Prayer is a divine technology that, when implemented, gives God permission to intervene in the affairs of humanity. - Cindy Trimm, The Rules of Engagement.  

Prayer is a mighty tool essential for all Christians; it opens direct spiritual highways that can take our prayers directly to God's throne room! This gives us assurance that our prayers are heard, and swiftly carried out by God's angels. The tiniest prayer, when sanctified by Jesus Christ’s blood, can completely reroute your day! After reading this, I hope you can edify your prayers, making them intentional to produce results! Glory be to God! Let's get started!

King David's Psalm: How to Start a Prayer 101

The Book of Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers about acknowledging pain, rejoicing, worship, and, of course, prayer! In Psalm 5:1-5, David begins a powerful prayer:

David started by pleading with God for mercy, and acknowledging God’s position in his life: the Head! He stepped into God’s presence, and invited Him into his day with a call for action! God’s presence, a consuming fire, purges everything acting against Him, which sanctifies your prayers. Just as David put God first when praying, so should we! It shifts the focus from “me” to “God”, giving all glory to Him! 

Focus on when David prays: “In the morning”. Why does he pray in the morning? It’s because mornings are the very start of the day; our first sign of a victory! David dedicated his day to God before anything else intervened! 

To strike wickedness down, you need to surrender it to God, securing triumph by His strength! That’s exactly how resistance, working against God’s anointing, clears your paths! Wickedness flees the presence of God because of His “consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29)!

The final element? Praise & Worship! David worshiped Him solely for who He is! Worship is the key to life and power in prayer because it brings restoration! To praise God first, it brings life, rejuvenation, and blessed assurance to our faith! So, we can confidently keep steadfast faith that God acts upon our prayers, in Jesus Christ’s Mighty Name! 

When You Pray, God Answers Faith with Powerful Restoration

Psalm 138 stars a prayer solely for thanksgiving and worship! In it, David surrendered his heart unto Him! He honored God through wholehearted worship, uplifting His lovingkindness nature and giving God the magnification He deserves! However, in the verse 3, David says something life-changing:

In this verse, David reveals two wondrous benefits of prayer: it’s restorative and transformative! David “called” the Lord through consecrated prayers. Through tender worship, while magnifying God, David’s prayer entered a spiritual highway that led straight to the Father! And what miraculous thing happened next?

God responded to David’s prayers and worship! With his invitation, God transformed him with boldness and confidence in His strength, and He completely renewed David’s strength! 

In Psalm 138, David confirms that prayer is a divine tool that allows God to directly edify us in Christ! Within prayer, He renews, strengthens, and transforms us in spirit, and the circumstances around us! The key is: complete submission with a willingness to let God renovate us!

Thanksgiving And Devotion: How To Revive Your Prayer Life

In the book of Colossians, Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ, writes to the congregation of believers at Colossae in Truth to counter the false teachings they were under. In Colossians 4:2, Paul speaks briefly on how we should regard our prayer lives! 

Persistence. Alertness. Devotion. Thanksgiving. Four foundational pillars of lively, effective prayers!

Persistence is the attitude to continue despite adversity! Devotion is to dedicate or sacrifice what you have for a person or cause! But this, I ask you: what type of devotion and persistence should we have for God? Should it be conditional, like the Israelites’, or unconditional, like Job’s? 

Persistence and devotion are linked; unconditional devotion to Jesus Christ encourages unconditional persistence in prayer lives because your faith, the root, is no longer conditional! Ergo, when there’s no evidence that prayers were received, your love still belongs to God! Faith in God and your kingdom inheritance from Him! 

Being alert in prayer is crucial as spiritual atmospheres shift when prayers reach God's throne room! The closer you draw to God, the more sensitive you become! The spiritual war that we inheritors of God's kingdom partake in is a round clock battle (Psalms 91:5-6 AMP)! So, becoming proactive, responsive and swift (no delay) in this daily battle leads to claiming a daily victory! 

Thanksgiving is the most important element of prayer! Gratitude invites God into your presence, and you into His! If you don’t invite someone to interact in a conversation, you're talking at them, and not to them! With thanksgiving, you can pray unto God and not at God, strengthening your connection!

Final Words: Praying with Intent Will Give Great Results

Prayer is powerful; versatile! And it’s only by prayer that we can walk in the victory Jesus Christ secured by rising! Be intentional with God; He returns faithfulness abundantly! Even if you're weak when you start, it’s in weakness where God’s absolute might shines boldly! So be intentional! Rest assured! Be confident in prayers, knowing that the God you serve will never fail! And always remember that Jesus loves you! Amen.