Conditions For Prayer

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Scripture

I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

John 14:13-14, NIV

Quote

If we recorded our prayers, we would see that most of them are primarily about ourselves.

~Franklin Graham

My Thoughts

Basically, these are Franklin Graham’s conditions for answered prayer. I have added one to make it seven, the sacred number. They come from a devotional that I found on the shelves of the CARING PLACE thrift store. I think the book cost me a quarter and it is one of the best I have read, and I read a lot of devotionals.

  1. We must pray in Jesus name. This means we must pray in accordance to HIS will. 1 John 5:14…This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
  2. Our prayers must glorify God. John 14:13…I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified.
  3. We must pray out of love for Christ. Matthew 7:7…“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” {this is not a suggestion; it is an imperative command}  14:15…“If you love me, keep my commands.
  4. We must ask in faith. James 1:6-7… But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Mark 11:24…Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 
  5. We must be persistent and consistent. Luke 18:1, “We should pray at all times and not lose heart.”
  6. We must pray together. Matthew 18:19-20…“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
  7. We must not pray selfishly. James 4:3…When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Actually, I changed one of Franklin’s while writing the blog; so five are his and two came from yours truly. Which two are not in Franklin’s book? I do agree with Franklin’s quote: I think it is right. My greatest tendency is to pray selfishly. The hardest discipline I face is to get the focus off of myself. Our first focus must be on God Himself, this part of prayer is called ADORATION. O come let us ADORE HIM. David excelled in praise and adoration. This is one reason I use the Psalms daily: they help me where I am weak. There is nothing wrong with bringing our problems to the LORD or confessing our sin, but we need to begin with pure worship of Him to whom we are speaking.

Extra

It was all of 12 degrees when I came to the office which I cannot heat in this weather. I have on three shirts and a hoody. Lord willing, when I get my building moved, I am putting in a wood heater. I am not complaining. I am thankful that we have electricity but in this weather, and with the electric heater I have, it is not enough.

Extra/Extra

Another tip on giving God praise at the beginning of your prayer time: read hymns. Most of them are inspired and written by believers, who like David, excelled in giving God praise and honor. One such hymn is SING PRAISE TO GOD WHO REIGNS ABOVE, written in 1669 by Johann Schutz…

Sing praise to God who reigns above, the God of all creation, the God of power, the God of love, the God of our salvation.

The two conditions not in Franklin’s book are six and seven.

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