“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6 NKJV).
When we come to the Lord in prayer, it’s good to remember that the Lord looks at our hearts, so speak to Him from your heart. “For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
Madame Jeanne Guyon (1648-1717), a woman of great faith and devotion to the Lord, was imprisoned in the Bastille in Paris for her faith after publishing “A Short and Very Easy Method of Prayer.” The work was considered heretical by the Roman Catholic Church at the time. She was a champion for coming to the Lord with childlike faith, with one’s whole heart.
Madame Guyon advocated speaking from our heart to the Lord—not from our head with rich, flowery words devoid of faith and love.
“There is only one requirement, though, that you must follow at all times,” she wrote. “It will not interfere with outward actions. It may be practiced by princes, kings, priests, soldiers, children, and laborers.
“This simple requirement is that you must learn to pray from your heart and not your head.
“The reason for this is that man’s mind is so limited in its operation, it can only focus on one object at a time. But the prayer offered from the heart cannot be interrupted by reason.”
It’s All in the Approach
Part of growing up is learning the correct way to approach authority figures when you want something. Knowing the appropriate way to speak to our earthly father when we wanted him to do something for us, as well as how we spoke with the principal at school or dean at a university, and later your employer, banker, etc. were all part of our education growing up and entering adulthood.
You probably learned to communicate with each one in a far different manner than you would, say, your friends at school or your sweetheart.
Similarly, there is a proper way to approach the Lord. When we come before Him with the right heart attitude, we put ourselves in a far better position to be able to RECEIVE from Him.
As Madame Guyon wrote, speak to the Lord from your heart and not your head. There is an honest childlike vulnerability when we come to the Lord in prayer from our heart, trusting Him completely.
“Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah” (Psalm 62:8).
Put the Lord in Remembrance of His Word
From your heart, tell the Lord exactly what you need and be specific. Bring Him to the remembrance of His Word—His promise to you in Scripture regarding the issue you are petitioning Him in prayer.
The Lord says in Isaiah 43:26, “Put Me in remembrance; let us contend together; state your case…”
This bringing God’s promises to Him in prayer is not for His benefit, but for yours. When you know that you know you have your Heavenly Father’s WORD on a matter, you have confidence that your prayer will be answered.
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have [granted us as our present possessions, Amplified translation] the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15).
How can we know we are asking for something according to God’s will? Find it in God’s Word, His promises in Holy Scripture, the Bible.
Then before you leave His presence, express your confidence in Him by thanking and praising the Lord for answering your prayer. Believe that the full manifestation of what you are believing for, based on His Word in the Bible, is on the way!
When you are praising the Lord for hearing and answering your prayer, you are acting in faith; faith found in His Word (“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” Romans 10:17).
Faith gives God something to respond to. Remember He promised you in His Word that whatever you ask in Jesus’ Name according to His will, He would grant you (Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” John 16:23-24.).
Get Excited About It!
You have God’s own Word that He heard you, so act like it! Praising God is all about responding like you BELIEVE the promises in the Bible are true. You are acting like you believe God is able to meet your need and is faithful to His promises.
Start thanking God immediately for the answer to your prayer. Praise builds that confidence in your own heart that God is able and will meet your need.
Since He heard you when you prayed, you don’t have to ask Him for the same thing again. He heard you, so there is no need to ask Him over and over. He is not hard of hearing. 😉 When you follow the Bible-based steps outlined above, you have it, so praise Him and REJOICE!
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).
Judging the Lord faithful is how our heroes and heroines of faith received their miracles!
“By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11).
I have taken that scripture about Sarah and inserted my own name when I was believing for healing, for example.
You can do that, too! You can say, “By faith, I am receiving strength and health in my body, because I judge Him faithful who has promised me in His Word that I prosper (break through to success) and be in health even as my soul prospers” (personalizing Heb. 11:11 with 3 John 2).
Stand the Test
Realize, however, that our faith will be tested. The enemy of your soul (satan, the devil) does not want you to have your prayers answered. He will try throwing doubt and unbelief at you, hoping you will give voice to that doubt and keep us from receiving from God.
Remember that there were those in Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth who could not receive from Him “because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58 and Mark 6:6).
You may have doubts come to your head. Just don’t meditate on them. Don't give voice to the doubt, thus letting it drop into your heart and become a spirit of unbelief. That’s what kept people from receiving from Jesus.
Yet Jesus said numerous times, “Your faith has made you well” (Mark 5:34, Mark 10:52, Luke 8:48, Luke 17:19, and Luke 18:42).
That’s the time to stand firm on God’s promises to you in His Word by thanking and praising Him that the answer is on the way. So—praise the Lord!!!
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