Here are some scriptural ways to pray with confidence and effectiveness! Why not take one a week and practice each principle so that you can learn to apply it to your life of prayer? Confess and break with all conscious and unconfessed sin so that your prayers are birthed out of righteousness and will accomplish much. Take time to confess before God and to meet with a trusted person or persons to confess to and ask for prayer:  “God has no use for the prayers of the people who won’t listen to him… You can’t whitewash your sins and get by with it;you find mercy by admitting and leaving them” (Proverbs 28:9, 13 MSG). “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (James 5:16 NASB). Remember that prayer is relationship with God:  God is our Father and we are His children. He is the greatest Love we can ever know or try to comprehend. Come before Him as a loving parent who desires to spend time with you. If you haven’t experienced this kind of parental love, draw near and ask God to show you His great love for you. He has adopted you into His family. “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father” (Romans 8:15 NASB)! Pray according to God’s will…not your own. “ This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us  in  whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him” (1 John 5:14-15 NASB). “Not my will, but Yours be done” –  an important lesson from the lips of Jesus, who wanted the cup of death to be taken from Him, yet was willing to endure the cross before Him because it was God’s will: “And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and  began  to pray, saying, ‘Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done’” (Luke 22:41-42 NASB). In prayer, your job is to ask, and learning how to ask the things that line up with what God wants you to have. Many of us want what we want rather than wanting what God wants: “Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don’t have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn’t yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it. You wouldn’t think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you’d be asking for what you have no right to. You’re spoiled children, each wanting your own way” (James 4:1-3 MSG). Look for things in scripture that are on the heart of God and pray those things because you can always know they are His will! For example, God wants unity in the body, He wants all to be saved, He wants us to love one another, He wants us to pray for those in authority over us, and He wants us to pray that workers will be sent into the harvest field! Whenever you come across something that God clearly wants, pray! Looking for what God wants us to pray about even changes our desires as we pray. We learn to pray for want what He wants instead of what we want. Also, God has also told us He will give us what He knows we need: “Remember, your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8b). 4. Persevere in prayer: “ One day Jesus told his disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must keep praying until the answer comes. ‘There was a city judge,’he said, ‘a very godless man who had great contempt for everyone. A widow of that city came to him frequently to appeal for justice against a man who had harmed her. The judge ignored her for a while, but eventually she got on his nerves. “‘I fear neither God nor man,’ he said to himself, ‘but this woman bothers me. I’m going to see that she gets justice, for she is wearing me out with her constant coming!’” Then the Lord said, “If even an evil judge can be worn down like that, don’t you think that God will surely give justice to his people who plead with him day and night? Yes! He will answer them quickly! But the question is: When I, the Messiah, return, how many will I find who have faith and are praying” (Luke 18:1-8 TLB)? Persevere in prayer with God! 5. Ask with right motives: “ You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend  it  on your pleasures” (James 4:3). Examine your heart before you ask God.   6. Pray with confidence:  “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). This scripture tells us that when you pray, you are entering the very throne room of heaven! The King is sitting on His throne ready to listen! That should give us all confidence!   7. Resist the devil: “ Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). The devil will do anything he can to keep you from prayer. Once you know this and are continually aware of it, you can resist his distractions and temptations! Don’t allow the devil to derail your prayer life!   8. Allow God to work : “For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; in the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock” (Psalm 27:5). Trust that He is working on your behalf. When you worry and try to do things in your own strength, you are keeping God from doing what He desires to do. Allow the peace of His presence to overshadow your prayer life: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).   9. Pray in Jesus’ Name  “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do  it”  (John 14:13-14). This does not mean simply tacking a phrase on to the end of every prayer. It means recognizing that your prayers go through Jesus, who made it possible for you to have direct access to God.   10. Pray in faith : “And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God.Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be  granted. Therefore, I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be  granted  you” (Mark 11:22-24 NASB). It’s difficult to believe God for some things, but if we have faith to know He has our best interest in His heart, we can have great faith that He will move to accomplish that purpose…even when it may not be the answer we are hoping for in our flesh.   11. Pray according to God’s promises:  “For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us” (2 Corinthians 1:20 NASB). Be alert for promises you see in Scripture, and remind God of His promises as you pray. For example, God’s word says, “Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, ‘I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,’ we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I’m fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me” (Hebrews 13:5-6 MSG)? 12. Don’t try to dictate to God:  “This plan of mine is not what you would work out, neither are my thoughts the same as yours! For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than yours, and my thoughts than yours” (Isaiah 55:8-9 TLB). And Proverbs 16:9 TLB says, “We should make plans—counting on God to direct us.” 13. Recognize that God is Almighty:  The power and authority of God is way beyond anything we could ever hope to comprehend. Remind yourself that there is nothing too great or too small that He cannot accomplish. Embrace this prayer of Paul:  “ That is why, ever since I heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and of the love you have for Christians everywhere, I have never stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you wisdom to see clearly and really understand who Christ is and all that he has done for you. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can see something of the future he has called you to share. I want you to realize that God has been made rich because we who are Christ’s have been given to him! I pray that you will begin to understand how incredibly great his power is to help those who believe him. It is that same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in heaven, far, far above any other king or ruler or dictator or leader. Yes, his honor is far more glorious than that of anyone else either in this world or in the world to come” (Ephesians 1:15-21 TLB). 14. Pray with expectation:  When we pray, we should always eagerly anticipate and expect God to answer. Sometimes His answers surprise us because they are different than what we think: “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3 NASB).   15. Praise and thank God for answers:  As God answers prayer, don’t forget to give Him thanks! “Shout with joy before the Lord, O earth! Obey him gladly; come before him, singing with joy. Try to realize what this means—the Lord is God! He made us—we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Go through his open gates with great thanksgiving; enter his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name. For the Lord is always good. He is always loving and kind, and his faithfulness goes on and on to each succeeding generation” (Psalm 100 TLB).   16. Obey God and live a holy life:  “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:21-22 NASB). Of course, no one can live a perfectly holy life; however, God looks at our hearts and knows our thoughts. He is a good Father who desires to give good gifts to His children. As we live out lives of holiness, we will naturally begin to align our prayers more and more with God’s will and see more and more answers to prayer.   17. Saturate your prayers in praise and worship : “Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his wisdom and knowledge and riches! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods! For who among us can know the mind of the Lord? Who knows enough to be his counselor and guide? And who could ever offer to the Lord enough to induce him to act? For everything from God alone. Everything lives by his power, and everything is for his glory. To him be glory evermore” (Romans 11:33-36 TLB). God desires our worship. To pray without giving Him praise and honor is to forget that He is the Almighty, who sits on the throne!   18. Spend time waiting upon the Lord:  If we rush into God’s presence with our prayer lists and then rush back out again, we are not honoring prayer as relationship with God. His presence should be so important that we can even forget what we wanted to pray about. It should always be enough to simply be in the presence of the Father, recognizing the One who sits on the throne before us as we make our requests. Consider being like King David, who said, “I’m asking God for one thing: to live with him in his house my whole life long. I’ll contemplate his beauty; I’ll study at his feet” (Psalm 27:4 MSG). God has a promise for those who wait upon Him: “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).   19. Be honest with God in your prayers : God knows everything about you because He created you. Sometimes we are hurt, angry, depressed or defeated. We need to lay those feelings before Him. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test my thoughts. Point out anything you find in me that makes you sad, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23-24 TLB).   20. Pray continually:  “Always be joyful. Always keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 TLB). When you have a relationship with someone you want to spend time with them. Prayer is relationship with God. The more you spend time in prayer, the more you will want to grow in your prayer life…because it means being in the presence of the One you love and who loves you.

Hunger and thirst are natural expressions of the basic human desire and need for food and water. One of the clear indicators that something is wrong physically is when we lose our appetite. It is the same spiritually. To hunger and thirst for God is at the very root of our being. It’s the way God made us. When there is no hunger for the presence of God, it is an indicator that something is wrong spiritually. Because that hunger is so basic to human nature, it often finds fulfillment in other areas rather than in seeking God. Much as eating unhealthy junk food can dull physical appetite, so that which is not of God can dull our spiritual appetite. This happens to non-Christians as they look for happiness and fulfillment in any area except in their relationship with God. It may be in human relationships, quest for power or money, or escape to physical pleasure. The saddest examples, however, are of  Christians  who allow their appetite for God to be dulled by other things . . . even religious things. Our churches are filled with believers who are so satiated by activities, programs and projects that they no longer have a hunger for God. So many Christians today snack their way through the day on “junk-food” activities and then find they have no time to “feast” with God. We complain about our “busyness” and tiredness, but that is typically a spiritual problem more than a problem of schedule. We desire everything except God. We take God in small doses throughout the day and week and somehow hope that on Sunday we can “catch up” on our time with the Lord. Let’s look at the Scriptures which speak of developing this hunger and thirst for God. Consider praying through each one: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). “. . . whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). “Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and who believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him’” (John 7:37-38). “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:1-2). “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1). “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:17). It is obvious that the imagery of hungering and thirsting after God is a scriptural concept. From the prophets of the Old Testament to Jesus and on through to the book of Revelation, the people of God are depicted as those who have developed a desire for God. Could it be that the missing element in the Church today is that desire for God Himself? Ben Patterson writes, “Since the best teacher of prayer is the Holy Spirit, the best way to learn to pray is by praying. Whether, and how much we pray is, I think, finally a matter of appetite, of hunger for God and all that He is and desires.” C.S. Lewis wrote in  The Weight of Glory,  “We are far too easily pleased. That, in the end, is the reason we do not pray more than we do. Nothing less than infinite joy is offered to us in God’s kingdom of light. He has promised that we will one day shine like the sun in that kingdom (Matthew 13:43).” “We have become satisfied with mere church, mere religious exertion, mere numbers and buildings—the things we can do. There is nothing wrong with these things, but they are no more than foam left by the surf on the ocean of God’s glory and goodness.” [Ben Patterson,  Deepening Your Conversation With God,  171.] How then, can we begin to develop that hunger for God? If we find ourselves lacking in desire, can it be rekindled within us? Perhaps the best way to look at this is to again make a comparison to physical hunger and the way we handle it. When we get hungry, many of us begin to look for something to appease the hunger. Here in our country, if we are at work we may head to the snack machine in the hall, or if we are at home, we go to the cupboard or the refrigerator, looking for a snack that will take away the feeling of hunger. Hunger prompts us to seek something to fill us up, even if it is something that is not really good for us. Spiritually speaking, there is a hunger for God that is often not recognized for what it is. It may be an empty feeling, a sense of longing, even loneliness in the midst of people. We start looking for ways to make the feeling go away…to fill up the emptiness. In a sense, we begin to look for the junk food that will mask the pangs of hunger within. The danger of this type of behavior is that we dull our sense of hunger for God. In the same way that continued snacking through the day can dull our appetite and cause us to pass up a good, nutritious meal that our body needs, so we can fill up our schedules and desires to the point that we do not even realize that we no longer desire the presence of God. It is no accident that one of the great spiritual disciplines of the Church is to fast. When we fast (Matthew 6:16), we become acutely aware of our physical hunger. That physical hunger can lead to a spiritual hunger as well. Christians today are returning to fasting and prayer as a means of waking us up to our great need for the presence of God. It may be that we will need to fast from other things than food in order to restore our spiritual hunger. There may need to be a slowing of our hectic lifestyles that are crowding out our time with the Father. We may need to fast from some forms of entertainment to devote time to seeking the Lord. Those heavily involved in ministry may need to say “no” to that which is good, in order to seek that which is best. We may even need to reevaluate our family schedules. Tommy Tenney, in his devotional,  Experiencing His Presence: Devotions for God Chasers,  prays a prayer that we all may need to use daily to build our hunger for God: “Lord Jesus, my soul aches at the mere mention of Your name. My heart leaps for every rumor of Your coming, and each possibility that You will manifest Your presence. I’m not satisfied with mere spiritual dainties. I’m ravenously hungry for You in Your fullness. I’m desperate to feast on the bread of Your presence and quench my thirst with the wine of Your Spirit.” May hungering and thirsting for God drive us to a passionate, relentless pursuit of Him.

God can hear our prayers anytime, anywhere, and at any volume! He is able to hear us even when we think  our prayers to Him rather than voice them. Yet, so many of us struggle and would like to be able to verbalize prayers in a group setting. Here are a few tips on how to stretch yourself a bit and grow in this area: One of the best ways to grow in praying out loud, is to practice listening to yourself reading prayers from Scripture. You could start with the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. Hearing your own voice as you pray out loud is an important step. Some people find it helpful to stand in front of a mirror to build confidence. Read Psalm 145 out loud back to the Lord and then say, “Lord, You are___(fill in the blank with some of the attributes you find in this Psalm). Looking for ways to praise God in His word is a powerful way to express your love for Him out loud. The more you know about Him and His goodness and love, the more you will want to express what’s on your heart to Him. After using Scripture to help you pray out loud for awhile, try to voice your own prayers based on those you have been praying. Here is just one way: try looking at pictures of some of your family members and tell God what you want to pray for each of them. For example, “Father, my daughter Emily is really struggling to make friends in her new school this year. Would you bring her some godly young women to get to know?” Or, “Lord, my husband/wife has such a stressful job. Please help him/her to feel Your presence and to be filled with peace instead of anxiety.” When you are ready to try praying in a group, first recognize that you are talking only to God, and not to the other people around you. Flowery or “super-spiritual” language is not required. Talk to Him as your Father and good friend about the person or situation you are concerned about. Don’t worry about how others view your prayer…it is between you and God alone. Spend time with others who are in love with Jesus and listen to them pray. Ask them how they learned to pray out loud and see if they can give you some good ideas as well! As with anything new you undertake, the more you practice praying out loud, the more confident and comfortable you will become.

I was six months pregnant and my winter jacket no longer fit. As my husband Danny and I walked through Sears and Roebuck, we noticed what seemed to be the perfect coat. It was $69 and with tax it would cost $75. It might as well have cost $1,000. Danny was in seminary and we barely had enough money to pay our monthly bills. We left the store empty-handed. In the car driving home, we lifted up the situation to the Lord. On the way back to our apartment, we stopped to check our mail. To our amazement, there was an envelope in our mailbox. No, it did not have cash in it—that would have been spent on more pressing bills. It contained an anonymous gift certificate to Sears for $75. We got back in our car and bought my beautiful new coat! I was 23 years old then and answers like that to prayer have led me to a life of learning to call out to God. I’ve seen countless answers to prayer and some that have yet to be answered. But I have never seen God fail me, not once! I may not have been privy to everything He was doing at every exact moment, but in hindsight I must say that in every situation God has always been  faithful. He has never deserted me but instead has worked each concern for good. He has always been true to His Word! I believe in prayer. I’m convinced that prayer does move the hand of God. Yes, it changes who we are, but it also changes our world, sometimes in a powerful way. As much as I believe in prayer, I believe more in Him to whom my prayers are sent. He speaks; we listen. He moves; we obey. The Power of Crying Out Throughout the Bible, God often led His people to cry out. Time and time again He led them in battle this way. Think back on when Joshua directed his people, by the power of God, to collapse the walls of Jericho. How did they do this? Joshua 6 tells us that God brought down the walls with a shout. Have you ever wondered why He had the people shout? Of all things to have them do, why that? Because lifting our voices takes faith. Sometimes just stating facts aloud validates the reality of whatever the situation is. It somehow makes it real. Have you ever deliberately not spoken something out loud in the hope that silence would keep it from being true? I knowI have. The Old Testament is not the only place that speaks of crying out to God. “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission” (Heb. 5:7). If Jesus cried out to God, I do believe we should too. Someone recently asked me if we need to pray out loud or if it’s enough to pray silently. Of course God does hear us when we pray silently, but I encourage people to pray out loud forseveral reasons. 1. Praying aloud helps make our times with God more interesting. Our prayer times should be powerful and enjoyable! Praying aloud keeps them from falling into the category of the mundane or purely mental. We should never pray simply because we know we should; we should also pray because we love this time with our creator God. These times with God should be something we can’t wait to have. God wants to meet us when we pray. Now that’s exciting! 2. Praying out loud helps keep our focus on God. Let’s face it: We’re human. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been praying and found myself planning my dinner menu, including writing down a list! It’s so easy to become distracted, and before we know it, our time is gone. When I’m struggling with a drifting mind during my times with the Lord, I’ll often sing my prayers. I make up a tune to words that I want to pray. I do this to get myself over the hump of my distracted thinking. If that doesn’t work, I’ll try reading Scripture aloud. I’ll also spend time listening to worship music. I determine not to allow my undisciplined mind to control my prayer life. I take the control, and if singing my prayers or reading Scripture helps, so be it. It’s easy to quit praying when things get tough. Consider the night Jesus was betrayed. He left three of His disciples to pray and watch as He poured out His heart before God. What did He find when He returned? They were sleeping. They weren’t able to focus and stay awake for even one hour to pray! I’m sure they did not know it was one of the most important nights of their lives. I wouldn’t be surprised if a bit of praying aloud or even a song or two might have been a big help! 3. Praying aloud professes words of faith. Romans 10:9 says it’s not enough to believe in your heart Jesus is Lord; we also need to confess with our mouth that God raised Him from the dead. There’s a spiritual blessing that comes with speaking words of faith aloud. I recently heard a preacher say that we need to proclaim a positive future. He went on to quote Psalm 23:6: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” (KJV). I so agree with this. We can be sure the Lord always wants to work things together for good in our lives. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jer. 29:11). His mercies are new every morning.   Like many other good insights, the idea of speaking words of faith aloud has been distorted. I’ve heard it said that we have to be careful what we say because Satan will hear our words and use them against us. Although we do need to be careful of the words we speak, I don’t go that far! That can easily lead to paranoia. Should we then write our messages to one another for protection? Or better yet, should we all join a silent convent? This seems a bit drastic to me. That being said, our words do matter. We have to be careful of the words we speak. They do make a difference in our lives. This is true when we pray, too. It’s important to verbally declare things, especially things of faith. Not only do we need to hear the profession of faith, but the enemy needs to hear it coming from our mouths. Every time Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, He rebuked him out loud and declared the truth verbally. He could have just turned his back and ignored him. But He took another route. He lifted His voice aloud. Why should we be any different? When God has spoken a clear promise to me, I will declare it when I pray, and I will always do this out loud. If God has promised me protection, I will pray, “Thank you, God, for the protection You are giving me, right here, right now!” Am I praying for an unsaved loved one? I may pray, “Thank you, Lord, that You love this person more than I ever could. Thank you that Your hand of mercy is on her life!” Often, just hearing my own words increases my faith. It may sound a bit crazy, but I verbally remind myself and all angelic and demonic beings that the victory is mine! 4. Praying aloud is encouraging to others. Have you ever been encouraged hearing someone else verbalize victory over a prayer burden? I have. Just hearing another’s profession of faith will spur me on to keep my eyes on the Lord and to trust Him to bring victory. For some of us, our personalities come into play. We may be more the quiet type. Maybe we don’t want to feel awkward. Not all of us are wired as David was when he danced before the Lord in (basically) his underwear. Although I don’t believe all of us will be people who will shout out in groups of people, I do believe we all should be willing to lift our voices to Him. We can limit what God can do through us by not being willing to leave our comfort zone. Many of us are more than willing to shout at sports events but shun the idea of showing any emotion in prayer and worship. You never know what God has in mind or how you could encourage someone else. Have you ever asked yourself what stops you from crying out to God, really crying out to Him? I think sometimes it’s not realizing our desperation for the Lord. If you were in a situation where you felt desperate enough, I do believe you’d cry out for help. For example, if you saw a child running toward a street full of cars, I can venture to say all of us would scream for the safety of the child, either for the child to stop or for someone to intervene. When we pray, do we really see how desperately we need God’s touch in the different situations we’re praying for? Maybe we should ask God to show us this need clearly. What a joy to lift our voices to God! We should never allow our prayers to become too mental and routine. Again and again Scripture exhorts us to cry out to the Lord. I take that literally. Our desperation for Him often comes through as we lift our hearts, our hands, and our voices up to our Creator God. Lift your voice to Him. The blessings far outweigh the discomforts. Keep On Praying! What is it you need? Are you in need of healing? He’s the great physician. Do you feel you’re at the end of your rope, hopeless? His mercies are new every morning. Are you lonely, discouraged, feeling confused? He can meet your needs. No request you could ever bring before God is either too great or too insignificant for His touch. If it matters to you, you can be sure it matters to Him. “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). That includes everything! The best part of surrendering to God is not what He can do for us—but through us. There is a world full of hurting people who need the touch of the Savior, and God can use you, through prayer, to make that eternal difference. Do you understand what this means? Your life can count for something beyond your little world. God has plans to use you in a powerful way and your prayer life is pivotal to that. The Lord has an amazing life in store for us. He will meet us in prayer. His presence is available. Who knows what miracles we will experience in our lives? Not only is it possible to see the dead rise, the lame walk, and the blind see, but it’s happening, all over the world—maybe not within our Christian circles, but it is happening! Although I have never personally experienced seeing a person rise from the dead as an answer to prayer, I have spoken with missionaries from around the world and American pastors who have. I don’t know about you, but that excites me. I want to be used by God. I want my life to mean something. My daily prayer is that my life will be a poured-out offering to Him. Make whatever adjustments you have to in order to put God first. And then expect Him to do the impossible in and through you!   BARBARA HO is an author and a marriage and pre-marital counselor. She and her husband Daniel are church-planters in Houston, TX. This article is taken from her book, Ultimate Connection and it appears in Prayer Connect, issue 8.

Originally published as a blog post by Harvest Prayer Ministries “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). Walking the beach is one of my favorite activities. I feel so connected to God as I look at the vast sea, thunderously breathing in and out. The familiar aroma of the salt-laden air and the pleasurable feeling of sand between my toes remind me how many of my senses are fully engaged in this simple experience. Here is a place where I can pray easily, with an intensity of thankfulness that I almost can’t describe. There is peace and rest in my soul…struggles, deadlines, and other rugged places in my life seem to get pulled with the tide out into the vastness to disappear in the depths. The ocean is also a spiritually relevant location to deposit my sinfulness, as the Father casts it into the sea of forgetfulness (Micah 7:19). No wonder I am energized and revitalized after spending time seeking the Presence of God in such a place. When I got on the plane to come home, I asked God to help me re-create this physical place (the ocean) into a spiritual place…a meeting place with the Father that isn’t dependent upon where my body is located, but where my mind and heart are locked into His embrace. God has gifted His people with many key ways to place ourselves in His presence. And, incredibly, each means of connectivity with the Father’s heart is still intricately woven together into the Spirit-filled life of prayer. Wherever we are located, God is still fully present to us as we turn our attention upon Him. My tent of meeting with God doesn’t need to be located on the beach, at a retreat center or in any other physical location, although all of these are good places and are certainly necessary from time to time for seasons of refreshing. It is when I shift my gaze from a place to a Person that even the ordinary, mundane places in life can be turned into the extraordinary and the holy. God can sanctify my imagination…setting it apart for heart-to-heart communion with Him. I can envision the ocean my Father created for my pleasure and His purposes with the eyes of my soul…and He turns His gaze upon me as I seek Him (Jeremiah 29:13). The Creator is present and with me continually, whether or not I am consistently aware of His nearness. Try locating your heart to the place you wish to meet with God, even if you are in a place you would rather not be. If we are continually wishing we were in a physical location that allows us the space and quiet and peace to meet with God…there may be huge gaps in our awareness of His Presence. Our prayer life suffers when we wait for the right time or the right location. Realize now that you can meet with Him as you care for an elderly parent, find yourself in traffic on the way to work, or even as you go about your normal everyday routine. God is…wherever you are. His gaze is always upon you, and His ear is always attentive to your prayers.

Originally published as a blog post by Harvest Prayer Ministries This morning I thought through all that was on my plate for the day and began to feel a bit overwhelmed. Then, a small thought came into my mind… “Maybe you need some aloneness in prayer.” It occurred to me that it was exactly what I was needing…even craving – aloneness. As I sat with the word for a bit, the concept became clearer to me. Aloneness isn’t just being alone…and it isn’t loneliness. It is an attitude of prayer that takes every thought captive in order to dwell within the heart of God for a season of time. There is no conversation. It is simply being with God. Clement of Alexandria called this kind of prayer “keeping company with God.” It is relationship rather than a rigorous discipline. It is prayer that is simple, honest, pure and uncomplicated. It doesn’t involve doing …the act itself is an expression of love towards the Father, and an opportunity to receive love from Him. I equate it to simply sitting beside my husband, being comforted that he is there, knowing that he loves me and I love him…but not needing to say anything at all. There is aloneness in not feeling pressured to have conversation…but to simply hang out together. The Practice of Aloneness How does one practice “aloneness”? 1. By being “okay” with the feeling that one doesn’t need to do anything except “be.” 2. By recognizing when it is time to stop activity for at least a short season of time… 3. By loving God enough to cultivate a relationship that has no expectations or requirements in moments of aloneness. There are no “rules” to aloneness. It is not a legalistic practice…it is an essential one. What Are the Benefits of Aloneness? 1. Jesus beckoned His disciples to come away with him to a quiet place to get some rest (Mark 6:31) during an especially intense and busy time of ministry. Rest is a powerful benefit of aloneness. 2. Focusing upon simply “being” with God deepens and strengthens our love relationship with Him. 3. Allowing our minds and bodies to rest in the love of God opens our hearts and guides us into moments of trust and peace. 4. Aloneness cultivates faithfulness and gratefulness because we are not too busy to keep company with Him. As God’s people discover the importance of aloneness with God, our effectiveness for the kingdom will grow exponentially. Continual striving leads to burn-out, discouragement, stress, etc. When we bring our lives intentionally and prayerfully into His Presence, all of our kingdom work will be fueled from the depths of His love poured into our waiting and receptive hearts. “I said to myself, ‘Relax and rest. God has showered you with blessings. Soul, you’ve been rescued from death; Eye, you’ve been rescued from tears; And you, Foot, were kept from stumbling’” (Psalm 116:7-8 MSG).

“Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us” (Luke 11:4). Scripture is very clear that sin is a hindrance to answered prayer. Isaiah 59:2 states, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” In Psalm 66:18 we read, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” One of the most pervasive, tenacious sins in the Christian culture today is unforgiveness. It is disobedience to Christ, and it renders our prayers ineffective and powerless. Many times, an unforgiving spirit comes from a heart filled with pride. We often feel justified in our unforgiveness because of the wrong done to us. Or, the sin against us was so grievous in our own mind and heart that we cannot possibly forgive. Probably the most common stumbling block in this area is when we say that we have forgiven someone outwardly, while still harboring the resentment or anger in our hearts. Jesus effectively illustrates God’s viewpoint on this matter in Matthew 18:23-35 when the king’s servant, who had been forgiven his debt, turned around and refused to forgive the debt of a fellow servant. The king turned his anger towards the man, threw him in jail and ordered him to pay back all that he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:35). If you are struggling with your prayer life, could an unforgiving spirit be one area that is keeping you from effectively touching the heart of God with your prayers? From time to time, each of us must take a deep look into the dark places of our hearts, asking the Lord to reveal our sin to us. We can find healing from the sin of unforgiveness in the Scripture, for when we truly understand how strongly God feels about forgiveness, we can seek to be more like Christ in our response to those we need to forgive. Beth Moore, in her excellent book, Praying God’s Word, has a chapter devoted to “Overcoming Unforgiveness.” Using Scripture, she has a threefold way to become more like Christ in this area. First, she has an extensive section of scriptural prayers which ask God to do a deep work in us that we might forgive as He forgives us. Next, she recommends praying “about” the person or persons we need to forgive. In essence, she says, we are “tattling” on the person to God. We express how we feel about what that person has done through venting our anger, our exasperation, etc. This was the very way that David dealt with those who were persecuting him. As you read through the Psalms, you will see clearly how David talked “about” those persons to God. He did not hold back from expressing his displeasure: “Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit” (Psalm 5:9). “Two important things happen,” Moore states, “when we learn to pray honestly about the person who has hurt us: 1. We pour the hurt out rather than allowing it to remain and turn bitter. . . . 2. We articulate our own feelings, thereby placing them in view before our own eyes as well as God’s. This way, we also get a chance to see if something seems ridiculous, out of proportion, or right on target. Our prayers can sometimes help us gain a little insight into our own hearts.” If we pour out our grievances to God, we won’t be as likely to pour them out to others, which could then cause them to stumble too. Praying “about” those who wrong us saves us from compounding our sin by turning it into gossip, or causing others to harbor the same resentments we do. Moore says, “Envision your heart like a pitcher . . . Praying about the person we need to forgive is the means by which we tip that pitcher heavenward and slowly begin to pour our negative feelings and frustrations out to God. As we pour out, a wonderful thing happens: we make room for God to pour in. Our omniscient God knows that a heart heals when a heart changes. Until we make room for fresh contents that change our hearts, we will never be healed from the injury and subsequent feelings of unforgiveness.” The third area of prayer is to pray “for” those whom we need to forgive. Most of us are already aware that we need to do this; however, we often stubbornly hang on to our “right” not to. If we are to be like Christ, we relinquish our “rights” and take on humility, being obedient to the Lord, who says in Mark 11:25, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” If unforgiveness has been a hindrance to your prayer life in the past, remember that Satan will attack you in this area again–until your victory is firmly established in the strength of Christ Jesus. “If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—-if there was anything to forgive-—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes” (2 Corinthians 2:7-11).

There is an epidemic that is rampant throughout our society and culture today. No part of the country is immune from this plague. Little children suffer from it, as well as the elderly and those in-between. There is no quick cure and many people never recover from it. It breaks up homes, incapacitates people, and contributes to many other diseases. It is busyness! We live in a busy society. Never have there been so many choices concerning what to do or so many pressures that stem from our schedules. Even the youngest are not immune. One of the concerns of the media in America over the past few years has been the grueling schedules of children whose parents have enrolled them in so many special activities and events that they seem to have lost their childhood. Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth shared about a women’s weekend conference she taught in which she asked the attendees, “Where does God find you as we start this weekend?” Here are some of the responses: “I feel I’m out of control sometimes with so many pressures.” “I face too much stress and responsibility.” “I often get overly busy and find my day gone without having done the things I most wanted to do.” “I’ve left a whirlwind at home, and need a renewed spirit to face all that these coming weeks will hold.” “I want to slow down. I feel as if I’m on a speeding treadmill, and if I try to jump off I will stumble and fall.” “My busyness has robbed me of my joy.” Though our generation seems to have perfected busyness, it is not a problem unique to our day. American church reformer, Alexander Campbell wrote 150 years ago, “This present age is not an age given to devotion. Men have not the time to meditate, to pray, to examine themselves. They have too many newspapers to read, too many political questions to discuss, too much business to transact.” Christian author Philip Patterson wrote, “Historian Will Durant once observed that ‘no man who is in a hurry is quite civilized.’ You need only to observe human behavior on a crowded freeway or a rush hour subway station to agree to that. But I’m more concerned with the possibility that no one who is constantly in a hurry can be fully Christian, either. How do I balance the demands of a Christian life with the command to ‘Be still’?” That’s my concern. In an age known for busyness, how can the Christians live counter-culturally? In the midst of a hectic lifestyle, can we learn to wait on the Lord? Is it possible that even while serving God, we can miss the joy of intimacy with Christ? Have we all become Martha, busy in the kitchen fixing a meal for Jesus, while missing out on the joy of sitting at Jesus’ feet? “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ “‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her’” (Luke 10:38-42). Most of us identify more with Martha than with Mary. We’d rather be up doing something for Jesus than simply sitting at His feet. That mindset directs us into a busy lifestyle that often leads to exhaustion and burnout. Please understand that serving Jesus is good . . . desirable . . . a worthy thing to devote one’s life to. But serving must be balanced with sitting at Jesus’ feet . . . spending time with our Lord in loving intimacy . . . waiting upon Him. Do you remember the words of Jesus to Martha as she complained about her sister’s lack of help? He told her (and us) that only one thing is needed. Can you imagine that? In our busy world today, someone comes along and tells us there is only one essential thing that must be done. That’s almost hard to take. Yet, how freeing it is when we realize it is our Lord and Master who is speaking with His perfect wisdom as He says to us today, “Only one thing is needed.” And that one thing is to sit at His feet . . . to enjoy His presence…to hear His voice. The solution to busyness is not laziness. It is not a shirking of responsibilities or a giving of oneself to recreation. It is to put first what Jesus said is first. It is a realignment of priorities in which we put the one thing that is needed in the very center of our lives, allowing everything else to flow from it. As we learn to sit at Jesus’ feet, we find the rest of our day more orderly and less hectic. Rather than trying to accomplish everything we think we need to do during a day, we listen to His still small voice directing us to do that which comes from Him. Jesus has modeled this lifestyle for us. He said in John 4:34, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” He set about doing the will of His Father with dogged determination, but never in a hectic, busy, out-of-control way. You never see Jesus in a hurry. And at the end of a remarkable life, with just over three years of public ministry, He was able to say, “It is finished.” Jesus gave us the key to accomplishing all the Father had given Him to do in John 14:10: “The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.” As Jesus walked in close intimacy with His Father, He was able to focus only on that which was needed and not be distracted by the tremendous needs around him. We forget that, and in our attempt to help and serve, throw ourselves into every problem and situation without first checking to see if this is something that God has for us. So Jesus teaches us that we must put first things first. Sit at His feet first of all…and then you will be ready to serve. There is a cure for busyness…it is found as we develop a life of intimacy with Christ.

Are you satisfied with your Christian life? If we answer honestly, most of us would say, “no.” We instinctively realize that there is something more in store for us. There is a level of commitment, an inner peace, a closeness to the Lord that we know is possible, and yet somehow eludes us. The elusive factor that would make all the difference in the Christian life is what might be called the Yada Factor. Yada is simply the Hebrew word for “to know.” It is the word used in the Scriptures to describe the physical intimacy within marriage. The exciting part for Christians is that the word “Yada” is not only used in reference to married couples, but also to describe the relationship that should exist between God and His people. Daniel 11:32 says, “And by smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.” These are the people who Yada (know) their God, and have developed an intimate relationship with Him. When we think of intimacy with God, prayer comes to mind, because prayer is essential to intimacy with Him. Someone has defined prayer as a love affair with God. Think what a difference it would make in your prayer life and indeed, your entire Christian life, if you approached God with the goal of intimacy in mind. There are four factors that are important in order to achieve this kind of intimacy with God in prayer…if we are to ever Yada (know) our God. These factors are: availability, quality, integrity, and loyalty. Availability “Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I. Send me’” (Isaiah 6:8). Isaiah’s attitude and response needs to be the model for every Christian who desires to develop a closer relationship to his Lord. God wants people who will be available whenever and for whatever purpose He wishes to use them. How can you make yourself available to God? It is not something talked about as much as something you become through a passionate pursuit of Christ. You will recognize people available to the Lord by their depth of consistency and reliability. For example, men and women of prayer will always be accessible to God. Look to Abraham as another example in Genesis 22:1-14, the story of the sacrifice of Isaac. Abraham was a consistent and reliable friend of God (James 2:23). He, like Isaiah, said in a sense, “Here am I…and the son You gave me as well. Whatever You say, Lord. You know I’m always available.” It’s not always the great acts like Abraham’s that indicate availability. Look at the story of the widow and her giving in Mark 12:41-44. She was available to God and gave out of her poverty. No great gift…but great sacrifice. You may feel that you don’t have much or that you aren’t very talented. God consistently uses people in the most humble of circumstances. He simply asks you to be available to Him when He needs you. That is why it is so important to set aside a part of every day for prayer. It is a primary way to say each day to the Lord, “Today is Yours. Whatever You want, whenever You want, I’m available to You today.” Our willingness to be available is essential to intimacy with the Lord. Quality Time spent with the Lord should always be filled with quality. Psalm 119:2 says, “How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart.” We can look at quality as meaning excellence or superiority or with the idea of total attention. Both aspects are important in prayer. How often have you begun your prayer time, only to be distracted by everything going on around you or by wandering and distracting thoughts? At times like this, we become aware that we are not giving Him our total attention…our whole heart. If we are to have a quality time with the Lord, there must be a depth of intensity and sensitivity. Look at the prayers of the early Church. As you glimpse into the prayer life of a man like the Apostle Paul, you see one who was often moved to tears as he prayed. That’s intensity! When was the last time you wept as you prayed? Prayer needs to be that passionate for us. Then, as we pray, we must be sensitive to that still, small voice as He responds and answers. Perhaps one of the best things we can do to improve the quality of our prayer time is to establish a prayer covenant as Israel did in 2 Chronicles 15:12,15: “And they entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul…and all Israel rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him earnestly, and He let them find Him. So the Lord gave them rest on every side.” Can we commit ourselves as individuals, and perhaps even as a whole congregation, to seek Him with our whole heart? Quality time with the Lord each day is essential to intimacy. Integrity Your integrity will greatly affect your prayer life and intimacy with the Lord. By integrity, I mean moral soundness… the quality of your lifestyle. The old adage, “What you are speaks so strongly that I cannot hear what you say,” can perhaps be applied to the Christian’s prayer life. Jeremiah says, “…through deceit they refused to know me” (Jeremiah 9:6). Again we find the word “Yada” (know). Without integrity you cannot build intimacy. In order to build integrity there must be a depth of honesty and sincerity…not only with God, but also with others. “In your integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever”(Psalm 41:12). In this passage we see that coming into the presence of God, becoming intimate with the Creator Himself, is closely connected with personal integrity. We can see the importance of honesty by looking at human relationships. You typically do not become close or intimate with one whom you do not trust. Intimacy depends upon honesty, both in human relationships and in our relationship with God. It is essential to intimacy with the Lord that we maintain our integrity. Loyalty When you think of intimacy with God through prayer, loyalty does not often enter the mind, but it is an important factor. Loyalty signifies manifest devotion. It implies a close personal relationship that is steadfast. One of the great stories of loyalty found in the Bible is in 2 Samuel 15:13-23. There we find Ittai the Gittite, following David in his flight from Absalom’s rebellion. Even though he had no stake in the fight and David released him from following, Ittai replied, “As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely wherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life, there also your servant will be.” There must be a depth of fidelity and dependability if our intimacy with the Lord is to grow. We need to be saying, “Lord, I commit this time to You every day, and You can depend on it.” Loyalty is the very nucleus of intimacy. Here are some practical suggestions for a life of intimacy with the Lord in prayer:  Set a particular time of day for your prayer time.  Set a specific length of time to pray each day.  Find a place to get away for your praying.  Pray when you don’t feel like it.  Be specific in your prayers. The Apostle Paul had this great desire for intimacy with God. In Philippians 3:10 we find him expressing the desire, “I want to know Christ…” Once again we find the “Yada” phrase, though in Greek rather than in Hebrew. Paul is saying that nothing will truly satisfy him but knowing God on an intimate level. Nor will we find our satisfaction, joy, or peace in anything this world has to offer. It is in knowing God that we have eternal life. It is in knowing God that we begin to experience all that God has in store for us in this world as well. May growing deeper in your intimacy with Christ become a passion for the rest of your life!

If your family is like most, you have at least from time to time fallen prey to the frantic pace of busy lifestyles and the demands of work, home and even church activities. We live in unsettled times. Our children are bombarded from all sides with the realities of war, terrorism, school violence, immorality and confusion. Have you wondered if it is possible for your family to settle into a peaceful, joy-filled existence that honors the Lord and serves Him instead of submitting to the pressures of the world? The Father has a prayer plan to help you do just that! In His lovingkindness, He has enabled us to be victorious in the battle with the world. He has given us His powerful Word to ward off the temptations and torment of all that is not of Him:  “Take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests…”  (Eph. 6:17-18) .  This is God’s exhortation that the battle is a spiritual one and can only be fought in His strength, depending upon His Word and prayer. Below you will find scriptural prayers for a peaceful household. Some words of caution are necessary, however, before you determine that your home will never see strife again as the Lord hears and begins to answer. Remember that you  will  face trials, and there will still be times of struggle. God is completely in control, and because He is shaping and molding us increasingly into the image of His Son, there will be times when peace seems far from your household. The key is how you face those trials and deal with your struggles as a family united in Christ Jesus. The worldly ones are watching to see if you will crumble, but what a victory for the Lord when you stand firm and walk through difficulty and discord with the calm assurance of a faith-filled life. Maintaining peace in the midst of turmoil is possible as our faith level rises to meet the powerful possibilities of God, even when we cannot see into our future:  “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”  (Heb. 11:1) .  Believing that God is able to reach into our circumstances and give victory as we call upon Him in prayer increases our ability to live peaceful, quiet lives in all godliness and holiness in the midst of troubling times. Reflect on the following passage of Scripture:  “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks,  he must believe and not doubt , because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does”  (Jas. 1:2-8). We will not always know how we should pray, and at those times, it is always the best course to ask God for His wisdom and counsel in the situation. If you try to handle the tough times on your own, your strength will not be sufficient for you and your family to maintain peace. Teach your children that whenever they face difficulties or stress, they must go immediately to prayer, asking the Father for His wisdom in the situation. Trying to figure it out on their own will only add to their anxiety and bring tension into your family. Remember always that you can have complete confidence in coming before the throne of the Lord Almighty:  “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: 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 what we asked of Him”  (1 John 5:14-15). It is only possible to have full assurance in asking when you go to His Word, because that is where His perfect will is contained. If you can’t find what you want to ask God in the pages of His Word, you need to consider that perhaps you are not asking according to His will. “And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father”  (John 14:13). We should always ask in Jesus’ name. His Name is powerful. We also need to check our motives, and the way we are asking. Always think about whether or not the answer to your request will bring honor to God, and that your request is not just a selfish appeal. Perhaps the Lord will answer in a way you do not expect, because whenever the Father answers a prayer, it is so that He will receive the glory rather than man. It is important that when you ask God to bring peace into your household you do not doubt that He will answer your request. The Lord considers doubting as being double-minded. Don’t let all of this instruction discourage you from prayer. It should, in fact, energize you and excite you about praying for peace in your household! For example: Jesus, in Your Name, we ask for the peace that transcends all understanding to fall upon our household, guarding our hearts and minds, so that You will receive glory when we do not fall in the midst of stressful times. We thank You for hearing and answering our prayer as we stand believing upon the promises of Your holy Word. (See Phil. 4:7). Here are your battle plans for peace in your household: Have faith, believing and not doubting that God is able to defeat Satan and bring peace into your home (Jas. 1:6-8). Determine to stand firm even in the midst of trials – persevere (Jas. 1:2-4). Put on and use the armor that God has given you, especially the sword, which is His holy Word (Eph. 6:10-18). Ask God for wisdom whenever you lack it (Jas. 1:5). Be faithful to obey all that He asks of you as you live by His holy Word. Have confidence to ask according to His will, knowing that you will have what you have asked of Him (1 John 5:14-15). If you pray His Word, you will always be praying in His will! Ask in the name of Jesus so that the Son may bring glory to the Father (John 14:13). Receive with thankfulness all that the Lord has for your family. Pray the Blessings and the Promises of Peace Over Your Family Blessings Mark 10:16 says,  “And He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them.”  Parents, if this is the example of Jesus, we should all be gathering our children to us and praying blessings into their lives daily! Here are some blessings of peace to pray over your family: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace”  (Num. 6:24-26). May your ways be pleasing to the Lord, so that even your enemies will live at peace with you  (Prov. 16:7). May you lie down and sleep in peace, for the Lord alone makes you dwell in safety  (Psa. 4:8). May the God of Peace crush the enemy under your feet and the grace of Jesus be with you  (Rom. 16:20). May you stand firm with the belt of God’s truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of the Lord’s righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace – God’s holy Word  (Eph. 6:14-15). “May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”  (1 Thess. 5:23). “May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen”  (Heb. 13:20-21). “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord”  (2 Pet. 1:2). Prayers of Promise Lord, we receive into our household the strength You give to Your people. Thank You for blessing us with Your peace (Psa. 29:11). Father, help this family to turn from evil and do good. Enable us to seek peace and to pursue it always (Psa. 34:14). Holy One, we love Your Word and claim Your promise that we will have great peace, and that nothing can make us stumble (Psa. 119:165). King of Kings, thank You that You have left Your peace in our hearts, and that this is not the world’s idea of peace. Because of You, our hearts will not be troubled, and we will not be afraid (John 14:27). Lord Almighty, we know that in this world there will be trouble, but we give You thanks that we can take heart in knowing that You have overcome the world so that we may have peace in the midst of it (John 16:33). Holy Spirit, we submit our minds to Your control, so that You will give life and peace (Rom. 8:6). Lord of Lords, give us strength to make every effort to do the things that lead to peace and to the building up of our family (Rom. 14:19). God of Hope, fill us with joy and peace as we trust in You, so that we may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 15:13). Father, help us, as a family, to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3). Lord, please give us strength not to be anxious about anything. Help us to remember in every circumstance to pray with thanksgiving so that Your peace, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Help us to keep our focus only upon whatever is lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. As a family, we want to do only the things we learn, receive and hear from You so that Your peace will be with us (Phil. 4:6-9). Gracious God, give us the ability to allow only the peace of Christ to rule in our hearts, because we know that as members of Your body we are called to peace. Help us to be a thankful family (Col. 3:15). Father, give us a deep desire to make requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. We know that this is good and pleases You, Lord Jesus, because You want all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:1-4). Lord, purify my children’s hearts as they call upon You. Give them courage to flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace (2 Tim. 2:22). Righteous Father, thank You for the promise that the discipline we must impose upon our children will produce a harvest of righteousness and peace for them if they will receive the training. So we also ask that our children will, with willing hearts, receive discipline without taking offense, recognizing the opportunity to learn and grow from it (Heb. 12:11). Father, Your Word says that peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness and that discord cannot produce conduct that pleases You. Help us to be a peacemaking family (Jas. 3:18). Lord, Your Word promises that we can look forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. Since we are looking forward to this, help us to make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with You (2 Pet. 3:13-14).