Humility is an important secret to answered prayer. Prayer rising from a prideful heart is vanity. James writes to us, “But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’” (James 4:6).

No one wants to plead a case in heaven’s court against God! Yet that is exactly the case of one who prays pridefully. God opposes him! Paul urged Timothy to recognize the peril of becoming prideful and arrogant:

But mark this: “There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God — having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” —2 Tim. 3:1–5

Some people who are filled with pride and arrogance do pray. Their prayers no doubt sound like that of the proud Pharisee in Luke 18.

But there are several kinds of people who don’t pray. For example:

Strong people

Strong people don’t pray because the very essence of prayer is weakness and dependency. Our generation is so concerned about building our “self-esteem” that we have become like the church in Laodicea. In Revelation 3:17, Jesus said to that church, “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” The Laodiceans were too proud to realize how needy they really were.

Satisfied people

Satisfied people don’t pray because prayer is an attempt to see things change. Intercessors, God’s praying people, live in a state of holy discontentment. They are seldom satisfied with the status quo. They are visionaries who can see what things ought to be and labor in prayer until they see them come to pass.

Slothful people

Lazy people don’t pray because prayer is work. It’s much easier for us to turn our head, ignore the responsibility God has given us and hope for the best, than it is to draw aside and appeal a case in heaven’s court. For a lazy person, not praying is far easier than praying. Words that are often connected with the work of prayer include struggle, travail, wrestle and watch — all of which denote effort.

1. Read Galatians 4:19. Why do you think prayer is sometimes compared to childbirth?

2. Read Isaiah 62:6–7. What does the Bible say to those who are God’s watchmen?

3. Read Ephesians 6:12–17. How does the apostle Paul describe prayer?

When we pray, God works. But many of us don’t have faith to believe. We’d rather believe that when we work, God works. Because we think God puts a premium on our work, rather than on our prayer, we put our emphasis on our work (which we can control and for which we can receive credit) rather than on God’s work (which we can’t control and for which only He receives glory)!

Hudson Taylor, the noted missionary servant of the historic revival in China, once said, “You can work without praying, but that is a rather bad plan. You will, however, never be able to pray seriously without working.”

Along the same line, evangelist Billy Graham said, “First pray . . . then work! That’s the order of God. From one end of the Bible to the other, we find the record of people whose prayers have been answered — people who turned the tide of history by prayer, men who prayed fervently and whom God answered.”

The bottom line is this: God is not impressed with our work; He is only impressed with His own work. And He has directly linked His work with our prayer. Yes, God has chosen prayer as a link between Him and man in order to carry out His will and purpose for creation. God literally performs His miraculous work through us in prayer!

Jesus knew this very well. He said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day” (John 9:4, KJV). Jesus saw His role on earth as doing His Father’s work, not His own. He said, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does” (John 5:19).

If Jesus could do nothing by Himself, wouldn’t the same be true of us? In order for us to do the works of the Father, we must receive His instructions. We will, as Jesus did, receive the Father’s instructions in prayer.

Doesn’t it just drive you crazy when small children ask over and over again for the same things? It may bother us, but most of the time we honor the pleas of our babies. Your heavenly Father never tires of hearing your ongoing prayers, and He loves to bless His children. Real prayer is continuous, not a hit-or-miss proposition.

Frequency reveals priority. The fact that we eat three times a day proves that eating is very important to us. Prayer was a high priority to Jesus. How do we know? Because He prayed frequently. It is said, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16, emphasis added).

As gasoline fuels our automobiles, prayer should fuel our lives. The apostle Paul summarized it in two words: “Pray continually” (1 Thess. 5:17)! The King James Version says it this way: “Pray without ceasing.” You can and should pray any time, any place. The apostle Paul suggested that we never cease praying. It should be a nonstop, two-way conversation throughout the day.

PAUL PRAYED—ALWAYS

As you might expect, Paul practiced what he preached! He prayed continually for others as the following verses describe:

“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord. . .” —2 THESSALONIANS 2:13

“God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times . . .” —ROMANS 1:9–10

“We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” —1 THESSALONIANS 1:2–3

Those who “prayed in” Pentecost prayed constantly: “They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers” (Acts 1:14).

When Peter was in prison, the church prayed for him without ceasing. “Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him” (Acts 12:5, KJV). If New Testament saints practiced the secret of continual prayer, shouldn’t we?

Prayer is Specific

A friend of ours recently went through a difficult illness, which included an extended hospital stay. Rather than simply praying for her healing, she asked the doctors each day exactly what it was that they needed to see happen next.

They would tell her the primary immediate issue, and she and her family and friends spent the day asking God for that one specific thing to happen. She was healed and released more quickly than her doctors ever expected!

Too often our vague generalities in praying hinder our receiving heaven’s answers. We seem hesitant to say exactly what we really want. If you desire to see answers to your prayers in a greater measure, learn to pray specifically for what you need.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God… And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” —Phil. 4:6, 19

In many cases our failure to pray specific prayers prevents us from receiving God’s blessings.6 For example, someone who is about to be evicted from their apartment because they are behind in their rent may ask for God’s blessings instead of asking for $967, which is the actual amount of the past due rent! We receive not, because we ask not!

Question: What do you need God to do in your life or in the life of someone close to you?

Write down one very specific request for which you need to pray, and then pray it now. (If you are doing this Bible study in a group, share your prayer requests with each other.)

Great lesson next week!