P.U.S.H.! Pray Until Something Happens! As believers in Christ Jesus, God expects us to always pray.
I Thessalonians 5:17 says:

“Pray without ceasing.”

Now, does that mean we are to pray nonstop for 24 hours?

No, of course not! Even Jesus, while He was here on earth, didn’t kneel with his head bowed praying for 24 hours. But, what it means is that we are to keep God at the forefront of our lives. Any situation we may face should always be presented to God. Yes, God knows all and sees all, but it is our choice to take all our issues to Him. God assures us in His Word that we don’t have to worry. Philippians 4:6 says:

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.”

God always wants to be the FIRST one we consult, not the last resort.

PRAY IN FAITH
According to Luke 18:1, we are to always pray and not faint. In other words, we must never give up on praying to God. When we choose to stop praying, then we are either telling God we don’t need Him or that we don’t believe Him. However, the last thing we want to do is imply that we have no faith in God. Therefore, when we pray we must pray in FAITH. James 5:13-16 say:

“13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

So, whether we’re going through bad times or good times, we are to present EVERYTHING to God. Not only are we to pray, but we are to praise God, as well.

In addition, if you’re sick, you don’t have to stay sick, but you can call for the elders or God’s leaders to pray for you to be healed. Because of the prayer of faith, you will indeed be healed. God will also forgive you of your sins when you ask Him in faith. Moreover, we are made righteous, or we are made right with God, when we confess our sins and ask for His forgiveness. Then when we pray earnestly, with no doubt, we see results.

HOW DO YOU APPROACH GOD?
In the past year or so, God has been dealing with me about how I pray. He has shown me that my prayers are more effective when I approach Him the right way. In fact, God would say, “Pray My way. Pray in Me.” At first, I didn’t quite understand what He meant. However, over time I got a clearer understanding.

Depending on the circumstance and my emotions, I didn’t always go to God with a prayer of faith. Instead, it might be a prayer of worry, a prayer of fear, a prayer of sadness, a prayer of frustration, or a prayer of anger. In fact, there were times when I would approach God with the attitude that He owed me something! Nevertheless, God doesn’t owe me anything! I owe Him everything—–my submission, my worship, my prayer, my faith, MY LIFE!

God had to reveal to me that, on occasion, my prayers were just emotional. In other words, I prayed according to how I felt, and not according to God’s Word. For instance, if Isaiah 53:5 says that with the stripes of Jesus I am healed, then I need to believe nothing less than that. Once I pray for God to heal me, then the only thing God needs to hear from me is my praise and declaration of who He is. God shouldn’t hear me say, “God, You haven’t healed me yet! I’m sooo tired God! When are you going to heal me?!!” That’s not a prayer of faith. Rather, it’s a prayer of frustration and worry.

Approaching God the wrong way doesn’t accomplish anything in the spiritual realm. When I choose to pray emotionally, I’m not demonstrating my faith in God. I’m just appeasing my flesh. However, it’s not about moving my flesh. It’s about moving God! When I offer up emotional prayers, I’m not honoring God or inviting Him into my situation. I’m exalting my emotions and thoughts, instead of exalting God and His Word.

Let me tell you a story (Luke 18:10-14):

One day, two men went into the Temple or church to pray. One man was a Pharisee. Pharisees were religious and political leaders who were highly respected by the Jewish community. The other man was a publican or tax collector. Unlike Pharisees, tax collectors were hated because they collected taxes for the Romans. To make matters worse, tax collectors were also known for charging extra money and keeping it for themselves.

The Pharisee stood by himself to pray. He said, “I thank You, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give You a tenth of my income.”

Now, the tax collector stood at a distance and wouldn’t even look up to heaven because he felt so ashamed. He said, “O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.”

Do you know what happened after the two men prayed? The tax collector’s prayer was accepted, and he was made right with God. On the other hand, God did not receive the Pharisee’s prayer.

Why?

Let’s consider how they each prayed. The Pharisee’s prayer was full of self-righteousness. It wasn’t about exalting God or praying sincerely for others. It was all about exalting himself.

The tax collector approached God in faith and humility. That, too, is important——HUMILITY——remembering that we are nothing without God. He recognized that he was a sinner in need of forgiveness and restoration. He wasn’t trying to impress anyone. He didn’t care who heard him. All he wanted was for God to hear him. And He did!

WHO IS GOD?
From this moment forward, as you go before God in prayer, I want to encourage you to always consider how you approach God. I understand that as humans we sometimes get discouraged and find ourselves becoming frustrated, but that doesn’t change who God is. And who is God?

God is our Deliverer, Healer, Restorer, Teacher, Protector, Provider! God is EVERYTHING we need!

So, no matter what the situation is, we should always have faith in God. Mark 11:24 says:

“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”

(“The Kimberly Joy Show: P.U.S.H. Pray Until Something Happens Part 2”)

If you find value in this blog post, please share.

To subscribe to The Kimberly Joy Blog and receive new posts by email, please leave your email address in the box marked SUBSCRIBE TO BLOG VIA EMAIL provided at the end of this post.