HOW TO MAKE YOUR PRAYER REQUESTS

How to Make Your Prayer Requests
By Eddie Smith
 
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus"
(Philippians 4:6-7).
 
Pray without anxiety
 
Here Paul warns us not to pray anxiety-ridden, worry-filled prayers. Instead, we are to pray faith-filled prayers, and make our petitions (requests of God), with thanksgiving. Gratitude and anxiety cannot coexist. Either gratitude will displace anxiety, or anxiety will supersede gratitude.
 
    An anxious person is double-minded. He believes in prayer, and believes that God answers prayer, but he’s not certain he can trust God to answer his prayer.
 
    Prayer with thanksgiving is an expression of our faith. When we step out in faith we defeat unbelief and anxiety. Praise in prayer is the door that allows thanksgiving and faith to meet. Matthew 13:58 tells us that Jesus couldn't do many mighty works in Nazareth because of the people's unbelief (lack of faith).
 
Pray according to God's will--His purposes. 
 
    It’s not enough for us to know God's will, His purposes, and His ways, we must shape our prayers accordingly. Remember, He will answer according to His will. 
 
    For example, a wife's anxious (although sincere) prayer for God to save her lost husband might sound like this: "Oh Lord, I'm begging you to save my husband. He's such a good man...." Whoa, hold on! Jesus didn't die on the cross for "good men." He came to seek and to save lost sinners. In this prayer, the wife is suggesting to God that, because her husband is decent, even good (in a natural sense), he deserves to be saved. 
 
    She’ll never persuade God to save her husband because He owes it to him. Scripture clearly teaches that God will be a debtor to no one. 
 
    You might think the following prayer is better, but is it? "Oh Lord, the kids need a saved daddy, and I need a saved husband. Please save him."
 
    While true enough, this isn't the highest motive from which to pray. It isn't wrong per se; but like the first prayer, she’s missing the point. God saves people for His own glory. Evangelism isn't as much about saving people from hell as it is saving people for heaven. It's more about filling the Father's house with children. It’s ultimately about the Father’s heart.
 
    What about this one? "God, Mary and Jane have saved husbands. When are you going to save my husband?" 
 
    Perhaps this is the least effective prayer. Why? She's is whining to God about her circumstances. The interpretation of this prayer is, "God, it's all about me and what I want." As we’ve seen, God doesn’t “owe” her husband, nor does he “owe” her. That’s why we call it “grace.”
 
    She wants is to see her husband saved. God wants to see him saved too. He’s not willing that any should perish. God loves her and her husband. While it's true that God loves us, it is His plan, His purpose, and His glory that move Him to answer our prayer and solve our problems.  (See 1 John 5:14.)
 
    Then how should she pray for her lost spouse?
 
    She might pray: "Lord, I thank you that Jesus died for my husband’s sins. Like me, he deserves nothing from you, Lord. Today I thank you for extending your grace and mercy to him, as you have to me. I thank you that you are saving my husband for your own glory. Establish your kingdom in his heart and glorify your name in his life. Fill him with all that you are, so he can accomplish the purpose for which you have given him life."
 
    Similar prayers can be prayed for the salvation of a wife, relatives or friends, for wayward children, financial needs, or any other issues you may face. Carefully craft your prayers around the purposes of God and load them with praise and thanksgiving. Like a spiritual attorney, you are pleading your case before Judge Jehovah. Wisely prepare your case before you plead it. This is no time to be running into heaven’s courtroom, praying hit-or-miss prayers. God is at work extending His kingdom. Lives are hanging in the balance.

 
    Too often our prayers are focused on either our problem or our perceived solution. God wants us to focus on Him! When we focus on Him, our hearts are kept in perfect peace, as promised in Philippians 4:7. Our focus on God is evidence that we are walking by faith and leaving both the problem and the solution to Him.
 
    What problem are you facing today? Rather than pray frantic, anxiety-ridden prayers for a solution, why don’t you submit your problem to God and His purposes in faith-filled prayer? God wants to do more than simply solve your problem. He wants to demonstrate His miraculous, creative power for His own glory--in the matter. Thank Him in advance for doing so! Praise Him. He inhabits your praise!