Over the years as I've prayed with people and taught them about prayer, I've noticed something. They are always wanting steps and formulas to help them pray more effectively.
As you probably know (if you know me at all), I don't teach prayer that way because I've learned that real prayer is a relationship - a back and forth interaction with God that is different every time. And often, steps and formulas inhibit that interaction more than they enhance it.
But as I was thinking about this subject, it dawned on me that there is one step in prayer that is always the same.
It doesn't matter whether you're praying a prayer of commitment or a prayer of intercession. It doesn't matter whether you're praying in tongues or in English. It doesn't matter whether you're praying for your family or for the president.
There is something you must do every single time you pray. And if you don't do it, your prayer will fall flat.
What is this first crucial step?
It is this: You must come to God.
The prayer that has power is the prayer that is offered unto God. And to truly pray unto God, we must first come to Him.
- Lynne Hammond
That may sound ridiculously simple, but it's amazing how many times we forget to do it! It's amazing how many times we plunge into loud machine-gun-like tongues, or fervent scripture confessions without first bowing our hearts and consciously coming before God.
As a result we pray with a great awareness of ourselves, of our need, of the subject we are praying about - but no real consciousness of the One we are supposed to be speaking to!
In Acts 12, we see the New Testament account of a prayer meeting that brought great results. The apostle Peter was in prison. Herod was planning to kill him just as he had killed James. But the Church said, "No! We refuse to lose another ministry gift! We refuse to lose Peter!"
So, verse five tells us, "prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him."
Prayer Unto God
Often, when we study this verse, we major on the phrase "without ceasing." But there is another phrase that is important there. It is the phrase "unto God."
The prayer that has power is the prayer that is offered unto God. And to truly pray unto God, we must first come to Him.
Actually, if you'll search the Bible on this subject, you'll find that from beginning to end there is always an order in the seeking of God. That order is to come...and to go. First you come to God, then He gives you directions and you go obey them.
Remember Elijah? God called him away to a riverbank. Elijah stayed before God on that riverbank for three years. Then the Lord said, "Go tell King Ahab it's going to rain" (1 Kings 17-18).
God called John the Baptist to come to Him out in the desert and he stayed there for a long time. Then one day the Lord said, "You go and tell the house of Israel to prepare the way of the Lord."
It's the same way in prayer. Romans 8:26 says we don't know what to pray as we ought so the Holy Spirit has to help us. So before we do anything else in prayer, we must make sure we've connected with Him.
How do we do that? We purposely, by faith, seek His guidance. We respond to His promptings with great reverence, understanding that He is not just some vague spiritual influence; He is the person and presence of God.
We purposely become aware of Him and say, "Holy Spirit, help us to pray now. We are depending on You and we are yielded to you. You are the Leader and we are following You."
He'll Draw You In Several Ways
Sometimes, He'll test you to see if you're serious. He'll let you sit quietly and wait on Him for a while. Or sometimes, He'll lead you to set aside your "prayer agenda" and worship Him for a while. The more you do that, the more familiar with Him you'll become and the easier it will be to hear His voice and sense His leadings.
Increase your reverence for the presence of God and the manifestation of His presence will increase. The more you seek Him, the more He will reveal Himself to you.
Remember that as you pray in the days to come, make sure that before you go out into various areas and types of prayer...you've come first unto God. Have times when you just minister to Him and love Him for who He is.
Come to God first and foremost. Then, when He says "Go!" you'll be ready.
