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Effective prayer brings results. According to James Chapter 1, Verses 6-8, when we pray, " we must ask in faith without wavering for the man that wavers is like a wave of the sea drawn with the wind and tossed." The book of Hebrews declares that the individual who seeks the Lord through prayer "must believe that God is a rewarder to them that diligently seek him."

Many individuals view prayer as a ritual we perform daily, but the key to getting results is praying out of a pure and sincere heart. There is no hidden technique called "How to Pray." Jesus disciples did not ask him to teach them how to pray, rather they asked of him, "Lord teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." One writer put it very eloquently, "Prayer is practicing the presence of God, not mastering the mechanics of how to come to God." Why?? Because he who comes to me, "I will in no wise cast him out."

According to William Law, "He who has learned how to pray has learned the greatest secret to a happy and holy life." Many people think of God as a "distant tyrant, or an impersonal force waiting to destroy us the instant we step out of line. God is nothing short of a Loving Father-"the sort of Father all fathers ought to copy." God’s deepest desire and the majority of his time is spent caring for the needs and desires of his children. "Which of you fathers, if your sons asks for a fish, will give him a serpent (snake) instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?" So, what am I saying? "If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who asks him!" Matthew 7:11

Another key to getting results through prayer is knowing what you desire and not being indecisive. "Whatsoever you desire when you pray, believe you have received it and you shall have whatsoever thou sayeth." Far too often, I hear people say, "I asked God to let my team win the ball game but they didn’t." I’m not talking about praying some insignificant things but rather praying to God in the spirit and according to his Word. Just as you would not expect someone to answer to anything other than his or her name, God hears only his Word. "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then shalt thou prosper and have good success." Joshua 1:8 (KJV) In order to be successful in our prayer life, " God must be first and foremost." In doing so, we are able to tackle the adversary. Jesus would not have gotten the victory on the mountain, had he not been in constant communion with his Father. Prayer is not just talking to God, but it involves listening to God as he talks back to you.

When we study the Word and allow it to saturate our lives, we are armed with the weapons of war. In the book of Luke 4:3-12, Jesus used his weapons to defeat Satan at his weakest moments. It was not the power that Jesus possessed, (he was weak, tired, and hungry) but the key to his success that day was the authority of the spoken Word. Many times the stresses of life will get us down, but if we are armed with the Word, it will as the scripture declared, "cause us to prosper and have good success."

The final point I would like to emphasize is refusal to doubt. Refusing to doubt is the reason some win and others lose. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, it is the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

God rewards believers. So how does this faith come, how can I get it? Faith that brings results comes by hearing and hearing and hearing the Word of God.

By Naomi J. Brown