Steps to Prayer, by Billy Graham
Excerpt from "Prayer,"
The Billy Graham Sermon Series
Note: The entire message is excellent, and we strongly advise you to obtain it by requesting it from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Ask for "Prayer, The Billy Graham Sermon Series." A link will be provided below. However, here are some simple, practical steps given on the last pages of the pamphlet they have available.--Ed.]
The World has no power greater than prayer. Here are some practical steps to encourage you in praying.
1. DESIRE THE WILL OF GOD
Jesus taught us to pray, "Your will be done." The key is not the words, but your attitude. Seek God's will and God's best for whatever you are praying about. he may respond in unexpected ways that please and will delight you. "You will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10.
2. SEARCH YOUR HEART
God may not respond when you allow sin to remain in your life. If so, don't stop praying. Rather, confess your sins or wrong motives to God. He already knows your heart. God has promised always to respond to that prayer (see I John 1: 9). "If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened" (Psalm 66:18).
3. PRAY IN FAITH
Express your requests freely to Godin childlike faith. As a child who trusts a wise and loving parent, ask in complete faith that He is able to do whatever you ask and that He will know what is best. "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops" (James 5: 16-18). 4. PRAY EVERY DAY
God wants to hear from you regularly. He wants a relationship. Take time to talk to God daily and throughout the day, not just when you face a crisis and not only with a list of wants and needs. "Pray continually" (I Thessalonians 5: 17)
5. PRAY FOR GOD'S GLORY
Pray for things to happen in such a way as to provide God with the credit, and to give God the glory. He is powerful, magnificent, and majestic. And He is still our closest, most intimate Friend. Praise Him and ask for things that matter to Him. "To the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen" (Romans 16: 27).
End Note: These are excellent encouragements and guiding observations by Billy Graham, whose ministry has been so effective and long-lasting because, as he says, consistent, strenuous prayer for every meeting by himself and his staff and supporters have made it so. He gives the credit for any fruitfulness of ministry to the prayer support. Names such as his are very impressive, but we must remind ourselves, though, that nobody is the world's expert on prayer, though some people are more effective than others, undeniably. A little grandmother, utterly unknown to the wide world but who loves Jesus with a simple, childlike, trusting faith, who obeys God in her life and loves him with all her heart, will be much more effective than the world's greatest theologian who writes volumes on prayer. How can we know that? RESULTS. Effective prayer will produce fruit, or results. Effective prayer will get what is prayed for, specifically too. My own mother is a prayer warrior for the Lord, and her prayer is simple and to the point, and she pray's in the Name of Jesus, which she always says is so important to do when praying. She doesn't just say that, she practices it, praying in the Name of Jesus, the Name that is above every other name and authority on earth and in heaven. Her prayers, everybody around her knows, go directly to the Lord's ear, and she invariably gets answers, though some are long-standing prayers with answers that come only gradually over a period of years of patience and perseverance in supplications unto the Lord for the desired end. People come to her for prayer, so she is known for her effective praying. I myself have seen countless prayers of hers answered. Wouldn't you consider her an expert on prayer? I would! Many others here would too! She gets RESULTS. She has God's ear. She always has love for the people she prays for--she prays often in tears. She prays humbly, as a sinner saved by grace. God hears her prayers, and when God hears our prayers, they are answered! You can count on that! I also have a dear aunt passed to heaven who wrote on prayer some good things that can be very helpful. You might also refer to them. I will provide a link to them ont he Home Page.
I have read recently from one very perceptive writer that the disciples, dispite all their glaring mistakes and their jockeying for highest positions in the Kingdom, got one thing right before the events of the Cross and Resurrection that changed everything for them. They asked Jesus to teach them how to prayer, and he didn't admonish them for their ignorance but showed them how, through praying what is called "The Lord's Prayer." --Ed.
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