Concerning any matter, we need to pray. Now let us consider how to pray.
1. “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).
We must ask the Lord to teach us to pray because none of us can pray. When we come to the Lord, we should not pray according to our own determination or idea or according to our own heart or tendency. We should place ourselves before the Lord and quietly wait for the Lord through His Spirit to teach us how to pray. While we wait, the Spirit will lead us and give us an inward sense about how we should pray and the content of our prayer. We should then pray according to this inward sense. When our inward sense is according to the Spirit’s leading, our prayer will be according to the Lord’s teaching and leading.
2. “In My name” (John 14:13-14; 15:16; 16:23-24, 26).
We must pray in the Lord’s name when we pray. This does not mean saying “In Jesus’ name” at the end of our prayer. We may say this at the end of our prayers, but to pray in the Lord’s name is not a matter of saying a phrase. It is a matter of being one with the Lord. Only a person who is one with the Lord is in the Lord’s name. Therefore, praying in the Lord’s name means that in the matter of prayer, we are one with the Lord; the Lord’s affairs are our affairs, and our affairs are the Lord’s affairs. This is similar to my writing a check, signing my name, and then asking someone to go to the bank to withdraw the money. Thus, my business becomes his business, and his business is my business. In this matter he is one with me, so he can withdraw money from the bank in my name. When he goes to the bank to withdraw money, he is withdrawing money in my name. In order to withdraw my money, he cannot be in his own name; he must be in my name. He must do it in my name. At that time the bank regards him as if he were me. He is in my name because he and I are one. Similarly, when we pray in the Lord’s name, we are one with the Lord in prayer. We must be one with the Lord in the matter of prayer and allow the Lord’s affairs to become our affairs and our affairs to become the Lord’s affairs. Since this kind of prayer matches the Lord’s will, the Lord willingly answers and accomplishes it.
3. “Abide in Me” (John 15:7).
If we want to pray effectively, we must abide in the Lord. This is related to praying in the Lord’s name. These two matters are part of the Lord’s teaching in John 14 through 16. Praying in the Lord’s name is a result of abiding in the Lord. If we want to pray in the Lord’s name, we must abide in the Lord. In John 14 through 16 the Lord speaks of abiding in Him, and He also speaks of praying in His name. Abiding in the Lord is based on being one with the Lord and fellowshipping with the Lord. It is the practical experience of being one with the Lord. When we abide in the Lord, fellowship with Him, and are one with Him practically in our experience, we spontaneously pray in His name. The prayer that comes out of the Lord spontaneously through our abiding in Him matches His heart’s desire; therefore, He will answer and accomplish what we ask. We must eliminate the separation between us and the Lord and fellowship with Him constantly in order to be up to the standard of the Lord and His heart’s desire.
4. “Praying in the Holy Spirit”; “Praying at every time in spirit”; “The Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Jude 20; Eph. 6:18; Rom. 8:26, see also v. 27).
To pray is to contact God and touch His heart’s desire. Only the Spirit of God knows the things of God (1 Cor. 2:11). Therefore, prayer must be in the Holy Spirit and in our spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit and is mingled as one with our spirit. When we pray in our spirit, we also pray in the Holy Spirit. When we pray with our spirit, we pray by the Holy Spirit. Praying in spirit and with our spirit means to pray according to the feeling of our deepest part, not according to our thoughts, opinions, or determinations. Praying according to our thoughts, opinions, and determinations is to pray with our mind. We pray with our spirit only when we pray according to the feeling of our deepest inward part, because the feeling in our deepest inward part is of our spirit and from our spirit. If we pray according to the feeling of our deepest inward part, we will also pray in the Holy Spirit and by the Holy Spirit. This kind of prayer easily contacts God, touches His heart’s desire, prays forth His will, and receives His answer and accomplishment.
Often the Holy Spirit gives us a burden, but our mind cannot understand the meaning of the burden. It cannot translate the burden into words that can be prayed. At such times the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. Thus, the groanings in our deepest inward part often are a kind of spiritual prayer. Sometimes we have a heavy burden within, but we cannot utter anything in prayer to God; we can only groan. After groaning within, the heavy burden is gone. This kind of groaning comes from the Holy Spirit’s abiding in us. The Holy Spirit’s groaning is according to the will of God, so God listens to this kind of groaning prayer. We must not lightly value, interrupt, or suppress this groaning. We should go according to our inward feeling and allow the Spirit to groan within us. Thus, we will pray freely in the Holy Spirit, out of the Holy Spirit, and through the Holy Spirit.
5. “According to His will” (1 John 5:14; see also Matt. 26:39).
Prayer that is truly spiritual asks God to accomplish His will. Therefore, we must not pray according to our own will but according to God’s will. The Lord prayed in this way in the Garden of Gethsemane. Our prayer should also be according to His will. In order to pray in this way, we must abide in the Lord and pray in and by the Holy Spirit.
6. “Ask in faith”; “Believe that you have received them” (James 1:6; Mark 11:24).
Prayer asks for things not yet seen; therefore, it must be in faith. We should not only pray in faith but also pray until we have faith, until we believe. We should not only believe that we will receive an answer but even more that we have received an answer. When we pray to the point of believing, to the point of having faith, we will give thanks and no longer ask. Continuing to ask causes our faith to depart and to ask in vain.
7. “Enter into your private room, and shut your door and pray” (Matt. 6:6).
The Lord’s word in this verse indicates that we should not make a show of our prayer before others. We should come before God in a hidden place. Showing off our prayer before others is hypocritical and false; it is prayer for people to see and hear. Hidden prayer before God is honest and true; it is prayer for God to hear and see. Therefore, according to this principle, we should not pray as a show before others; we should pray honestly before God.
The Lord’s word here may also indicate that when we pray, we should not allow anything to distract and disrupt our prayer. Even if our circumstances do not allow us to be in a hidden place, we should not allow outside things to affect our concentration in prayer. This is why we close our eyes when we pray.
8. “Prayer...to God” (Acts 12:5).
To pray is to ask of God; therefore, our prayer should be to God. No matter what person or thing we pray for, our heart should not be directed toward the persons or matters of our prayer. Our attention should not be on them but on God.
9. “Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart hastily utter” (Eccl. 5:2; see also John 12:27-28).
We should not hastily utter anything in prayer or pray anything loosely. We must quietly wait and open our mouth to speak according to the feeling that God gives us in our spirit and in our inward understanding of His will. When we pray, we should be accurate in how we address God and in our words. In Matthew 15 a Canaanite woman begged the Lord, calling Him Son of David, but the Lord did not answer her. The Lord as the Son of David was for the chosen race of Israel and was not related to a Gentile Canaanite woman. Finally, she prayed based on the word dog, which came from the Lord’s mouth, and stood in the position of a Gentile dog (v. 27). She called Him “Lord” and “Master,” and the Lord answered her immediately. The titles and words that we use in prayer are one of the secrets of prayer, and they can cause our prayer to be answered. This is similar to being careful about how we address and speak to a person in our dealings with him. We must pay attention to this matter.
10. “Pouring out my soul” (1 Sam. 1:15; see also Lam. 2:19).
Prayer must come from our heart. We must pour out our soul. We cannot pray shallow words. Only honest prayer that is not perfunctory can be heard by God.
11. “Persistence”; “Earnestly” (Luke 11:8; 22:44).
Prayer must be out of an honest heart and must be persistent. If prayer does not move you, it will not move God.
12. “With strong crying and tears” (Heb. 5:7).
Sometimes when we pray, a burden can press us to the point of strong crying and tears. If we have never prayed with tears, there is a shortage in our experience of prayer.
13. “Do not babble empty words” (Matt. 6:7).
The words of our prayer should be brief and to the point. Although we can repeat our words as the Lord did in the Garden of Gethsemane, we should not babble empty words.
14. “Entreated the Lord three times” (2 Cor. 12:8; see also Matt. 26:44).
In order to break through in a matter, we often need to thoroughly and clearly pray several times. Both the Lord Jesus and Paul prayed in this way.
15. “Ask...seek...knock” (Luke 11:9).
Sometimes asking in prayer is not enough; we must seek. Sometimes seeking in prayer is not enough; we must knock. We should ask for the Lord’s blessing, seek the Lord Himself, and knock to enter into the presence of the Lord. In prayer we should initially ask for the Lord’s blessing, then gradually seek the Lord Himself, and finally, knock to enter into the Lord’s presence. Prayer should always move from the Lord’s blessing to touching the Lord Himself and then to entering into His presence.
16. “Fasted” (Acts 13:3; see also 14:23).
When we encounter a desperate situation, we should fast and pray. The principle of fasting is that we are willing to endure physical suffering before God and give up our rightful enjoyment in order to pray for a particular matter. Sometimes we need to pray this way.
17. “Always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1).
Our prayer needs to be constant; we should not pray intermittently. Furthermore, we need to hold out to the end in our prayer and not lose heart.
18. “Pray in every place, lifting up holy hands” (1 Tim. 2:8).
We should pray in every place, and we can pray in every place. This requires a holy living. We must have a holy living to have holy hands that can be lifted up in every place. Lifting up our hands is a gesture of sincerity to God. In our prayer we should be able to lift up holy hands to God in every place, praying sincerely.
19. “By means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance” (Eph. 6:18).
Prayer also needs to be at every time, by means of all prayer and petition, and with watching in all perseverance. We should not pray for just a moment or pray in only one way. We should pray at every time by means of all prayer. Furthermore, we should watch in all perseverance in order to pray at every time by means of all prayer.
20. “Unceasingly pray” (1 Thes. 5:17).
Prayer is as essential for our spiritual life as breathing is for our physical body. It cannot cease. Our spirit of prayer can pray spontaneously at any time in any place. In any situation we can spontaneously pray. Unceasing prayer is like the spontaneous blinking of our eyes.
21. “Anticipated the dawn and cried out” (Psa. 119:147; see also Mark 1:35).
The morning is a quiet time, and our soul is alert, so it is the best time for prayer. Therefore, we should anticipate the dawn to get up and pray.
22. “Three times daily he knelt on his knees and prayed and gave thanks before his God” (Dan. 6:10; see also Psa. 55:17).
Daniel prayed three times daily on his knees before God. David prayed to God in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. We should pray at least three times a day to God. Furthermore, if it is convenient, we should kneel before God, praying respectfully and sincerely.
23. “Call out all day long” (Psa. 86:3).
We should pray daily. We should call out, especially when we are in great and heavy danger or difficulty.
24. “Went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12).
This verse speaks of the Lord Jesus’ prayer. When we go to a mountain to pray, our heart can be free, and we will feel closer to God than when we pray in our home. When we pray at night, our heart and spirit also can be quiet, and we can touch God more deeply than when we pray during the day. Sometimes, we should pray in this way, and sometimes we should spend the whole night in prayer.
25. “Prayer and petition with thanksgiving” (Phil. 4:6).
We should not only pray but also petition with thanksgiving. Prayer is general, and petition is specific. Sometimes general prayer is not enough, so we need specific petition. In addition to these, we should add thanksgiving. We should thank God for caring for us, giving us the authority to pray, and hearing our prayer.
26. “The word which You have spoken...Do as You have spoken” (2 Sam. 7:25).
Prayer is best when we ask according to God’s word. If we grasp God’s word and pray to Him, He will accomplish His word for us.
27. “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” (Matt. 6:33).
The most important point of prayer is to care for God’s rights and God’s will. Therefore, we should seek His kingdom and His righteousness. Seeking His kingdom and His righteousness is to care for God’s rights and God’s will. If we do this, He will accomplish what we seek.
28. “Command” (Isa. 45:11).
Our prayer can be so high that we command God. Sometimes we should not merely pray. We can petition, offer thanksgiving, and also command God. God has committed Himself to us in His Word; He wants us to command Him to do the things that we agree with according to His desire. We should command God to do things according to His Word, or His will. We should command our circumstances to change, our troubles to retreat, and our sicknesses to leave. Moses commanded the Red Sea to part, and the Lord Jesus commanded the wind and waves to be calm. When our prayer arrives at this highest peak, we can command, and it becomes a command. We should exercise to arrive at this level of authoritative prayer.