There is a principle that I would like to share with you. This is a very critical principle to be understood by those who pray.

GOD WANTS YOU TO PRAY EFFECTIVELY.

Many people have stopped praying because they feel that their prayers are ineffective. They don't believe their prayer time is making a difference. They don't see any answers to prayer, so they give up.

Doing What Jesus Did
When the disciples were influenced by the prayer life of Jesus, they asked Jesus to teach them to pray. He then gave them an outline to use in prayer that we refer to as "The Lord's Prayer."

Use this prayer outline to pray on a regular everyday basis. You cannot miss God's will when you are praying the Word of God because God's Word is His will. Follow the example that Jesus gave His disciples.

Then, learn to be sensitive to the leading of God's Spirit. James 5:16 gives us this promise, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." In the original writings, the word "effectual" really means, "energized by the spirit."

Be Led By The Spirit
In other words, fervent prayer that is put within you by the Holy Spirit has much influence: When you sense God is calling you to pray, PRAY!

The most effective prayers you can ever pray are those prayers directly from the Word of God and those prayers the Holy Spirit puts within your spirit.

When you are praying and suddenly, you feel a fervent urge to pray seriously, by all means, PRAY SERIOUSLY, FERVENTLY, AND PASSIONATELY.

These prayers are the prayers that are bringing God's will to pass upon the earth. Follow this teaching from God's Word and you will find it is an effective example.

Source: The Importance of Prayer by Dwight Thompson
Excerpt permission granted by Cornerstone Publications