Petitionary Prayer Guidelines (Basilea Schlink)
“Prayer is power. People of prayer are invincible. They are not to be conquered by an enemy attack, by any resistance, by any suffering or difficulty in life because in their hands they carry the surest weapon of victory. Yes, with prayer they have been given the key to the Father’s heart.” Basilea Schlink
Prayer and answers to prayer is available for all believers and not just to a special few (e.g. Basilea Schlink & George Muller).
Prayer Obstacles
Un-repented sin:
Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. Isaiah 59:1-2
Transgression of the Ten Commandments (including Jesus’ interpretation in the Sermon on the Mount concerning Anger & Adultery).
Refusal to forgive – Matthew 6:15
Anger & doubt – 1 Timothy 2:8
Not treating your wife right – 1 Peter 3:7
Lack of self-control (be sober minded) – 1 Peter 4:7
Refusal to confess our sins to one to another – James 5:16
Stinginess & greediness – Luke 6:38
Earthly-mindedness (seek first His Kingdom) – Matthew 6:33
Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God. and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 1 John 3:21-23
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry; – Psalm 34:15
‘Righteous people’ are not those who never commit sin, rather it is those people who repent of their sins, who do not harbour un-forgiveness and bitterness but seek reconciliation with others and have humble and repentant hearts (Luke 18:13-14).
Different Kinds of Prayer which God Promises to Answer
The Prayer of Faith – Matthew 9:29
“God expects a daring faith, a mountain moving faith. However, daring ventures of faith can only be undertaken in obedience to God.” E.g. Abraham dared to step out in faith and emigrated to Canaan without knowing whether he would find a home there.
Faith must be in His Word. The believer who has been given a promise from God has an IOU in their hand that should be presented to God, over and over again. E.g. “Father, you have said, ‘Give and it shall be given to you.’‘Nobody shall perish who waits on Him’.”
It is important to get a word from Scripture that the Lord has quickened to us in a personal way.
“Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you receive it, and you will.” (Mark 11:24)
With the prayer of faith, it is advisable to also give thanks and sing praises, before an answer to prayer is received.
Childlike Prayer
God is a loving heavenly Father and we should approach Him as His children. The bible says that “we do not have because we do not ask” (James 4:2). Sometimes we don’t ask because we consider ourselves so rich already and do not need to ask Him. It gives God great pleasure to hear from His children and His desire is to do us good and give us good gifts.
Prevailing Prayer
The bible encourages us to be constant in prayer (Romans 12:12).
Having to keep on praying is also the means to which to humble us and to teach us. For, when our prayers remain un-answered it forces us to ask questions such as “is there sin in my life that needs to be dealt with?”
This kind of prayer calls us to an effort, a struggle as we can also see from examples in the Scriptures (Mark 7:24-30, Luke 18:1-8, Genesis 32:26).
Prevailing prayer should be based on the assurance of a firm promise from God’s Word and with an attitude of seeking God’s Kingdom being glorified.
Earnest Prayer
Earnest prayer accomplishes much (James 5:16). This kind of prayer is not glibly said. It will also be strengthened and made more urgent when accompanied by fasting. This fasting doesn’t necessarily mean food, but can be sacrificing a pleasure or pass time (Matthew 17:21). This will enable our prayer to have more weight.
