- Build your relationship with God first. Give thanks to Him, repent for your sins, and be good to the people around you, too.
- When you ask God for help, be specific. Then, tell Him that you trust in His powerful, mysterious ways.
- Be patient while you wait for results. And continue to connect with God in the meantime.
Connecting with God
Build a relationship with God. God will hear your prayers whether or not you are following Him, but He is more likely to answer those who are close to Him. If you’ve never started reading God’s Word and following Jesus, that’s a good step before you ask Him for something. Learn to listen and obey what He asks of you. This is not to say that He won’t grant your request if you aren’t a follower. It simply means that you’ll be better able to communicate with Him if you have a relationship with Him. Think about the difference between a stranger and your best friend. If a friend asks to borrow some money or a stranger on the street asks, you’d be more likely to give to your friend. It’s not a perfect comparison, but it’s similar.
Praise God and give thanks first. When you come to God in prayer, don’t go straight to asking for something. It is better to praise Him and thank Him for what He has already done. Praise Him for being loving and mighty. Thank Him for guiding you and blessing you. Beginning this way shows God that He is more than someone you ask for things. Praise and thanks must be genuine, not a tactic to butter God up so you can ask for what you want. You must really mean what you pray. Start by saying, “God, it’s amazing how well you have taken care of me and provided for me. I’m thankful that you are strong and that you never turn away from me.”
Confess and repent of sin. After you have a relationship with God, it is important to make sure you’re on good terms with Him. If you are living in ongoing sin, or you’ve committed sins recently, you are separated from God. You must confess those things and turn away from them. This will mend the broken connection with God. The reason this is important is that sin means going against what God wants from you. When you sin, you separate yourself from God. To confess and repent simply means to tell God that you know you have sinned, that you are sorry, and that you want to change. Pray to God, “I’m sorry I was so rude to my neighbor. I know you love him too, and I should treat him as you want me to. I will work harder at being patient and kind to him.”
Ask God for forgiveness. Along with confessing and repenting, ask God to forgive you for those sins. Seeking forgiveness is the step that has to follow confession. Once God has forgiven you, the lines of communication will be much more open between you and God. There is not a specific prayer of forgiveness you must pray. Tell God that you are sorry and that you want Him to forgive you for wronging Him. Pray, “God, I’m sorry for lying about what I did last night. I should not have done that. Please forgive me for my dishonesty.”
Make amends with other people. If you are angry or have hurt someone, it’s hard to pray an honest prayer to God. Take a minute to think about any relationships you have that are out of sync and make an effort to fix those first. Resolving problems with others opens you up more to asking something from God. It’s not enough to think of what’s wrong if you don’t make an effort to fix it. Get in touch with the person and seek reconciliation before going to God. Apologize to them or forgive them, depending on what is wrong between you.
Pray against evil that may be around you. If you are living for God, you may have evil that is against you, holding you back from God. Pray that God would remove any spirits who seek to keep you distant and distracted from God. Spiritual warfare will keep you from being able to effectively communicate with God. It may be worth your time to learn more about what spiritual warfare is and how it can affect your prayer life and living for God. Pray, “God, I feel like there is evil that is surrounding me. In Jesus' name, please rebuke these spirits. Do not let them come between us. Tell them that they have no power over me.”
Praying for What You Want
Be honest with God about what you are feeling. God knows everything you think and feel, so there is no sense in hiding. As you are asking for what you want, be completely honest about your thoughts and feelings. Honesty will open God’s ears to your prayers.
Ask God specifically for what you want. Tell God what you want or need and ask Him to provide that for you. Be specific about your request. Even though God knows what you want and need, He wants you to ask Him for it. God can answer vague prayers, but being specific creates a deeper bond between you and Him. Being specific does not guarantee that God will answer your request in the way you want Him to. He may have other plans for you. Say to God, “I’m hurting for rent money this month because of the doctor bills. Please let me pick up some extra hours at work so that I can pay my rent.” Remember that God will not give you something that goes against His will. Check your heart and check the Bible to see if what you are asking for is against His will.
Invite God to work in the ways He wants to work. Although you may have many specific things you want from God, another good thing to pray is that His will be done in your life. Ask Him to move and use you however He wants, not only how you want. Ask Him to help you want the things that He wants for you. The benefits of praying in this way are many. Although you may know exactly what you want, God may have much more for you than you could think to ask for. If you only ask for the thing you want, you could miss out on a larger blessing. Say to God, “Lord, I really want to start a new job this month, but I know that you might have something more in store for me during this time. I pray that you would show me your plans, even if it isn’t exactly what I want.”
Call on God to hurry in answering your request. If you are asking God for something, you probably want Him to act quickly. Being honest with God means telling Him that you want Him to work quickly. He is on His own time, so it may not happen at the speed you want. It is still good to ask Him to hurry because you’re being honest about what you want.
Close by saying, “In Jesus' name.” The Bible teaches that the name of Jesus Christ is powerful. Every time you pray, but especially when you are asking for something, end by saying, “I pray this in Jesus’ name.” This acknowledges that God moves through Jesus and that Jesus is powerful. This is not like saying magic words, and it should not be used as a way to exploit God’s blessings. It is simply a way to show that you are submitting to God’s will through Christ.
Waiting for God to Answer Your Prayer
Be patient waiting for God to work. Remember that God works on a different timeline than you do. If He doesn’t answer as quickly as you hoped, do not give up on Him. Wait on His timing and remember that there may be a reason He does not answer as quickly as you want Him to.
Continue to praise Him. While you wait to hear God’s answer to your prayer, you must keep honoring Him and giving Him praise. It is important to be thankful and worshipful even when you haven’t received what you want yet. If you only praise Him when He acts as you want, your praise may not be genuine.
Trust that God will act according to His will. If you don't believe that God has the power to act, your prayer loses power. You must believe that He has heard you and will act based on His will. If your request fits His plan, then he will grant what you want, but remember that God doesn't always answer the way you want Him to.
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