5 Things That Lead to an Active and Effective Prayer Life

W hat five things can you do to activate your prayer life?

Fellowship with God

One thing about an active prayer life is that you stay in fellowship with God. For those who have repented and put their trust in Christ, they already have a relationship as His child (1 John 3:10; Gal 3:26). When we abide in daily prayer with God, we connect with Him in an intimate way that is closer than that of best friends. There is joy in knowing that God hears our prayers and that He is interested in having an intimate relationship with us, so the first thing you can do, is make every day, a day for prayer. Anytime is a good time to pray.

Cleansed by God

In 1st John 1:9 it says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” so when we confess our sins to God we have the assurance that He will cleanse us from all of our sins and we will remain in a right standing before God and our relationship will be close. To confess means that we agree with God about our sins. Since God already knows about our sins anyway, why not confess them and have a clean conscience? There’s something refreshing in knowing that when we’re forgiven, we’re made whiter than snow in the sight of God (Psalm 51:7; 2 Cor 5:21), the second thing you must do is confess all known (and even unknown) sins.

Effectual Prayer

The third thing we can do comes from James who writes, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16b), and I have seen direct results to my prayers and have heard dozens and dozens of testimonies of answered prayers that changed lives. What’s the common factor? They were living righteously before God. They had confessed their sins (step two). No, we’re not perfect, as that’s not possible, but living a holy life as much as humanly possible, and then with God’s own strength through our weakness, walking in the Spirit, then our prayers have more power. Why not tap into the very power of God and pray earnestly for what is on your heart; a lost family member, a grieving widow, etc. Life changes when we pray to God and it is not that we change God’s mind but that God’s mind changes us. He uses our prayers as a means to reach His ends.

Godly Wisdom

The fourth thing we can do again comes from James. This time James tells us that we ought to pray for godly wisdom and we all need it. James writes “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5). Solomon prayed for wisdom “And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you” (1 Kings 3:11-12). Why would God refuse your prayer to have more of His wisdom…the wisdom that comes from above, not below (James 3:17).

Laborers for the Harvest

The final and fifth thing you can do is to understand that we are told to pray. I know and you know that prayer works. Jesus said “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matt 9:37-38). Clearly God would answer that prayer and I’ve seen that answered before my eyes. It seems there are few if any laborers in the church of today, but that didn’t keep me from praying. I prayed for other laborers to enter into the harvest and witness to those I’ve already shared Christ with. There are few laborers but there is such a great harvest, so pray for God to send forth more laborers and He will.

Next [below], there are three ways to see more power in your prayer life and results. How can I say that? Because when we pray according to God’s will, He’s for that and He’s more likely to answer that prayer.

3 Ways to Tap the Power of Prayer

According to His Will

When you find God’s will, you will find exactly what you need to pray for. It’s not rocket science. God’s will is found in His Word, the Bible. When you read the Bible, you can know at least some of God’s will, like it’s His desire that others be saved. The Apostle Paul wrote that God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4), so if you are praying for this too, then you are praying according to God’s will (Matt 6:10). That’s good. He’s more than willing to answer that prayer, so when you pray for God to save someone, you can tap God’s potent power knowing that it’s God’s will and God will hear and answer those prayers. That doesn’t mean everyone who we pray for will be saved, but we know God desires us to witness to those who are lost so that they might be saved. If you pray according to God’s will, you can unleash God’s power and God can answer your prayers by means of you praying them!

Praying in Faith

Any reading of the Bible proves that men and women in ancient times had great faith and God was well pleased with them (Heb 11:6). For them, God’s power was unleashed in response to their faith because they knew of His ability to answer it. This is not a “name it and claim it” faith where we ourselves command things to be done, but this is a prayer that trusts God and His answer, even if it’s no and even if it’s a different answer from what we prayed for. Have faith in God answering our prayers for what is for our ultimate best (Rom 8:28).

For His Glory

Jesus told us to pray in His name so that His name would be glorified. The Father is always seeking to glorify Jesus Christ’s name, so when we pray, pray in Jesus’ name and that His name will be glorified. There is one important point though; we must be abiding in Christ because, as Jesus says, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). Our prayers are affected by our abiding or not abiding in Him (and His Word, the Bible). Of course, praying in Jesus’ name, so that His name will be glorified, must be according to the will of God. It must also be a prayer that was prayed in faith, but either way, Jesus’ name will be glorified because it was in His name that we prayed.

Conclusion

There are other ways that we can tap God’s power through prayer and also other ways to improve our prayer life. At least we now know that our prayers should be in alignment with God’s will; we should be praying with believing faith; and we must be seeking to glorify Jesus’ name in our prayers, because nothing else matters but the glory of God (Psalm 115:1). God is willing to hear our prayers and wants to answer them to not only change our lives but to change the lives of those around us…only if we would ask (James 4:2). God wants to change our lives and have us see the results of an active prayer life. It is up to us, but are we willing to seek Him daily in prayer and in His Word?

Here is some related reading for you: Bible Verses About Prayer: 20 Important Scripture Quotes

Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Tagged as: faith, God's Will, Pray, Prayer, Praying