We know that we need to pray but struggle to pray. Why is this so? Could it be that we don’t really believe that our prayers will be answered? If we do believe then we would be spending more time praying and less time talking about praying more. Jesus prayed a lot. He took time away from the crowds to pray. His disciples could not stay awake to pray. Jesus had to reprimand them for their lack of faith. Jesus yearned to hear from His Father. He only did what He heard and saw His Father doing. Could this be the key to breakthrough prayers?
We need to ask God how we need to pray for a particular problem or situation. Many of us pray general prayers. We need to be specific in our prayers. This is only possible when we know how and what to pray. Some prayers are for healing while others are for deliverance. Some may be for salvation. Healing can be physical healing, inner healing or spiritual healing. Many pray without knowledge of what to pray for. We could be praying for something which is not God’s will. God allows certain situations and certain people to come into power to achieve His purpose. God allowed Israel, because of their disobedience, many times to be attacked by surrounding nations and defeated. We see this over and over again. Some kings reigned and prospered while others were defeated and lost much.
We need to ask God to lead us and guide us in our prayers. He will reveal to us in the Spirit how to pray. When we pray in God’s will and His word we will see results. I prayed for fruit to bear on my banana tree. It took three years before it bore fruit. I kept in faith till it bore fruit despite the negative opinions of others. Many times once we have received His word, we need to persist in prayer till we receive the answer. Delay is not denial. The key is to know what God wants and then to pray the answer.
