Christian Encyclopaedia, Bible Encyclopedia

  The Five Parts of Prayer

 Praise 

If God inhabits (lives in) praise then I, for one, want to start my prayers with praise! Let me tell you, God not only inhabits praise, He is reachable and closer than you can imagine. He is right there with you. Tell Him how much you love him. He wants your praise! 

On 1/5/99 God told me something that I want to share with you. He said, "Praise! Praise! Praise! Fill the skies with praise! Let it run off your lips! Fill the air! Continuous praise! There's not enough praise!" Ahh, ladies and gentlemen, there is POWER in praise! Look at Psalm 149:6-9. In 2Chronicles 20:21-22 the Bible gives us an example of how a battle was won with praise alone! The Israelite soldiers FOLLOWED the praise singers to battle! Think about it!   

But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Ps 22:3

"To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee forever." Ps 30:12

"I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth." Ps 34:1

"For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods." (In case you are wondering-the next verse shows "gods" to be idols.) Ps 96:4

"Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises." Ps 47:6

"Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name." Ps 63:4

"O come let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker." Ps 95:6

"Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp." Ps 150:3

2. Thanks  

We have things to thank God for before asking for more! Even if things are not going well we have the assurance that even they will eventually turn out good according to Romans 8:28! We have to trust Him. We need to thank Him for everything. We can think of things to thank Him for if we try!

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."  1Thess 5:18

 3. Forgiveness 

  You and I have been forgiven a large number of things by our Father in heaven. He is glad to forgive us, so we should be glad to forgive others for what they have done. Plus, we need to continually ask forgiveness because even bad thoughts are considered sin and need to be forgiven. (I imagine we all have a thought or two that are less than pure--especially when some Sweet Petunia cuts us off on the freeway!)

We will need less forgiveness if we keep in mind that everyone we see is a creation of God's. Are we going to be the ones to say that God messed up? We need to look at each person through God's eyes. We are ALL much less than perfect!

 "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:"-Ps 66:18

"And when ye stand praying, forgive, and if ye have aught against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."-Mark 11:25-26

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1Jo 1:9  

4. Asking 

 According to 1John 3:22 in order to receive the things we ask we need to keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. Verse 23 tells us His commandment is we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. If we are not receiving answers to our prayers then we obviously need to dive deeper into the Bible and get our thoughts and prayers more in line with God's will.  

"My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up." Ps 5:3 

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." Ps 19:14

"Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications." Ps 86:6

"But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." Matt 19:26

"Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."Mark 11:24

"And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." Luke 11:9

"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;" Eph 6:18

"Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." -James 5:16 

5. Listening 

Listen for the answers to your prayers. Listen for other things God wants to tell you. "Wait on the LORD: be of good courage and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD." Psalm 27:14 Wait can mean wait a minute, wait till tomorrow, wait for a few years. God will reveal things to you in His time. He knows what you need and also knows when to give it to you.

When you are praying leave plenty of time to wait on God to speak to your heart. Imagine Him to be in the same room with you (because He is!) When Jesus died the curtain to the Holy of Holies was split by God from top to bottom so we could enter into that holy place and be with God! Be open to the thoughts you have while listening.

I have found that having pen and paper in hand is valuable to me. My memory is like a sieve- -some things drain right out. I can't remember everything He says. I enjoy going back over the things God revealed to me. If you don't feel God speaking to you, open your Bible. The Bible is God's Word and will speak to you. Then listen and wait for Him to speak to your heart. It is sure worth the wait!

There is a warning I must give you, however. . .if what you feel is the voice of God does not line up with the Bible then it isn't God. The enemy can disguise himself in order to fool you. 2Cor 11:13-15 warns us: "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works."

In case you are of the belief that God no longer speaks to us since we have everything He wants to say in the Bible I would like you to think about a few things. How do you know what the Bible is saying unless God speaks to you and reveals it to you? 1John 2:27 tells us the anointing of the Holy Spirit teaches us...the Holy Spirit is God. If God gives you a certain scripture that is significant to you, how do you know He did? How does Satan get people to do bad things or get you to take your mind off the Lord without speaking to you? If Satan speaks to you, why wouldn't God? You may have said that God laid someone on your heart or that God provided you with something. . .how do you know?

Enjoy visiting with God. You and He both will be thrilled! "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus” Heb 10:19

"See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven"  Heb 12:25

"Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah."  Ps 4:4

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