Pray With Precision

You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. James 4:2-3 

  

  God is neither “Santa Claus” nor an angry Deity out to get us. He wants our love and devotion. He wants us to live a righteous life through the power of Jesus Christ. And as His children it is certain that God will bless us and take care of us. 

  Too often my prayers have been fired off like a shotgun in a general direction without specificity. Yet God wants us to have direct, and precise, communication with Him. 

  If you were speaking to your physician, or your lawyer, or anyone else who has the power to help you, speaking in a vague, general way, would get you nowhere. They could not help you if you did not tell them precisely what the problem was, your exact need. It is the same with God. While He already knows your need, you still must present it to Him in prayer. What is it that you want from God? What petition needs to be brought before Him? 

  You would not waste the time of an important person who was meeting with you. For instance, if you were brought into the office of the President of the United States to present him or her with a request it would be disrespectful to stand there mumbling, rambling on foolishly, or to say nothing at all. 

  I have seen God do some amazing things in my life. And I have sensed many times in my spirit the Lord asking: What exactly is it you want?  

  Of course prayer is more than asking God for things. It is also a relationship building exercise as we spend time with God we get to know Him better, and as we listen for responses we can often sense God telling us things in our prayer time. 

  We should both praise and thank God in prayer, and when we present our requests tell Him exactly what it is we would like Him to do. 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for meeting our needs and blessing us even beyond what we ask for. Amen.