We need to pray because life is full of ups and downs.  A victory won motivates a person for overcoming another life’s battle.  There are different types of situations in life.  Some demand instant solutions while others require short or long term, step by step actions before you can achieve your desired success. 

There are different stages in a successful prayer life: prayer and instant answer, prayer and perseverance, and prayer with a thorough search.  Sometimes, there are instant answers to prayers, while at another time it may seem nothing will come out of your prayers; and in some cases, a serious scrutiny of the surrounding influences is necessary for total victory. 

The secret of a successful prayer life lies in knowing from where you can get power to overcome.  Authority and power belong to God who created the heaven and the earth.  Jesus Christ exposes the mind of God to us that whatever we ask in Jesus’ name shall be given to us by God (John 15:16).  He says that when we pray we should believe that our prayers are answered, and it shall be (Mark 11:24).  Whoever seeks God will be honored; those who ask are given, and the door is opened to those who knock God’s door for mercy (Matthew 7:7-11).  Jesus says when you pray, forgive, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins (Mark 11:25).  He says that we should pray by faith in righteousness, because the prayer of the righteous is honorable (James 5:16).  By grace we confess our sins to God so we are forgiven and cleansed.  These steps allow us to freely connect with God (Psalm 15).  However, in general terms, God’s loving hand is stretched out to everybody in whatever condition, though the righteous receives more attention.  Praying to overcome obstacles in your life is a good foundation through which you can be strengthened to be more intimate with God in prayers.

In sum, if you want an effective prayer life, you need to have a personal relationship with God.  Talk to God as a father at all times, be zealous in reading the Holy Bible and meditating in it every day.  Cultivate the habit of sharing the Good News about the faithfulness of God, and by this you can gain more strength, and also impart blessings to others.

This reminds me of when we prayed on a critical situation and we got an instant solution.  There was an occurrence when the Lord spoke to us that he has sent somebody to us on our request; it took a while before the person surfaced with apology for his delayed action.  He informed us of the time that the Lord led him to us, but events overtook his urgent action, so we were amazed on that day about God’s faithfulness.  We learned that various things happen on the manifestation of answered prayers, but God’s word remains: “Ask and it shall be given unto you…” (Matt 7:7)  We only need patience.  At another situation in our lives, it seemed nothing would come out of our ceaseless prayers, but we persevered.  We searched prayerfully for what might be hindering our prayers and eventually we overcame.  It was then that we understood the message in the book of Habakkuk 2:3  “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie; though it tarry, wait for it: because it will surely come, it will not tarry” (KJV).  What situation are you in now?  Do not give up, your miracle is on the way!

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