Do You Have A Successful Prayer Life?

In silence, at the close of day,
When sun and light have gone away,
I kneel in solitude to pray,
Alone with God.

When sad, I count my every care,
And all the grief that I must bear;
Then close my eyes in peaceful prayer,
Alone with God.

When triumph brings me joy anew,
And I feel blessed in all I do,
I ne'er forget my rendezvous
Alone with God.

Through life, I always want to be
A Christian of reality,
And keep that hour so dear to me,
Alone with God.
-David L. Diehl. 

When we ask what it means to be a Christian, when we seek to find how to be the person God wants us to be, when we search to discover how to be Christ-like in our life and faith, we cannot over look the fact that Jesus took time to pray. These weren't fleeting prayers. Jesus devoted a chunk of time to prayer, sometimes praying all night.

Church growth expert, George Barna found that prayer was the foundational ministry of rapidly growing churches in America. He wrote: “The call to prayer [in these churches] was the battle cry of the congregation: it rallied the troops. These people understood the power of prayer. They actively and consistently included prayer in their services, in their events, their meetings and their personal ministries.”

Interestingly, surveys of U.S. adults and teenagers by Barna Research Ltd. from 1991–2001 revealed the following statistics about people's prayer habits:

Who prays? 

-82% of adults and 89% of teenagers pray in a normal week.
-88% of women and 75% of men pray in a typical week.
-People living in the South and Midwest pray more than those living in the West and Northeast (around 86% to 76%, respectively).
-96% of born-again Christians pray weekly, while 72% of people not describing themselves as born-again ---pray on a weekly basis.

What do people pray about?  

-95% of adults thank God for what he has done in their lives.
-76% ask for forgiveness for specific sins.
-67% spend time in prayer worshiping God by praising his superior attributes.
-61% ask for help for specific needs.
-47% are silent during prayer to listen for God.

What do people believe? 

-89% of adults believe "there is a God who watches over you and answers your prayers."
-82% of people believe that prayer can change what happens in a person's life.

When and how much do people pray? 

-An average prayer lasts just under five minutes.
-52% of people who pray do so several times a day.
-37% of people say they pray once a day.
-33% of adults regularly participate in a prayer group or prayer-focused meeting.
-21% have extended prayer time with other family members (25% among Protestants and 13% among Catholics).

Jesus knew that prayer was first. You need to simply read the Gospels to realize that he prayed often and before every critical juncture in his ministry and life. The early church considered prayer a priority. Nearly every important event in the apostolic church was preceded by prayer meetings. Did Jesus and his apostles know something that we need to know?

In prayer we make certain assumptions:

1) That there is a God.
2) That we need God.
3) That God hears prayer.
4) That God answers prayer.
5) That God loves man.

If we are going to have a successful prayer life we must pray with sincerity, humility, fervency (zeal and intensity), persistency, watchfulness, thoughtfulness, godly living, a life of self-denial (or to deny things that are right for the cause of Christ), in accordance to God’s will, in the name of Jesus, and in faith. For, if our prayers are going to be pleasing unto God they must be offered acceptably.

Scripture: John 15:7; Philippians 4:6; Mark 11:24; Luke 11:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Romans 8:26; Matthew 6:6; Luke 18:1; Mark 1:35

Prayer: Almighty God, from whom all thoughts of truth and peace proceed, kindle in the hearts of all men the true love of peace, and guide with Your pure and peaceable wisdom those who make decisions for the nations of the earth; that in tranquility Your kingdom may go forward, till the earth be filled with the knowledge of Your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

May God bless you!

Wendy