What are the most powerful prayers that work? In several pages of the Bible, we can read between the lines where God not only commands men to pray but especially by promising them fulfillment. No one can ignore the benefits and power of prayer. However, the questions concerning the fulfillment of our prayers seem to preoccupy the Christian world to know: How to pray to God? Why does not God answer the prayers of most people? How can we pray effectively? How can we and our loved ones get the direct intervention of the God of the Bible?
And if I asked you these kinds of questions: Why should you expect the God of the Bible to answer the prayers of a people who pray to other gods? A people who pray in the wrong way? Who disobeys the true God? Who prays to ask badly?
The answer is simple. You cannot expect real answers to your prayers if you do not pray to the true God in the right way. You must have an idea about the true God, and the way to pray.
There is no magic prayer. There is no ready prayer recipe either. However, the Bible gives us the keys to obtain our prayers. Although this list that we propose to you is not exhaustive if you put it in practice, It is even possible that the reality and the effectiveness of these answers surprise you!
Roderick Meredith (1930-2017) in his pamphlet “Twelve Keys for Answered Prayers” tries to give us some answers. We tried to adapt his brochure to our article. Good reading!
1. You Can Practice Powerful Prayers That Work If You Know to Whom You Pray!
Who do you pray to? Who is this God whose help you are seeking? This is the first fundamental point for answering prayer. You must know who you are praying to, in whom you put your faith and trust. If you pray to the true God, it is certain that he will reveal himself to you.
In truth, it is essential that you pray to the true God of the Bible if you hope your prayers are answered. God reveals Himself to humanity in various ways – through Creation, through the Bible, through His divine intervention in the affairs of the world, and through His direct responses, to those who follow Him and obey Him.
Our God, the Creator of the entire universe and its content is an attentive Divine Being. This God who answers our prayers is a Father, who is “in heaven”. He has a kingdom, or a government, which will be established on this earth. God the Father is a Being who can give us our daily bread, forgive our sins, deliver us from Satan, and bring us into His eternal Kingdom.
The true God is rich in goodness;
He is eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. He is an all-powerful God, unlimited in power and glory! When you kneel and raise your hands to pray, remember that He is the supreme Creator of the universe; you must “sanctify” His name, as Jesus taught. Remember that God is not only the Creator but also the active ruler of the universe – leading the ascension and decline of nations, according to His will. He is the Climate Manager – bringing down “rain in his time” (Deuteronomy 28:12) – or periods of drought and destruction on the nations that are to be punished (verses 24-25).
However, if you submit to Him, if you obey Him and serve Him, God will become your Father, your Protector, the One who heals you and gives you “every perfect gift” (James 1:17). He abounds in love and mercy. “But as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his goodness to those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does it remove our transgressions from us. As a father who cares for his children, the Lord has compassion for those who fear him. For he knows what we are formed of, he remembers that we are dust “(Psalm 103: 11-14).
Be sure to always pray to this supreme God – the true God – and not another. When you begin your prayer, think about whom you are praying for, are aware of the God you worship – this supreme God who gives you life and breathe.
In short, be sure to pray to the one to whom nothing is impossible (Luke 1:36) and who promises us to listen if we pray to him sincerely – according to his will and taking into account his principles.
2. Study the Holy Bible
Of course, praying to God implies at the same time believing in what He says. We find His word – His teachings to human beings about how to live – in the Bible. This reveals the essential knowledge that we cannot acquire elsewhere. It is the “instruction manual” written by God for humanity. God tells us who He is, what He looks like, and how we should serve Him. In the pages of the Bible, we even find His instructions on how to pray to Him.
To know God, to understand His will, and to believe in His promises, we need to regularly study His inspired word in an orderly way – just as we study a scientific book or a historical work. A good starting point is the Gospel according to Matthew – the first book of the New Testament. Read it whole, slowly and carefully – noting what Christ actually said, paying particular attention to the many examples of prayers answered.
When you read these promises in the Bible, ask Almighty God to fulfill them in your life. When you see that Jesus and others have asked for certain things, know that these are examples to be followed by each one of us. In all your prayers, follow the example of Jesus Christ and the apostles. Have prayers like theirs when you experience similar hardships and difficulties. Effective prayer is also a prayer made with the promises of God – God always remains faithful to his word.
Leave behind repetitive, meaningless prayers, and begin to truly study the teachings and examples of prayers in the Bible. Let the inspired words of God teach you how to pray and what to ask. Believe in the teachings and promises you will find in this holy book. Activate in this manner powerful prayers that work.
3. To Sincerely Repent of Sin
“One of the things that prevent the manifestation of God in our lives is our lack of repentance.” Sin puts a barrier between us and God. God loves the sinner but hates sin, iniquity. Although God sometimes hears the prayers of those who sincerely implore Him, without really knowing Him, He is not required, according to His word, to do so. Therefore, struck by the horrors of war, people ask, “Where is GOD? Where was He, for example, during the battle of Leningrad, when hundreds of thousands of people perished? They ask, “Where was God when Jews, Poles, Czechs, Danes, and Dutch were gathered in gas chambers during the Second World War? ”
The word of God answers: “No, the hand of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too hard to hear. But it is your crimes that put a separation between you and your God; it is your sins that hide your face from you and prevent you from listening to you “(Isaiah 59: 1-2).
The same principle is found in the New Testament.
A man, healed from blindness by Jesus, declared: “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone honors him and does his will, he hears it “(John 9:31).
Jesus said, “If you want to enter life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17). Do you observe the Ten Commandments? Or do you find excuses for transgressing them? The apostle John was inspired to write: “Whatever we ask, we receive from him because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him” (1 John 3:22). The writings of the New Testament clearly show us that our prayers are answered when we observe the commandments of God!
Let’s be honest! It is so simple to rationalize, or “find excuses,” for these clear teachings about obedience to God’s laws. But if you want your prayers to be answered, you need to repent of your transgressions of the Ten Commandments – defined as sin (1 John 3: 4). And you need to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior (Acts 2:38). Then – with the help of the Holy Spirit – you will have to submit daily more to Jesus Christ so that He lives His life in you. Keep in mind this statement of the Apostle Paul: “I was crucified with Christ; and if I live, it is no longer I who live, it is Christ who lives in me; if I now live in the flesh, I live in faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me “(Galatians 2:20).
As we grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18), He will live His life in us more and more fully in our Christian life. Surely, we will not be immediately “perfect”! No human being has ever been perfect except Jesus Himself. But we must walk according to the Ten Commandments by submitting to Him. By “walking with Christ” in this way, you can be sure to achieve powerful prayers that work!
4. Forgive Others
Another key to powerful prayers that work is your willingness to forgive others truly. Heavenly Father does not listen to those who come to Him in a spirit of vengeance, bitterness, or hatred. Let’s read Matthew 6: 14-15, Matthew 5: 23-24.
Also, we must present ourselves before God in an attitude of humility, repentance, and forgiveness. Without this, as Jesus said, God will not forgive us either! In order for God to listen to us when we pray, one of the key elements is to have a humble and merciful spirit.
5. Be Precise, Wise in Your Prayers and Pray in the Name of Jesus
Keep in mind that you must not repeat empty words (Matthew 6: 7), that God already knows what you are going to ask him (Matthew 6: 8). We must not seek to impress God with our words in prayer. Indeed, one of the keys to being fulfilled is to be precise and wise in prayer.
Just as you had to pray in the unique name of Jesus Christ. Jesus himself to His disciples: “In that day, you will not question me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father, he will give it to you in my name. So far you have not asked for anything on my behalf. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be perfect “(John 16: 23-24). Take into account the verse of Acts 4:12.
6. Seek the will of God
Another key to powerful prayers that work is to make sure that you align your will and demands with GOD’s will. If you study the Bible with zeal, and if you put into practice the way of life of Christ, His will gradually replace yours. It will affect the way you pray. You will begin to understand that God has made all men and women in His image – and that He will “call” them all to understanding and repentance in due time. With this spirit, you will not only pray for your good, but also for the good of others. And then, you can sincerely tell God, as Jesus said, “My will be done not, but yours” (Luke 22:42).
Remember this key phrase from the model prayer in Matthew 6: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (verse 10). We all need to focus on this when we pray. What is really better for each of us on this long road? GOD only knows for sure.
On the other hand, the Bible literally contains dozens and dozens of promises or direct signs indicating what God has done, or what He will do about our prayers. If we pray with the faith taught by God – by submitting to His will – we can be sure that He will hear us. “We have with him this assurance that if we ask something according to his will, he listens to us. And if we know that he is listening to us, we know that we have the thing we asked him for, whatever it is “(1 John 5: 14-15).
7. Have Faith in God
“But without faith, it is impossible to please him; for he who comes to God must believe that God exists and that he is the rewarder of those who seek him “(Hebrews 11: 6).
Also, you will not be able to please God without real faith. The Bible shows that God, in a general way, will not hear and pray your prayers unless you walk in His way with faith: “But let him ask in faith, without doubting; for he who doubts is like the wave of the sea, stirred by the wind and pushed aside. May such a man does not imagine that he will receive something from the Lord “(James 1: 6-7).
Take note of this essential teaching of Jesus Christ, to pray with faith and respect: “Jesus spoke and said to them, Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, if anyone says to this mountain, “Get out of there and throw yourself into the sea, and if he does not doubt in his heart, but believe that what he says comes, he will see it accomplished. Therefore I say to you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and you will see it fulfilled “(Mark 11: 22-24).
Also, pray to Him constantly to give you the FAITH you need. Learn to believe God’s promises. Believe that God is real – that He has perfect wisdom and power, perfect love. Understand that He will keep all His promises! Learn to imitate Abraham, the father of believers (Romans 4:20), because “He did not doubt, in disbelief, about the promise of God; but he was strengthened by faith, giving glory to God, and having the full conviction that what he promises he CAN also accomplish “(verses 20-21). This is true faith. It is this attitude that you must have to activate powerful prayers that work.
8. Be Persevering and Pray with Fervor
For example, if your child only once asked you to buy a bicycle, then forget his request and not talk about it again, how could you judge the depth of his desire? How could you know if you gave it to him right away, on his first request? The same is true of the requests we make to Heavenly Father. Before He intervenes supernaturally, He wants to know the depth with which we desire what we ask of Him and to know that we respect and adore Him.
Consider this parable of Jesus in the book of Luke 18: 1-8. When you desire something deeply, you ask God day and night – without ever giving up. God wants us to be persevering. He wants us to walk with Him, talk to Him, and talk to Him constantly – day after day, during this life, and for all eternity! The Apostle Paul tells us to pray “unceasingly” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Also, pray regularly. Spend time communicating with Jesus Christ and your Heavenly Father. Never stop – yes, never – to pray! Because the more you walk in this way, the more your life will depend on this contact! In truth, “if you have time and words to pray to God, God will also have time and words to answer you.”
9. Ask God to Shape You
How many people ask God to shape them? The more we ask God to transform us in his image, the more his will is fulfilled in our lives, and in this manner, we see that we are using powerful prayers that work.
It is right – to a certain extent – to pray for “physical things”. But the ultimate goal of prayer is to help us focus on GOD, to submit to Him and His will, maintaining a parenting relationship, vital and interactive. In this way, He will become more and more real to us. We need to seek His will, through our study of the Bible and our constant and sincere prayers. We need to understand that our previous ideas and attitudes about God and religion, in general, need to be significantly improved. God tells us, through Isaiah, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways … As the heavens are high above the earth, so are my ways high. above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts “(Isaiah 55: 8-9). And the Apostle Paul teaches us, “Have in you the feelings that were in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2: 5).
Learn to walk with God, to talk with Him, to be in touch with Him every day. Ask Him sincerely to shape you in His image. The prophet Isaiah was inspired to write: “Yet, O LORD, you are our father; we are the clay, and it is you who have formed us, we are all the work of your hands “(Isaiah 64: 7). An attitude of submission when you pray to God, asking Him to take you back, purify you, and shape you, is one of the essential keys to being answered.
10. Show Your Gratitude to God
Praise and thank God Almighty: it is also a key to being answered. We need to thank and constantly praise God for all the good things He gives us, for His help, and for all His blessings (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Instead of wasting our time getting excited about sports figures, rock stars, or other “human idols,” dedicate our whole spirit to thank God, to pray, and to worship Him, who made us and who gives us life and breath. This God is the One who forgives us constantly, who guides us and blesses us – and who ultimately plans to share His eternal glory with us if we learn to love Him as He loves us!
As I have always said, ” The more you recognize the hand of God in your life, the more God will always have his hand in your life ” (Thomson Dablemond).
In Summary on Powerful Prayers That Work
Prayer is the driving force of the Christian life. So prayer is a communication between you and God. It is a pillar for an intimate relationship between you and God. In prayer, you must know that you are the child and God your father – the pupil and God is the teacher – the creature and God is the Creator – the sheep and God is the shepherd – the sinner and God is holy – the weak and God is strong – the fool and God are the wise – the little and God is great – the governed and God is the absolute, formidable, supreme and sovereign governor – a limited being but God is eternal and Unlimited … This is how you must approach God in prayer.
We do not seek to convince God in prayer, yet months to inform him of anything – because he knows everything, he can everything, he sees everything, he hears everything, he is everywhere. God does not necessarily give us what we want but rather what we need. No one cares for you except him. Let us approach him in truth, trust, and in a spirit of humility.
May prayer be your daily life! May prayer be your breath! Do not beg to pray. Do not be discouraged to pray. God answers prayers – especially according to his time, his will, and his manner. May God make you men and women of prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen!