Prayer is such a wonderful and powerful tool the Lord has given us.  We read in Psalm 88:2, “Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry.”  In this psalm, David asks the Lord to listen to his prayers.  Proverbs 4:20 says, “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.”  In this psalm, the Lord implores us to listen to His words.  How important it is to have this relationship with the Lord that we address Him often in prayer, and we read His Word and allow Him to speak to us.  As in any relationship, communication (back and forth) is needed for that relationship to be healthy and profitable. 

If we know we are not living in the Lord’s will, that will put up a barrier between us and the Lord.  How can we be unfaithful to the Lord, but expect Him to be faithful to us and answer our prayers?  We read in James 4:2-3, “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”  When we get away from the Lord, it usually begins with a lack of personal, private prayer.  Then we do not receive things from the Lord because we simply do not ask!  Often, if we are not in close fellowship with the Lord, our prayers are filled with petitions to satisfy our fleshly desires.  In protective love to us, the Lord will not give us things that will cause us to be more worldly or that will cause an even greater distance between us. 

How can you pray now and have the Lord listen and answer your prayers?  Consider these verses:

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.”  Realizing you are not living according to the will of God, confess that sin to Him.  This is your first step towards restoration.  When you truly confess your sins to the Lord, He will forgive you of your sins and cleanse you of those sins. 

Romans 8:26, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”  Depend upon the Spirit of God to lead you in proper prayers to the Lord.  The Spirit realizes your needs much more than you do.  Wait upon Him when you pray and allow Him to direct your heart so that you might pray according to God’s perfect will. 

1 John 5:14, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.”  When we are walking according to the Lord’s will, the Spirit will lead our prayers and cause us to long for the Lord’s will in our lives.  When we pray according to God’s will, He will hear and will answer our prayers!  We are told in James 5:16 that, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”  As we live righteously before the Lord, our prayers become more powerful and effective.

James 1:6, “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.”  You should pray, believing the Lord loves you and desires to minister to your needs.  ALWAYS exercise faith when you are praying.  Trust the Lord to does that which is right in your life.

I pray these verses and thoughts will help you in your desire to live according to the Lord’s will.  Then you can pray according to the Lord’s will and have your prayers answered according to the Lord’s will.  Surely that is the desire of all faithful believers…to have the Lord’s will done in our lives. (CC)  (531.2)