PATRICIA RAYBON ONLINE

Only God could show seeking, hoping, longing Christians like all of us these amazing and beautiful keys to answered prayer:

1) Be still.
Stop spinning in circles about your problems, worries and concerns. First, be still with God. Effective prayer springs from such quietness. Set aside time daily to turn your attention solely on God -- focusing on the Lord, breathing in his rest and enjoying his amazing presence. "They who dwell in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty." (Psalm 91:1) Jesus is our example. Getting by himself to be still before His Heavenly Father was his daily and intentional practice. The result? Renewal, refreshment, vision, power.

2. Seek God.
Put aside your worries and concerns. Instead, seek after God. Why? He rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6) Indeed, prayer experts all agree: We pray not to get, but to get changed. How? By diligently seeking closeness with God. This changes our focus from ourselves to Him. Then we can know Him for ourselves, trusting that while we're seeking Him, He takes care of our concerns. "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33)

3) Get up!
Put some feet on your faith. Start praying! Then get up and show your prayers in action. Or as Jesus said to his beloved disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane: "Why are you still sleeping? Get up and pray! Then you will not fall into temptation." (Luke 22:46)

4) Believe God.
He wants to hear our prayers. He is listening for them. And he answers. The Scriptures confirm it. "Call to me and I will answer you..." (Jeremiah 33:3) "The righteous cry out and the Lord hears them." (Psalm 34:17) "Father, I thank you that you have heard me." (John 11:41)

5) Obey God.
"And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight." I John 3:22 (KJV)

6) Turn from evil. Seek to be holy.
Effective prayer warriors understand that God is our Abba Father, but also the Most High Holy God. Or as Jesus said "...hallowed be Thy Name." Therefore, let us seek to live holy and righteous lives (devoted to God and morally upstanding). Because "The LORD is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous." (Proverbs 15:29)

7) Heed the Holy Spirit.
Attune your spiritual ears to listen to the Lord's voice. Then when he speaks, listen and reflect, obey -- and get blessed. Isaiah 44:3 "For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring."

8) Forgive.
Glorify God, and unlock prayer answers, by learning to forgive others. Jesus: "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." (Mark 11:25)

9) Pray with precision.
Consider Blind Bartimaeus and Jesus: "What do you want me to do for you?" I want to see, Bartimaeus cried. What a great, precise prayer! Ask for perspective, if nothing else, on your situation. Indeed, you are stumped on how to pray, ask the precious Holy Spirit to show you what to pray for in your situation -- then ask God to provide it!

11) Let God work.
Give God time. Take your burdens to the Lord and leave them there. Andrew Murray calls this "spiritual husbandry." Like farmers, we reap in due season.. Don't harvest half-ripe fruit. God may be working on a better outcome, not just for you, but for others through you.

12) Stop babbling!
Don't talk so much in prayer. Our Heavenly Father already knows what you need. (Matthew 6:5-8) Spend as much time listening in prayer as talking! Try keeping a pencil and paper nearby. The Most High God will speak to our spirits as we wait for his voice in great expectation. "Pray with an alert mind," and a grateful heart. (Colossians 4:2) So let us pay attention. The blessed Holy Spirit will speak -- both to you and through others.

13) Say thank you.
If you say nothing else in prayer, don't forget to thank God for his amazing blessings, big and small, one by one. Perspective on everything else will change.

14) Glorify God.
Live so you glorify God. Pray for things that glorify God. Give up things that don't glorify God. Andrew Murray: "It's the essential element in a believer's prayer. "Every answer to prayer He gives will have this as its object," that God be glorified in his Son. If he's not, "He will not answer."

15) Abide in Christ.
His promise: "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you." (John 15:7-8) As we abide, we learn to love others, and by our love we glorify the Father.

16) Pray with others.
Indeed, work with others. Help others. Love others. (Richard Foster: We are saved in community.) In other words, we live in grace by loving imperfect people, even as we give them opportunity to love, pray and live with imperfect us. (Mother Teresa: "It's not how much you do, but how much love you put into" what you do.) Therefore, live deep, love others, greet strangers, read lots, laugh, sing, travel, play, get in hot water, figure a way out, help, give thanks, pray. When we do, our prayer life becomes our life. Thus by our living, we will "pray without ceasing."

17) Follow Jesus.
Pray in his name. Walk in his way. Model his character. "And we will receive whatever we ask of him because we obey his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight." (I John 3:22)

18) Serve others.
Wait on the Lord's answers by sharing with others, in the meantime. (Matthew 20:26)

19) Pray for others.
Remember that somebody is dying for your prayer.

20) Expect the answer!
Imagine it. See it. Look for it. Trust God to be God. We can, therefore, be encouraged. We can live in hope. We can believe, and expect, we will receive. Jesus: "Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (Mark 11:24)

-- (2010 Copyright by Patricia Raybon)

Feel free to copy these prayer thoughts and share with others struggling in their prayer lives. To learn more ways to empower your prayer life, check out Patricia Raybon's critically acclaimed book, "I Told the Mountain to Move: Learning to Pray So Things Change."