Wednesday December 27th, 2023
« Therefore I tell you, everything you pray and ask for–believe that you have received it and it will be yours »
1 Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom comes. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
5 Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him,
6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’
7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.
8 But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.
9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead?
12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not!
13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”
In my book The Mathematics of Answered Prayers, I explained my points using simultaneous equations, but here, we will be using simple algebra.
For your prayers to be answered, you will need to apply the following algebraic equation:
F(P + W + R + JN) = Answered Prayers Faith (F) is the constant variable that must affect every other element of your equation before your prayers can be answered. Hebrews 11:6 NLT says:
« And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek him »
Without faith it is impossible to please God and of course if you displease Him, how would you expect Him to answer your prayers?
The next thing you need is to Praise Him (P).
Psalms 100:4 shows that praises attract Gods attention and make Him willing to hear you.
In fact, if you just praise God and don’t make any requests, He will ask you for what you want.
This was the case with Solomon after he had given a thousand burnt offerings to God without making any request. God told him in a dream to ask for whatever he wanted (1 Kings 3:1-28).
Pray with reference to the word (W) of God.
Before you bring a request to God, find out what His word says about it, then quote it back to Him; this is praying according to His will.
James 4:3 says we ask and do not get our miracles because we ask amiss.
When you ask according to the word of God, you cannot ask amiss.
After this, present your Request (R).
Lastly, make sure that you are presenting your request in Jesus name (JN).
When you pray in the name of Jesus, you are placing the personality of Jesus behind your request and since God cannot deny Him anything, He will not deny you.
He will attend to your request just as He attends to the requests of Jesus.
Application – Don’t just barge into Gods presence with your requests; make sure you have all that you need for your prayers to be answered.
Author – Bishop Enoch. A. Adeboye.
Edited by Naomie
Freely you received, freely you must give (Math 10:8) , kindly share this devotion, and the Lord will bless you for it .
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