Scripture: James 4 v 3: "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts."
James 1 v 6 - 8: "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."
John 14 v 13 - Jesus said: "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son."
Prayer is the heartbeat of our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Our prayers are conveyed to Him by the Holy Spirit and the answers come the same way. So our prayers go forth in Jesus' name and must be in accordance with His will and nature.
Sometimes we miss the mark by praying "soulish prayers". These prayers are based on OUR will for people, situations, or even for ourselves. We neglect to determine God's will before we pray and most often need to cancel this prayer before it becomes an instrument of harm.
There is also a need to pray for "crop failure" for ourselves as we may have sown many negative seeds at depressed or self-destructive times in our lives. How many times have we wished we were dead and an abundant crop of death has grown. Our enemy is only too delighted to encourage this negativity.
Abundant means full; more than enough; flourishing. Jesus wants every good thing for us. He died so we could live. So we need to pray that He would destroy our backlog of negative prayers that are a hindrance to this abundance.
Prayers prayed by some who are doubtful or wavering in their faith will fall short of the Throne of God. We need to come to God with a belief and an expectation that our prayers are heard and answered. If we are afraid of being rejected that may happen, but if we know God loves us no matter how dire the situation, God will help us.
I was praying for a man I knew who was in ICU and felt a burden to pray for God to show him a miracle. When he came out of hospital he visited me and told me an amazing testimony.
The man in the bed next to him developed such a high fever that no matter what the nursing staff and doctors did, it continued to rise until his skin started peeling off his body. An hour later he passed away. He was still in the next bed covered by a sheet and screens. Half an hour later my friend was astonished to hear sounds of movement behind the screens and even more when this man emerged totally healed. He showered and got dressed, packed his bag and waited for the staff to come in so he could be discharged! This miracle changed my friend from a doubtful waverer into a very strong believer.
Soulish prayers also consist with agreeing with the wrong opinions of worldly experts. Even doctors who only rely on carnal knowledge, no matter how sophisticated, when they diagnose ailments. They have no knowledge or understanding of the spiritual realm. The testimony above must have caused some serious questions to be asked.
The woman with the issue of blood, in the Bible, had spent every penny she had on physicians for many years. In a single moment she was completely loosed of her infirmity when she put faith in Jesus and just touched the hem of His garment. When Jesus said, Who touched Me, I feel virtue has gone out from Me? He knew that He had been touched by faith. Her faith brought healing.
Jesus holds the keys to hell and death which means that He has the final decision to make on who goes where and when. He should have a say in every decision of our lives too. Where we live, work and play should be subject to His will and authority. When it is we receive answers to our prayers that bless us even if the answer is NO.
Praying amiss also puts restraints on God's dealing with us. We put out fleeces like Gideon. God if you make it rain I will know you want me to get divorced. There is no way God gets any glory out of choices like that. You cannot play spin the bottle concerning deep issues in your life. Be aware that the danger of such prayers is that it does not come from your spirit but from your soul, which can be twisted by negative emotions, selfwill and mental anguish. Get back to the right spiritual communication with the Lord to overcome this.
Soulish prayers commonly have selfish intent "that you may spend it on your own lusts". So be careful what you pray concerning yourself. These covetous, selfish prayers become a barrier to true prayer as when they go unanswered you begin to believe God does not answer prayer.
So to know your prayers are heard and answered first determine God's will for that person or situation before you pray about it. God may show you a vision or give you a verse of scripture or speak into your heart to show you what you need to pray. It will be heard and the answer will come.
Prayer: Heavenly Father You delight to give us good things and perfect answers to our prayers. Help us to think and ask before we pray so that Your will can be done on this Earth as it is in Heaven. In Jesus' name. Amen.