Ephesians 6:18, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
Paul taught in Ephesians that the disciples were to pray, “all kinds of prayers” in their Christian life. Some may think of prayer as only being one-dimensional. However, there are many different aspects and dimensions to prayer. We will be going over the different kinds of prayer in the next few lessons. Let us start first with the most popular form of prayer, which is the “prayer of request.”
The prayer of request is praying to God for Him to meet our needs. Our needs sometimes can seem too big for God or too small. However, no need that we present to God is ever too big or too small. God loves to hear us pray and meet our needs.
When I first taught my children to pray, I had to be careful to not discourage their requests because I thought they were “too childish” (I’ve prayed many times for their scratches and bruises). God reminded me that everything we do, from breathing to eating, is literally by God’s grace. Paul said in Acts 17:28, “For in him we live and move and have our being.” Therefore, we should never be embarrassed to bring our requests to God.
Jesus taught His disciples this kind of prayer in “The Lord’s Prayer” when he prayed, “Give us our daily bread.” Also, Jesus spoke of this kind of prayer in John 14:13-14 when He said, “13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” We, as disciples, need to have faith to tap into this great promise from Jesus by making our requests known to God in prayer.
A preacher once said that it would be a great tragedy for many to go to heaven and see all the treasures that remained unopened because we failed to pray and ask God, in faith, to meet our needs. I do not want to leave any of God’s promises in heaven that are meant to come to earth. A.W. Pink wrote, “Prayer is the way and means God has appointed for the communication of the blessings of His goodness to His people.”
You can pray the prayer of request in the following ways; (1) Come to God the Father in Jesus’ name, (2) Pray based on God’s will revealed in the Bible and (3) End with praise and confidence in God’s power. Here is an example of the prayer of request regarding the need of finances: “Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus asking you to provide financial blessings for me so that I might be a blessing to my family and community. I ask you to bless me according to your Word in Luke 6:38 because you said that if I give, it will be given back to me. Therefore, as a faithful tither and giver of offerings, I ask for you to pour out your blessings upon me for your Kingdom’s sake according to your Word. I believe you are able to do this and I praise you for your goodness. Amen.”
God’s promises come with conditions that must be obeyed for God to respond and answer accordingly; He is not our personal genie. Be obedient to God’s Word and remain submitted to His will so that you can receive all that God wants to give you. In doing so, I believe you will see God answer your prayers and meet your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus!
Reflection
Do you believe that God wants to meet your needs?
Action
- Think about three important needs in your life.
- Find a promise from God in His Word for each of your needs.
- In conjunction with obedience to God’s Word, pray to God the Father in Jesus’ name and make your requests known with faith. Then praise God and take Him at His Word.
