A young man once confided to me, "I am really confused. I'm the only Christian in our family, so I am praying that God will transform me so I can be a witness at home. But my behaviour at home is far from ideal! My brother criticizes me and asks me questions like, 'Are all Christians like you?'""Why have I not changed? Is God powerless to change me or is He unwilling to do so? It doesn't make sense."
I asked him, "Have you been totally open with God? Have you been obedient to Him even in the smallest way that you know of?"
He became thoughtful for a moment and then answered, "No."
"Then," I said. "That is how you should start."
What’s wrong with our prayers?
Very often we pray to persuade God to grant our requests. But we should pray because God wills it. He changes us as we pray according to His will. As Rev.Ernest Chan puts it “We usually pray to ask God to alter circumstances or change people. However, it is often us who need to be changed.”
When we pray, we must come before God totally open – not hiding anything from Him. We search our hearts for areas that need to be corrected, confess our every sin, and ask for His cleansing. We must obey His every direction for our lives and allow Him to mold us according to His image.
Nothing will stand in the way of our prayers of we are totally open with God. We will know Him more intimately and become more conscious of His presence. His desires will become our desires. Jesus’ promise will be fulfilled – “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for yuou” (John 15:7) But if certain areas in our lives are off limits to God, our prayers will not be effective.
Our confused young man expects God to change him “miraculously”. But the Lord wants him to realize his shortcomings, confess them, and follow His way. God is neither unwilling nor unable to answer his prayers. For God does not need to be prodded to answer any of our prayers. Jesus said, “Your Father already knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). God, however, desires that we be totally open to Him.
Taken from How Effective are Your Prayers? by Bertram Lim.Very often we pray to persuade God to grant our requests. But we should pray because God wills it. He changes us as we pray according to His will. As Rev.Ernest Chan puts it “We usually pray to ask God to alter circumstances or change people. However, it is often us who need to be changed.”
When we pray, we must come before God totally open – not hiding anything from Him. We search our hearts for areas that need to be corrected, confess our every sin, and ask for His cleansing. We must obey His every direction for our lives and allow Him to mold us according to His image.
Nothing will stand in the way of our prayers of we are totally open with God. We will know Him more intimately and become more conscious of His presence. His desires will become our desires. Jesus’ promise will be fulfilled – “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for yuou” (John 15:7) But if certain areas in our lives are off limits to God, our prayers will not be effective.Our confused young man expects God to change him “miraculously”. But the Lord wants him to realize his shortcomings, confess them, and follow His way. God is neither unwilling nor unable to answer his prayers. For God does not need to be prodded to answer any of our prayers. Jesus said, “Your Father already knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). God, however, desires that we be totally open to Him.
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