Lesson Four
THREE THINGS YOU MUST DO

Chapter 2: Prayer Life

What happens to your food after you eat it? It is digested. How? By the operation of your stomach. And the most important function in this respect is breathing. In fact, all bodily operations cease when breathing stops. If the food is not digested it causes stomach upset and pain. This same truth can be applied to your spiritual life.

The food is God's Wordóthe Bible. The breathing that is necessary to digest your spiritual food is: PRAYER. PRAYER is your conversation with God. PRAYER is the fertilizer for your spiritual growth. PRAYER is the source of comfort and strength. PRAYER is spiritual breathing.

When you believe in or love someone, you want to talk to them about many things every time you meet. And you desire to meet them often and talk with them as long as you can. This is true of your spiritual life. Without your "talking with God" your soul becomes starved and undernourished.

Now let us study a little further.
First, PRAY DAILY. The Bible says, "Pray continually" (I Thessalonians 5:17). Like Bible reading, you must pray daily. Perhaps you should pray more often than you read the Bible. Do you converse only three times a day just because you eat three meals a day?

Second, PRAY WITH A BELIEVING HEART. Anyone can pray. Even non-Christians pray. But the difference is that the child of God prays with faith to the only true God. This is the only kind of prayer that reaches God. Listen to what Jesus Himself says about this matter: "Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours" (Mark 11:24).

Without this trusting faith that God will answer your prayers, you only waste your time.

Third, PRAY WITH YOUR HEART OPEN. Basically, to pray is to open your heart to Jesus. This means you provide an opportunity and place in your heart so that Christ can come in and display His power and desire in you and through you. No matter how long you pray and what words you use, unless your heart is open, your prayer will indeed be in vain. You may miss a great blessing or inspiration for the day just because you spoke many words but did not open your heart!

Fourth, PRAY WITH PATIENCE. Prayer is a spiritual exercise. As such you need to learn "praying" better and better every day. It is not easy to pray daily, for example. The answers to your prayers do not always come immediately or exactly the way you want them to come. Your prayers are answered according to God's pleasure and will, not according to your wish. So you need patienceóa great amount of itóin your prayer life.

Lastly, PRAY WITH THANKSGIVING. Prayer is not begging; neither is it a cry of the defeated. It is not what you want but what you need that you present to God in prayer. Remember that God is your Creator. And because He made you Himself, He knows about you, much better than you do yourself. He knows what you need far better and much sooner than you do. And because God is love He wants to give you not only what you need, but also the right thing at the right time and the right place. So when you pray, do so with joyful praise and a thankful heart. The moment you go to Him and open your heart in believing faith your prayer is as good as answered! NOW LET US STUDY ABOUT THE FORMS OF PRAYER IN OUR PRACTICAL LIFE. There is a prayer called "The Lord's Prayer," so-called because Jesus taught His disciples this prayer Himself. You find it in Matthew 6:9-13. This is a perfect example of wholesome prayer. There are no definite forms of prayer; but for the purpose of public worship and for the benefit of the one who prays, the following division could be made:
1. PRAISE: Of and to God, to Christ as Lord and Master.
2. CONFESSION: Of our sins, weaknesses, failures, shortcomings.
3. ASKING: For forgiveness of our sins, for daily necessities, strength to live for Him, guidance for the day.

4. INTERCESSION: For those we love (family, friends, etc.), our work, society, nation, God's churches throughout the world, sinners in your nation, and other countries which have not heard the Gospel.
5. THANKSGIVING: For God's love, His blood shed for your sins, the cross, Christ's death, His answers to your prayers and for what Christ means to you personally.

The order or manner of your prayer does not necessarily have to follow the above. Listed here is only a general outline of prayer.

One last remark: always pray for definite requests. Do not just ramble through many vague or meaningless words. Bring to God definite things as you do when you ask your parents to do something for you.

Here are some points you must know in prayer:
1. When you end your prayer use some expression that in effect will say that you are praying "in the Name of Jesus."People use such terms as ó"in Jesus' Name," "for His sake," "in the Name of our Lord," etc. (because Jesus commanded us to pray in His Name). "I will do whatever you ask IN MY NAMEÖ You may ask me for anything IN MY NAME, and I will do it" are His own words (John 14:13, 14). It is only through His Son's Name, when we pray, that God hears and answers our prayers.

2. Then when your prayer is ended by saying "in Jesus' Name," you use the word "Amen." This word means "so be it," "truly it is so," "may it be granted." In public prayers both the person praying and those joining say "Amen" at the end of the prayer.

3. You should pray before each meal. A brief but genuine expression of your thanks for God's provision. It is called "saying grace." 4. If your home is such that there is no room for you to be alone, and you cannot pray aloudódo not be discouraged. "Heart-praying" is as effective and God-pleasing as praying aloud.