Making Prayer Powerful and Effective in Your Life

By Thomas Denegre

Do you want your prayer life to be powerful and effective? Don’t you want your prayers to be so simple like Jesus’, that with one-word God will answer it? Here’s how to stand tall like an oak tree with the power of Holy Spirit flowing through you.

Today’s reading comes from Mathew 7:8-11 where Jesus states;

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Mathew 7: 8-11

Jesus is instructing us how to use expectant prayer in our lives.  Much like a dance it requires both
partners to work together in harmony for top performance. Having been a leader in the Kairos Prison Ministry for two decades and serving on prayer and healing teams, here are a few insights on effective prayer.

It first starts with the right belief foundation or framework.  Jesus calls us to live in life union with him and to have his words live powerfully within us to obtain our desires (John 15:7), and “to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33). Jesus and his words must live top in our mind, so it comes first in our lives.  It is critical that you first identify yourself as a son of God, so all thoughts are centered on Him.  You should consider yourself first a disciple of Christ who happens to be perform an occupation, versus working in an occupation who happens to think of God occasionally. 

By having our heart joined in love with Jesus, we can trust his word and promises to always be true and effective.  We are called to have 100% faith in his word which requires us to taste and eat his words. For it is written,

·         “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Matthew 24:35

·         “The word of the Lord abides forever.” 1 Peter 1:25

·         “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:8

As children of God we will receive the full faith, love, trust, and security when we open our hearts to receive his love. Humility is the open pathway of channeling God through us and onto others.  Pride, self-centeredness, intellectualism, and solipsism (the view that the self is all that can be known to exist.) is our enemy.  Our downfall comes when we depend on our performance and bank account, versus the power of God. Therefore, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Ps. 111:10); "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" (Prov. 1:7). Wisdom and knowledge, not intellectualism, allows you to be open, teachable, and productive to the Lord.

Feelings are another dangerous roadblock to effective prayer. Jesus stated we are to believe and have faith in God; not emotions.  A famous story tells of the Roman centurion who went to Jesus to heal his servant whom was in a distant place.  The Centurion knew, and not felt, that based on Jesus’s authority and power alone, Jesus could command the servant to be healed.  “When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” Mathew 8:5 

Just as a policeman knows, and not feels, he has authority to perform his work, we too, must know and act in the same way.  As a son of God, we have received the full blessings and authority (Ephesians 1:3) to act on the behalf of God.  For example, in Mark Chapter 11, a corrupted fig tree fooled Jesus, so Jesus cursed it and killed it. A day later the disciples saw the tree was dead.  Jesus responded by stating;

“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” Mark 11:22-26

Jesus calls us to have faith in God to fulfill our prayer.  It’s important for us to know the five blockers of our faith.  If you pressed your fist into your other hand, you’ll have resistance.  On the resisting hand are the five fingers of resistance called fear, unbelief, doubt, unforgiveness, and unrepentance.  The other hand represents your faith.  If you remove the five fingers of resistance, then you’ll remove all resistance to your faith allowing pure faith to pass through uninterrupted. Hence the reason Jesus stated; “…Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Mathew 17:20

It is pure faith that allows the Holy Spirit to channel his power unhindered, that can move the mountains of bad thoughts, mental strongholds, diseases, illnesses, injuries, and demonic influence in people’s lives.  Pure faith consists of a humble heart living in life union with Jesus who is teachable to the Lord; has full confidence and trust in the Lord and His word; is filled with courage and wisdom, and is dependent on the Holy Spirit to flow through him and onto others.   Pure faith ensures the heart is not poisoned with unforgiveness nor loaded down with unrepentant sins.   Lastly, we will always trust God to deliver what is needed and not necessarily what is wanted. By his word, power, and grace, we know our generous Father seeks to give us the best so we may enjoy an abundant life in His Kingdom. (John 10:10)