Prayer’s vital connections

In prayer, the human spirit of a regenerated person communes with God, who is a Spirit. At face value, prayer appears to be a very simple, common and trite thing, but that is only true in theory. In practice, prayer is dynamite. It really changes things.
However, the effectiveness of prayer is based on the understanding that it is an art that requires positive knowledge and mastery of certain skills.
Rushed prayers may not receive answers because they do not allow enough time for exchange of information between God and man. Holy living is often the difference between answered prayers and unanswered prayers.
Have you seen people who get more blessed than you, yet you pray and fast more than they do? It is because they couple their prayers with holiness and holiness attracts God more than anything else. In fact where holiness is, God must needs be there because holiness cannot be separated from the presence of God.
The Bible records in James chapter five that the prayer of a righteous man avails much. It does not say prayer avails much but prayer of a righteous man avails much and makes tremendous power available.
So we see that prayer needs to be vitally connected to other things like holiness. Other vital connections of prayer are discussed below.
Prayer and the word of God
Positive knowledge of the word of God should govern the depth and the extent of prayer. The primary way through which we know God is the Bible. A person who is not familiar with what the Bible teaches about God’s character and attributes is unlikely to pray effectively.
When the Bible says that God’s people perish for lack of knowledge it refers to ignorance of the word of God and the subsequent lack of application of its truth in our lives.
Word-based prayers bring God’s power on the scene. When you pray according to God’s word you are actually praying according to God’s will. And when you pray according to God’s will answers to prayer are guaranteed.
For instance, you need to know that God does not expect us to ask Him to give us something He has not promised us in His word.
Prayer is not a means of forcing God to give us what He is reluctant to give but it is laying hold on His promise till He fulfills it in our lives.
Prayer and faith                
Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is impossible to please God and those who come to Him must believe that He exists and He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. God is an invisible eternal Spirit.
Prayer is offered to an unseen God therefore faith is necessary for one to communicate with this unseen reality. When you come to Him in prayer you must believe that His ear is attentive to your prayer and that He will answer your prayer.
Prayer and numbers    
When two or three people gather in the name of Jesus to pray for anything to be done for them on earth; God promises to be among them and to answer their prayer. It may take one spouse a week to have a breakthrough but the whole family praying together can take one day to realise the same breakthrough.
 In spiritual warfare one prayer warrior can chase a thousand enemies and two can chase ten thousand. This shows that concerted effort in prayer of many people releases an irresistible force against demonic forces. Revivals that birth great outpourings of the Spirit of God are always preceded by sustained prayers of a group of people.
However, agreement should not be just in words but in spirit, in faith and in expectation. Otherwise the prayer of one righteous man can achieve more than that of a multitude of people praying without necessary unity.
Prayer and the mind
Though prayer is a spiritual communication the mind is involved because in the normal function of man, the spirit of a man instructs the mind and the mind instructs the body. Satan cannot possess the spirit of a born again person but he can influence his actions and words by sowing insidious thoughts into his mind.
The mind is the battleground for spiritual wars. An unrenewed mind is a great hindrance to effective prayer as it continues to wander from one thing to the other during prayer time.
Wandering thoughts discourage many people from praying long prayers because they cannot continue to resist evil thoughts crossing their minds. You cannot pray with understanding as Paul enjoins if your mind is unclear and unstable. Double-mindedness in prayer receives no answer from God. But a transformed mind that is controllable ensures good focus and concentration in prayer.

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