In the tradition of an acrostic or alphabetical psalms in the Bible (see Psalm 119), it is appropriate to arrange these great truths on prayer in English alphabetical order. In fact, in one month’s time, you could memorize the sequence by reading this article daily before you begin your prayer time.
As the early disciples asked, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).
“I come into your presence, Lord…”
Asking in Jesus name personally
“Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full,” Jesus said in the upper room (John 16:24).
As you begin your prayers, approach His throne with the wondrous name of Jesus in your heart and on your lips.
As you begin your prayers, approach His throne with the wondrous name of Jesus in your heart and on your lips. Click To TweetBelieving Your promises specifically
“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know,” (Jeremiah 33:3).
“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us,” (2 Corinthians 1:20).
When Abraham was told that at the age of 100 (his wife Sarah was 90) he would have a son whose descendants would multiply to a vast number, he first laughed, but then he became “fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform” (Romans 4:21).We believers are the spiritual “seed of Abraham” (Gal. 3:28,29). According to E.R. Storms there are actually 8,810 promises in the Bible.
Confessing my sins honestly
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Be honest and frank in your confessions, hiding nothing, defending nothing before Him with whom we have to do. Confess your actual transgressions in the light of the teachings of Christ and the words of the Apostles in the Epistles. Self-examination, including sins of omission, is necessary in order to be honest with yourself and with God. Keep short accounts with God.
Delighting in Your Word and Your will obediently
“Delight yourself also in the Lord; and he shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).
“I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:8).
“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2).
Read no less than one chapter a day (absolute minimum) and preferably 3 chapters a day, beginning in Matthew and reading through the New Testament (260 chapters). If you are not doing this, start now! You do have time.
Just cut out one 30-minute TV program! To be in fellowship with God, you must read or hear His Word daily.
Entering Your throne room frequently
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name” (Psalm 100:4).
“Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice” (Psalm 55:17).
“At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You, because of Your righteous judgments” (Psalm 119:62).
Some prayers may be long and some short, but even a frequent single sentence prayer in silence will benefit you spiritually.
Forgiving others their trespasses sincerely
“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses” (Mark 11:24-26).
“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).
Holding a grudge, resenting others, clinging to the memories of past unkind experiences is not good for your own mental and spiritual health. But what is more, an unforgiving attitude hinders your prayers.
Perhaps you feel someone in your family or church family has mistreated you . . . pray for him or her, forgive in your heart. Don’t let negative thinking and unforgiveness hurt you. Talk to God about it. He will heal your soul.
Giving thanks in everything daily
“in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior” (1 Timothy 2:1-3).
Make a list of things for which you are thankful. “Count your many blessings, name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.”
Humbling myself before You willingly
“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10).
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (I Peter 5:6).
With a humble and submissive spirit in your heart, remember that Jesus became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:8).
Interceding for others regularly
“I exhort…that…intercessions…be made for all men” (1 Timothy 2:1).
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints… and for me (Ephesians 6:18, 19).
I advise you to make an alphabetical list of individuals for whom you can pray often, fold it, and keep it in your Bible.
Remember that Jesus Himself “ever lives to make intercession for you” (Hebrews 7:25) and that the Holy Spirit within us “helps our weaknesses and makes intercession for us” (Romans 8:26).
Joying in the Holy Spirit internally
“For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).
In Galatians 5:22, Paul sets forth the fruit of the indwelling Spirit in your heart, mind, and life. The first three things mentioned are love, joy, and peace. The words joy and rejoice occur over 300 times in the Bible. “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).
Knowing that You hear me confidently
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14, 15).
God knows what is best for us. Sometimes the answer is yes and other times (because He knows all things) the answer is no. Other times, the answer is wait. Ask always for His leadership and guidance.
God knows what is best for us. Sometimes the answer is yes and other times the answer is no. Other times, the answer is wait. Click To TweetLoving You imperfectly but deeply
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment” (Matthew 22:37, 38).
Thus Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.
“Because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5).
“I will love You, O Lord, my strength” (Psalm 18:1).
Let His love flow into your heart. “Now continue faith, hope and love” (I Corinthians 13:13).
Meditating on You nightly
“When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches” (Psalm 63:6).
“May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the Lord” (Psalm 104:34).
If you awake in the night, think briefly of the Lord and His love and kindness… “I will meditate on Your statutes…” (Psalm 119:48).
“At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You” (Psalm 119:62).
Remember that He watches over you, as David mentioned in Psalm 4:8: “I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”
Needing You constantly
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
Always be ready to breathe a short prayer to our Lord. “I need thee every hour, thank you for being nearby.”
Always be ready to breathe a short prayer to our Lord. “I need thee every hour, thank you for being nearby." Click To TweetOpening my heart longingly
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23, 24).
Always be open with God. He knows all about you anyway.
Praising Your name happily
“Let my soul live, and it shall praise You; and let Your judgments help me” (Psalm 119:175).
“While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being” (Psalm 146:2).
“I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You” (Hebrews 2:12).
Both privately and in our worship services, it is well that we “offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name” (Hebrews 13:15).
Quieting my mind peacefully
“For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).
“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength” (Isaiah 26:3, 4).
Jesus quieted the storm on the Sea of Galilee. He can quiet storms and uncertainties in your heart and mind too. Turn to Him.
Jesus quieted the storm on the Sea of Galilee. He can quiet storms and uncertainties in your heart and mind too. Click To TweetRemembering Your wonderful works thoughtfully
“I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, and my spirit makes diligent search” (Psalm 77:6).
“I will remember the works of the Lord; surely I will remember Your wonders of old” (Psalm 77:11).
“You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples” (Psalm 77:14).
Peter, the apostle, not long before his martyrdom, “thought it proper to stir you up by reminding you. . .” (2 Peter 1:13). He has done wonderful things for you.
Singing with grace to You heartily
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16).
At home, in your church, in your car, anywhere sing and listen to the hymns of the faith, the simple words of praise, giving thanks (see Ephesians 5:19, 20).
Trusting You with all my heart expectantly
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5, 6).
These powerful words, penned by King Solomon 3,000 years ago (under divine inspiration) are applicable to believers today and have been for all times past, present, and future. Let us put them into practice in our lives now.
Understanding that You will guide me faithfully
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye” (Psalm 32:8).
“Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart” (Psalm 119:34).
Let our prayers rise to the Lord daily and continue to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.”
Vowing my loyalty to You fervently
“Lord, remember David and all his afflictions; how he swore to the Lord, and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, or go up to the comfort of my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob” (Psalm 132:1-5).
In this passage, David emphasized his vow to select the place for the Temple of Solomon to be erected in the future. Likewise, we can vow our loyalty to Him.
Worshipping You in spirit and truth reverently
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).
In these words of Jesus to the Samaritan woman early in Christ’s ministry, the supreme principle of worship is presented in simplicity. True worship is through the Holy Spirit and as revealed in the truth of God’s Word.
’Xamining myself before You carefully
“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5).
“Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my mind and my heart” (Psalm 26:2).
“But let a man (or woman) examine himself (herself)” (1 Corinthians 11:28).
Self-examination with honesty will doubtless lead to some confession and forgiveness, for you are a child of God, justified by faith and in Christ forever.
Yielding my body to You sacrificially
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (spiritual worship)” (Romans 12:1).
“And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Romans 6:13).
This is a powerful principle and the crux of the truth concerning personal commitment, dedication, and surrender to the will of God. This really is the crowning call to become a total disciple of Jesus Christ, indwelt and empowered by the Spirit of God. It will take time and practice to have this underlying foundation of the dedicated Christian life.
Zeroing in on your will for me submissively
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2).
“Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17).
