For a farmer, it is essential that he prepares his land before the expected rain, to receive the best benefit of that. In like manner it is also important to prepare the soul to be ready to receive the rain of God’s blessings, in answer to our prayers for help in times of trouble. Many who either knowingly or otherwise fail to prepare and humble their hearts, miss out on the full benefit of these gifts from God. But should we and why should we prepare to receive such blessings from God?
Preparing for praying – Before creating man, God called out ‘Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness’ (Genesis 1:26-27). In the creation process all three aspects of God are involved; the Holy Spirit was present over the deep, keeping watch. The glory of the Son, the Creator was revealed by the Father to execute His Plan (Genesis 1:2-3). The Son sought the hand of the Father and the Holy Spirit to create man, the most important element on the earth by calling out ‘Let Us make man’ (Genesis 1:26). God did not suddenly decide one day to create the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. Before Him, the past, the present and the future are all open and Satan or any other created being can never surprise God. Many people question this about God, for He created the devil, the source of all evil. They tend to forget that He is just and righteous.
When God decided to create heaven and the angels, Satan was to be the worship leader, ‘perfect in beauty’ and had the capability to create sounds of various musical instruments within him (Ezekiel 28:13-14). To God it was evident then only, about the evil that would come out of him. Can a righteous judge punish someone for a sin not yet committed? The image of likeness of God in mankind is now veiled by the evil and sinful nature within each one. Not to create Satan, for the future sins, would have resulted in nothing else, also, being created. However, the goodness keeps erupting through the acts of kindness shown by various people towards others. God had decided the corrective action about redemption even before the sin was committed. As part of that plan, the proclamation was made, of enmity between the serpent and, ‘the woman, and between your (serpent’s) seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel’ (Genesis 3:15). Satan’s head will be crushed and he will have no authority over the ‘chosen and redeemed’ children of God.
God had the perfect plan ready even before the thought of sin entered the mind of Eve. Evidently, God is able to plan for any eventuality before it happens because of His fore-knowledge. But is any one on the earth equipped with such capability? Anything that happens in our life is fully in the knowledge of God and He allows it all for various reasons. The most important one is to teach us something to bring about a change in us. God purifies and removes the impurities in one for ‘He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver’ (Malachi 3:3). The refiner puts the silver in the middle of the fire where it is the hottest to remove the dross. But he has to keep his eye always on it to ensure that it does not get damaged. Silver kept on the fire for a little longer than required, develops ‘firescale or firestain’ that appear as blotchy patches on the surface. The exact time to remove is the time when the Refiner can see His face in the silver, His own ‘image and likeness’. We must remember that God has His eyes on each one of His people who are in the fire to ensure the best results.
Our preparation is to submit to His will like Job, ‘Though He slay me, yet I will trust in Him’ (Job 13:15). No one likes the heat of suffering but God definitely desires His best for all believers. He sacrificed His best ‘His beloved Son’, who brought such joy to His Father in heaven through His obedience (Matthew 3:17). Our prayers bring all our requests before God with all the reasons that we can think of, to receive the answers, and should end in the same manner as His Son ‘Not My will but Yours be dome’ (Luke 22:42). When this happens, like Job, we are ready to hear the voice of God to reveal His glory and rescue us from that state and bless abundantly.
The type of preparation required before praying – We often learn about young girls fasting on certain days and times to get married. But when any of them is asked about the qualities that they seek in a husband, their answers are limited to earthly things only. Most desire a rich, handsome husband from a good family, without ever considering their inner characteristics and their own compatibility. As a result, after marriage, there is much anger and resentment leading to such a large number of divorces. When we seek something from God through our prayers, there is a definite requirement to consider its effect on us and all those around us after the prayers are answered.
Lord Jesus’ focus in the initial years of His ministry was in the region of Galilee. His own brothers, the other sons of Mary with Joseph, did not yet believe in Him. They urged Him to leave that area and go to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, on the plea, ‘that Your disciples (from other areas) also may see the works that You are doing’ (John 7:1-8). Just like the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders, they also looked at Lord Jesus more as their brother than the Son of God. Had they humbled themselves in prayer to God the Father in heaven, they would have understood about God’s timing versus ours? They were told by the Lord, ‘My time has not yet come’. The brothers had neither tried to understand His message nor His works. We also tend to pray to the Lord to show us some miraculous works to strengthen us in faith or simply to prove His power and authority.
It is His mercy and grace, that He does not answer all our prayers, which when we look back will reveal the foolishness in asking certain things. A believer sought the Pastor to pray over a lottery ticket to be the winner, with the promise to help in completing the church building construction. The pastor refused to turn to depend on any other source other than God Himself. The two brothers finally accepted the Lord as their Saviour, for the Lord did not abandon them for their unbelief. The Saviour Lord after His resurrection from the dead revealed Himself to Apostle Simon Peter to restore and strengthen him in faith (1 Corinthians 15:5-7). After having been seen by more than five hundred others, He also revealed Himself to James, the eldest among His brothers. The epistles of James and Jude are included in the Scripture and their past doubts about the Lord must have been a source of discussion and much shame. Had they given a thought to His teachings and miraculous deeds, they would never have sought Him to do as they asked Him to pre-empt the timing of God.
Prayer is about focus and attention, like a man trying to propose to a girl for marriage. Both desire absolutely undivided attention from each other with no distractions. Imagine a boy proposing to a girl and looking all around him at everyone, how will she feel? Prayer is aligning and pouring out of our hearts and inner desires to God. In that state the words being spoken become irrelevant for we reach into God’s heart. Hannah was deeply anguished in the soul due to the taunts of the second wife of her husband, Elkanah, for she was barren and had no children (1 Samuel 1:10-13). She prayed before the LORD and ‘spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard, therefore Eli thought she was drunk’. In that state of prayer, the words prayed and the one praying become one and his whole being is fully tuned to the Father in heaven. The mystics danced to worship the Creator and in that the dance, the music and the whole of nature join in this heavenly state.
But unfortunately, there is no specific formula to pray with genuineness of the soul, heart and mind becoming one in total submission. The first step is to select the specific promise of God’s help for that situation. Once we meditate on that, the meaning of each word gets revealed leading to deep involvement with that. Then comes the wrestling part to get the answers. On his return from Padan Aram with his two wives, children and live-stock, Jacob was afraid of his brother Esau, who had earlier decided to kill him. He divided all that he had into three groups and stayed back alone and the Angel of God wrestled with him. Jacob held on to Him and was blessed with the name, Israel, a Prince. Even during the situation, before it gets resolved, the meanings change and one keeps on reaching into God’s Word.
The second is emotional involvement in prayer for it is not about a necessary obligation or a ritual. In this way we open our hearts to God and He answers.
The third is surrender. Since prayer is about claiming rights as a child from his Father in heaven, one must be intimate with Him in obedience. Lord Jesus has said, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him and We will come to him and make Our home with him’ (John 14:23). This is the result of proper prayer for God then comes to be in us and be a part of our life. That is the stage when one can declare, like Apostle Paul, ‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith’ (2 Timothy 4:7). Then, even while living in a dungeon, in an underground cell waiting to be martyred for faith, he was always one in and with the Lord, with no fear of death.
Think before asking – King Solomon taught about worship and prayer, ‘Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; therefore, let your words be few’ (Ecclesiastes 5:2). Opposite to this is ‘word vomit’ where irrational and irrelevant words are continuously spoken without thinking. We submit ourselves with fullness of our conscience, mind and understanding to God in prayer and should not be quick and impulsive in our speech. In today’s fast-paced culture the effort is to offload everything quickly before God, rather than humble worship. God desires intentional prayers rather than impulsive ones.
Jephthah was led by the Spirit of God for battle against the Ammonites. He prayed to the LORD for victory, with this promise, ‘that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me; when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering’ (Judges 11:29-34). On reaching his house Jephthah found his daughter, his only child, coming out of his house with timbrels and dancing to celebrate his victory, causing him great pain and grief.
The preparation for prayer is firstly, about offering our whole being and not our possessions. The Old Testament system of offering animal sacrifice pointed towards the Saviour Lord and is since finished. God answered Moses His name, ‘I AM WHO I AM’ (Exodus 3:14). On the one side this reveals the unchangeable nature of God, while on the other it also becomes the source of our being. God is, so I and you are, and whole of creation with that. He, being the Creator, also owns it all and whatever we have is His gift. So, submit to Him rather than offer your possessions.
Second, God does not offer bargains to answer our prayers. Since we are used to the ‘give and take’ culture, we make offers to God to receive what we desire. Jephthah’s offer was foolish and uncalled for, while Hannah’s offer of her firstborn son to the service of God was to thank Him for removing the curse of barrenness. A mother bird brings food to its chicks in the nest and does not have to ask them to open their mouths. A believer is in grace and mercy period of salvation and as God’s children, we are to open our mouths wide for Him to fill (Psalm 81:10).
Third, be prepared beforehand to ask for the most important needs first. On the road from Jericho to Jerusalem, Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, learnt about Lord Jesus passing by and cried out loudly for His mercy (Mark 10:46-51). On being called by the Lord, he threw aside his garment, expecting in faith a total change in his life. Lord Jesus asked him, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ His answer was precise, ‘Rabboni, that I may receive my sight’ and so was the blessing, exactly what was asked.
Four, think and plan about the future also, with the expectation of an answered prayer. Bartimeus received his sight ‘and followed Jesus on the road’, for he had already discarded his old way of life before moving to Him.
Five, turn your mind and heart to Him. The woman with the affliction of flow of blood for twelve years, ‘said to herself, ‘If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well’ (Matthew 9:21). The Greek word ‘lego’ used means, continually speak with intelligence and understanding. She convinced herself fully before moving forward and that is the key to prepare for answered prayers.
When we go to meet an important person with a request, we write down our request, practice and then go. How can we approach God without due diligence and clear preparation? Once prepared, our words will be full of meaning and not rushed. God is honoured and pleased by such preparation and that is what every believer desires.
Someone prayed for certain things but when there was no answer, he stole what was needed and then prayed for forgiveness for sin. God does not desire such preparation. We must not decide to act only, once a visible manifestation of answers to prayer appears. What we already have, we start using that for His glory and keep asking for more. God is keen to give us all that we need, even without asking, but are we really prepared, mentally and spiritually, to receive what we ask?
