Q.
When
I pray, should I expect God to answer all of my prayers?
A. Yes. Jesus said in John 15:7,
"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye
will, and it shall be done unto you," that all of our
prayers shall be answered. One should come to God with an expectation in faith
that their prayer will be answered on the basis that Jesus Christ has made them
right, clean, and worthy to have all prayers answered, but you must come to Him
believing that He is a rewarded of them that diligently seek Him. Hebrews
11:6, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh
to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him." It is also important to realize that not all
prayers will be answered affirmatively. Obviously, there are times when God will
say no or wait.
Q. Why
should a believer desire to pray in tongues?
A. Because when one prays in an unknown
tongue, they will pray for things that they could never perceive with natural
ability. It is a supernatural endowment of the Holy Spirit, Acts 2:4,
"And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak
with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance,"
that enables one to pray for a situation before it occurs or for others in the
body of Christ who are going through tribulations of which we have no conscious
knowledge. The most obvious reason is because we are told to covet earnestly all
spiritual gifts, we are not told to wait for them to come to us, but we are to
desire and pursue them. 1 Corinthians 12:31, "But covet
earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way,"
and 14:1, "Follow after
charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy."
Q. How
often should the believer pray?
A. Jesus said, "Men ought
always to pray and not to faint," Luke 18:1. The
Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 6:18 to pray always with all prayer
in the spirit. The only way it is possible to pray always is by a supernatural
ability (tongues) and a desire to stay in tune with the Holy Spirit's
intercession (Romans 8:26).
Q. Is
God ever too busy to hear my prayers?
A.
God is never too busy to hear your prayers. Through the person of the Holy
Spirit, He is always attuned to your needs and has a supernatural ability to
hear all prayer, from all people, from all over the world, simultaneously. In
the natural understanding, it seems impossible, but God is supernatural and with
Him, all things are possible. Matthew
19:26, "But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is
impossible; but with God all things are possible."
Q. Should
a believer ever be afraid to come to the Heavenly Father in prayer?
A. No, a believer should never be
afraid or feel they should be afraid to come before their Heavenly Father as
long as they have come to Him on the basis of faith in the blood of Christ for
the forgiveness of their sins, for through it, we are made worthy to approach
Him. God forgives sin and remembers it no more. 1 John 1:9, "If
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness," and Hebrews 8:12,
"For I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no
more."
Q. What
is meant by the term praying in the understanding?
A. The Apostle Paul used this term in 1
Corinthians 14:15 when referring to his ability to pray with the
conscious mind. This is when we use our natural abilities of comprehension to
see a need and bring it before the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
Q. What
is meant by the term praying in the spirit?
A. Praying in the spirit is an ability
given to the believer to pray either in an unknown tongue or with groanings
which cannot be uttered with natural ability, so as to intercede for a matter
that they may have no conscious knowledge about. It is a supernatural ability (Romans
8:26 and 1 Corinthians 14:15).
Q. How
long should I pray about a particular matter?
A. We should pray about any given
situation until the Spirit of God has given us the inward witness that we've
released the kind of faith it takes to see the answer to our prayer. This may be
done on a daily basis, but always with an attitude that you have received your
answer even before you've asked. Mark 11:24, "Therefore
I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye
receive them, and ye shall have them," and Isaiah 65:24,
"And it shall come to pass, that before
they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear."
Q.. Is
it good to find a partner to pray with?
A. Yes, it is good to find a partner to
pray with, but only one who has set their heart and mind in agreement with your
request. Jesus said, "If two or more shall agree on earth as touching
any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is
in heaven," Matthew 18:19. The Word of God also says,
"One shall put one thousand to flight and two ten thousand,"
Deuteronomy 32:30. There is a great release of faith (ability to
fully trust) experienced when you are able to find a partner who will get in
agreement with your prayer.
Q.
Should
I pray more than once about a particular matter?
A. The answer to this question is
faith. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen," Hebrews 11:1. Therefore, praying
for a particular matter more than once has a direct bearing on the amount of
faith being released from that individual's spirit, (not the intellect). You may
find yourself praying more than once about a particular matter until the kind of
faith it takes to release it is developed. When praying more than one time, one
should always come to God with an attitude of faith. There will be a point at
which every believer will know in their heart that they have the kind of faith
to believe for the answer.
God will answer any prayer that is
prayed in absolute faith the very first time that one prays. To pray only once
when one does not have the kind of faith it takes to receive an answer, will
simply result in unanswered prayer. James 1:6-8, "But
let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of
the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he
shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his
ways."
Q. What
is travailing prayer?
A. Travailing prayer is a time of
birthing and releasing of faith equal to the task which has been developed in
the womb of the spirit through prayer, worship, thanksgiving and continual
intercessions. It will often result in prayer in tongues occasionally
accompanied by groanings and weeping, along with stammering lips (Romans
8:22, Romans 8:26 and Isaiah 28:11).
Q. Why
is it necessary to fast at times?
A. Because fasting is a time in which a
person can give full attention to the particular area that they are trying to
develop faith for, so as to become pregnant with faith. Fasting will bring an
individual to a point where faith will explode beyond the confines of their
spirit or inner man and in travail, faith is released for answered prayer.
Fasting is a way in which to accelerate or intensify the growth process of faith
(Matthew 17:20-21).
Q. Can
fasting be used as a means to get God's attention?
A. No, fasting cannot be used as a
means to get God's attention. We already have God's full attention because of
what Christ did on Mt. Calvary. "For he that cometh to God must
believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek
Him," Hebrews 11:6. Fasting helps to bring us to that
place where we will believe Him in the spirit (inner man).
Q. How
can an attitude of thanksgiving help my prayer life?
A. Paul said in Philippians 4:6
to pray with thanksgiving because it is a faith-releasing vehicle. Before you
have even physically seen your answer, you are thanking God for it! This is one
way to accomplish Mark 11:24, "Therefore
I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye
receive them, and ye shall have them."
