wants these men to be specific in their requests.
So, next time, don’t simply say, “Thank you, Lord.” Say, “Thank you, Father, for my life. Thank you that I am able to see and appreciate the beauty around me. Thank you because I can hear sweet music. Thank you I can enjoy my food. Thank you for giving me my hands and feet.”
Did you see the difference there? When we are specific in our prayers, we become more thankful when we want to say thank you. We become more intentional and present in our prayers when we are asking God for blessings and His grace. That’s the power of being specific in our prayers.
Quality no. 5: Unselfish Prayer
The fifth quality of effective prayer is unselfishness. You see, prayer is not just about you. It should also be about God and other people. Your prayer should not simply contain what you wanted in your life. You should also pray for others!
In the Bible, we can see a lot of examples where people pray for each other and not just simply for themselves. For example, we have seen how the Canaanite woman approached Yahshua not for herself, but for her daughter. The Apostle Paul continually prays for the brethren. Even Christ prayed for His people.
We read the instruction for praying for one another in James 5:16:
Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
We are even commanded to pray for our enemies. We read in Matthew 5:44:
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.
As you can see, praying for one another is an important aspect of our prayer. Praying for one another is a great way for us to show our love and kindness to everyone. It helps us to think more of others more than ourselves.
Quality no. 6: Working Prayer
Another quality of effective prayer is working prayer. By working, what I mean is that you also do your part. Remember that prayer is not something we do to turn God into a spiritual genie. While yes, we are commanded to simply put everything in God’s hands, it doesn’t mean that we don’t need to do something anymore.
This old saying rings true today: “Do your best and God will do the rest.”
We read in James 2:14-17:
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
You see, as Christians we should not simply be just all about talk and talk. We must also walk the talk. We should also do our part.
You can’t pray to God to help you in your exams when you yourself don’t study. You can’t expect God to bless you with good health when you abuse your body. You can’t expect God to bless you with good relationships with others when you don’t even spend time with your family.
As you can see, we have a role to play in our prayers and that’s where our actions come in.
Quality no. 7: Consistent Prayer
Now, finally, the seventh quality of effective prayers is consistency. Prayer should be done regularly. It is something that we do every day. It is not something we do whenever we are in the “mood” or we just feel like it.
To give you an analogy, prayer is like marriage. When you are married to your spouse, you need to regularly communicate with each other. You can’t simply say “I love you” once and that should do it. NO, you need to talk to your spouse every day!
In the same manner, you need to consistently talk to Yahweh to nurture and improve your relationship with Him.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to pray without ceasing. It means that we should set aside a schedule every day when we will be fully focused on God. In the same manner, it is equally important to constantly be attuned to God and have a prayerful attitude throughout the day. That’s what it means to pray without ceasing.
Aside from that, consistent prayer isn’t about the frequency as well. It also means we must be persistent in our prayers.
We read in Colossians 4:2:
“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.”
Earnestly here came from the Greek word, “proskartereō.” It means to persevere and constantly be diligent.
Also, the parable of the persistent widow should teach us the value of persistence in prayer. We read Luke 18:1-7:
1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ”
6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?
God is saying that if human beings respond to another person’s pleading and begging, how much more would God hear us?
Sometimes, God wants to see how much we want something. When God sees that it will help us reach His Kingdom and it is according to His will, then through our persistent prayer, He will hear us.
Final words: Pray the Effective Prayer
Those are the 7 indispensable qualities of highly effective prayers. To recap, let me summarize the points:
- Humble prayer – we must approach God with a humble attitude, willing to yield to His infinite wisdom, perfect will, and almighty authority.
- Worshipful prayer – our prayers should be filled with worship and gratitude to God. We must also recognize God’s unmatched and limitless power.
- Faithful prayer – we must have faith in God when we pray. It means we trust God that He hears us and that He will answer our prayers according to His wisdom.
- Specific prayer – we need to talk to God and share our inmost thoughts and feelings with Him.
- Unselfish prayer – we must also pray for others and not just for ourselves.
- Working prayer – we must couple our prayers with actions.
- Consistent prayer – we must regularly pray to God and be persistent in our prayers.
I hope that helps you in improving your prayer life and gives you fresh insights on how to pray effective prayers. I would love to help you further. I know this is a huge, huge topic and I can’t cover everything in this masterclass.
Join our Teach Us to Pray Course
That’s why, I want to invite you to join our Teach Us To Pray online course.
The course comes with seven chapters and 22 lessons. Each lesson comes with videos with text and audio versions.
In this course, you will learn:
- The biblical definition of prayer
- What is the power of prayer
- The 17 compelling reasons why you should pray
- Learning how to pray like Yahshua our Messiah (Jesus)
- How to pray a prayer that God will hear
- How to establish a consistent habit of prayer
- And so much more.
I’m super confident that you will love our online course. If you wish to learn more, I have included the link in the description section. So, I hope you do check it out because I’m so excited to see how it will transform your prayer life.
With that, I would like to thank you once again for reading through this prayer study guide. My greatest desire is for all of us to harness the power of prayer and use it in the way God intends it to be.
Again, I’m Joshua Infantado of Becoming Christians Academy, praying that our heavenly Father blesses us all with His truth, love, and grace. See you next time!
[Learn more about Teach Us to Pray Course]