Prayer Commands John 16: 23-24 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
What did God command us to do about prayer?
Pray without ceasing – (1 Thes. 5:17, Luke 18:1, 2 Tim. 1:3) You can pray while driving to church for the preacher to say something that will help you, edify you and draw you closer to Jesus Christ. Then when you’re driving home from church pray for God to help you apply the things you just learned from the sermon so that your life can become more conformed to the life of Jesus Christ. Keep your mind in prayer as you go through your day and that will keep you on the straight and narrow and out of the gutter.
Watch and pray – (Matt. 26:41, Luke 21:36) Be vigilant for the pitfalls of temptations, attacks from the devil and watch for opportunities to witness (1 Peter 5:8, Eph. 6:18). Watch your mind and heart and know your areas of weakness so that you can avoid being ensnared (1 Peter 4:7).
Don’t worry – (Phil. 4:6, Matt. 6:34) Marketers feed on your tendency to worry to get you to buy their products. If we put matters in the hands of Jesus Christ then He will take care of them and we need not worry. Worry is the advanced interest on trouble that never comes. When you find yourself prone to worry then talk to God, get encouragement from Him and let the worry go. It’s a command.
Pray with thanksgiving – (1 Thes. 5:18, Heb. 13:15, Col. 3:17) Be more grateful and less needy.
Pray without vain repetitions – (Matt. 6:7) Praying fifty Hail Mary’s on a rosary is a vain repetition and will do you no good. When you keep praying for something when God has already made it clear that He is not going to fulfill the request (2 Cor. 12:7-9) that is a vain repetition.
Keep His commandments – (1 John 3:22, 14:15) If you are doing things that are not pleasing to God and are not keeping His commandments, you are going to have a terrible prayer life. This is not a matter of being under the Old Testament Law because Jesus Christ gave additional commandments in the New Testament (1 John 3:23, John 15:7). The words of the Lord must abide in you.
Pray for others – (1 Tm. 2:1-2) Intercessory prayer is one of the most beneficial prayers you can pray. The Lord tells us that this is good and acceptable (1 Tim 2:3).
Pray with importunity – (Luke 11:8-9) This is prayer with insistent urging.
Pray with fasting – (Mark 9:29) Moses, Esther, Daniel and Jesus are all examples of people who used fasting to strengthen their prayers. There are some situations where fasting is the only way that you will be able to get God to answer your prayer.