Talking With God

Pray According to the Bible

In our human nature, it is very easy to pray with selfish motives or for things to happen which God prohibits in the Bible. For example, there are Christians who have prayed for God to bring specific people, who were not Christians, with them in a romantic relationship. God clearly tells us in Scripture that he intends for believers to be yoked only with one another (2 Corinthians 6:14).

Or, let’s suppose someone does not get along with his brother-in-law and he prays that his sister will divorce him. Here again, this is not in the will of God. He has expressed His hate of divorce (Malachi 2:16).

1 John 5:14 says that we can be confident “if we ask anything according to His will, then He hears us.” How can we know we are praying His will? When we spend time getting to know Him through the Scriptures. The more in tune we get with the heart of God through the study of His Word, the more effectively we can pray according to His will. Oftentimes, prayer will change us.

Pray for Change

Many of us have heard the phrase, “prayer changes things.” And it is true. Throughout the Bible, we see God move greatly throughout circumstances based on someone’s plea. One example is David’s plea, which moved God to withhold a plague in Israel, despite His anger (2 Samuel 24:25). Another example is Isaac’s intercession for his barren wife Rebekah, Isaac prayed for her to conceive and the Lord allowed it (Genesis 25:21).

There are many more instances such as this recorded in the Bible. As you can see, God allowed Himself to be moved by the prayers of people. It is important to know that God never changes, and He is all knowing; He knows how He is going to answer prayers and He knows how we are going to pray about something. While He may adjust His actions, His purposes stay the same. He knows what is best for us.

Pray for Eternal Life

The most important prayer you can ever pray is when you ask Jesus Christ to become Lord and Savior of your life. Every human being is born sinful, and sin separates us from God. Jesus died on a cross and rose from the grave to defeat sin, which is ultimate death, and offers reconnection between God and us.

When Christ comes into your life, you have the Holy Spirit indwelling you. This allows you to pray with discernment and pray according to His perfect, pleasing will.