Today’s Guest post is written by Sophia Reed, you can learn a little more about Sophia at the end of this article.

A common misconception about prayer is that it is a formal ritual that has to take place between you and God.  Some people feel they have to pray for hours and hours on end in order for their prayers to be heard.  Some feel they must only pray for others and they have no right to pray for their own needs.  Some people are confused about prayer and are completely lost on how to go about it all together. Prayer is one of the things that confuses many Christians.  Either they do not understand how to do it effectively or they do not understand the significance. 

Before I get into the power of prayer, one must understand that God is not a genie.  Just because you pray for a million dollars every day and truly believe in your heart that you are going to get it, does not mean it is going to happen.

The Bible teaches us “if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20.

This verse alone gives people the impression that if they truly believe something and they do not doubt, whatever it is they prayed for will happen.  However you cannot take the verse out of context.  It does not matter how much you want something or how much you believe it, if God does not want you to have it, then you won’t.  The bigger picture in prayer is understanding God, and understanding God’s will.  When you pray in accordance to God’s will, you will receive whatever you pray for because you know it is God’s will for your prayers to be answered.

The Bible teaches us in James 4: 2-3 “You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

So yes, prayer does change things, and through it you can have whatever you want from God.  But first you must know God’s will to ask for the right thing and your motives have to be right when you pray in order for your prayers to be answered.

You must remember that God knows your heart; He knows who you are, and what you really think.  So if you are praying for someone else, but the only reason why you are doing it is so that others can see how religious you are so that you can get praises from others on what a wonderful Christian you; then you are blocking your prayers from being answered.  If you are praying to be successful in an area, but the only reason why you want this is to make a lot of money and spend it on material things that do not matter, then your prayer will be blocked.

It is important to know the power of prayer because prayer is the most powerful spiritual weapon that you have.  However, our prayers are often not effective because we are not doing it properly. 

In closing if you want your prayer to work, spend time with God, so that you can know Him and His ways.  It is through the direction of Holy Spirit that you will learn how to pray which will make your prayers more effective.

About the Author:

Email: Sophiareedsbook@gmail.com