Effective Prayer

One of the periodic struggles that we all have in common is the frequent dilemma we face when attempting to give a meaningful gift to someone we care about. This is faced throughout the year, whether  on their birthday, or at Christmas, or some other special occasion. I have never been one to just give the “expected” gift like chocolates for Valentine’s, or flowers for Mother’s Day, or fruitcake for Christmas, etc. Because of that I usually endure many anxious hours and days agonizing over just the right gift. You always try to give something that people “want” and can really use but it is hard to read their minds, especially as the day draws near!

I remember as a young husband looking at clothes or knickknacks, and not knowing just what to get for Joyce for a present. Then I happened to hear that she really liked a certain kind of perfume. Once I knew what she really wanted it was easy to then pursue it no matter how much it cost because I was sure that Joyce would like it! Knowing her “will” made it easy for me to buy a gift with confidence, and not have to worry whether she would like it or not. Our daughter Jennifer has perfected the “art” of gift selection over the years, and she keeps a list in her cell phone of family members’ “wishes.” During the year when she hears someone mention something they like she will put it on her list under that person’s name. Then when that special occasion rolls around she can get things that she knows will be “wanted!”

Being confident in prayer is a similar process for those who are following Jesus. So many times we struggle with what to pray for and who to pray for. Often our prayer time digresses into the expected, “God bless everyone,” or “Lord, give them wisdom,” or “God, help everyone stay safe.” If we are more versed in what the Bible says, we can always default to “claiming the promises” for everyone on our prayer list, but it still sounds pretty generic and doesn’t feel very effective. The very best way to pray, from what the Bible tells us in 1 John chapter 5, is to find out what God wants specifically and then pray along those lines. That’s what James calls “effective, fervent prayer” and it always gets a response from God because it is what He wants to begin with. So my biggest effort is to spend quality time with God to know what He wants, then I can pray with confidence!

How exciting to be His people,
Pastor David Vanderpool