Is Strategy in Prayer Necessary?

Have you ever thought about a strategy so that God will answer your prayer? Perhaps you wonder why strategy is needed, when we are always taught to live by, ‘Your will be done.’

However, the strategy of asking here is not about getting something through manipulative tactics. Simply put, imagine a child asking a parent to eat their favorite cake. Or a businessperson bringing complete documents before applying for a bank loan. Notice that there is a communication strategy between two persons: the one asking and the one granting the request.

Our God is a Person. We ask a Being who has character. Therefore, we need to ask in the right way.

So, what do we need to pay attention to when asking Him?

Understanding the Character of the One Who Grants Requests

Before resigning from the company where I worked, I planned a strategy to present that request well to my boss. My first step was to look at my boss’s character. He was a stern person, and he would surely be angry if I suddenly came to him and said, “Boss, I want to resign.”

That does not mean it would be wrong, but it would make it harder for me to get what I wanted. So, because I knew my boss liked to chat, I first asked for time to talk privately. I also knew he would not immediately accept my resignation just like that. Understanding his character, I chose to stay quiet while he spoke at length, instead of arguing with him. By understanding my boss’s character, I was able to express my desire and he approved it graciously.

Just like the example above, before asking, make sure we first know who God is and what His character is like. Do not let us waste energy and time asking for something He will never answer because we failed to understand God.

Three characteristics of God that we must understand before praying to Him:

1. God is holy

“Indeed, the hand of the LORD is not too short to save, nor is His ear too dull to hear; but your iniquities have separated you from your God, and your sins have made Him hide His face from you so that He does not hear. For your hands are stained with blood and your fingers with guilt; your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things.” – Isaiah 59:1-3

From the verse above, we know God is able to save and He listens. However, it is our evil and our sin that make God turn away and refuse to hear us.

Before coming to God, let us examine our hearts first. Do we come in holiness or full of sin?

If so, stop playing around with sin. A holy God cannot be united with what is unholy.

Are we still holding on to resentment and hatred? Have we made peace with others? Is there anyone we still cannot forgive? Any unresolved issue we still have with someone else?

If so, settle our problems first, then come back to Him. That way, our prayer becomes pleasing before Him.

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” – Matthew 5:23-24

2. God is good

“Or you pray as well, but you receive nothing, because you ask wrongly, intending to spend what you get on your own pleasures.” – James 4:2b-3

If you ask for something good, then God’s answer is one of these three things: yes, wait, or, “I have something better.”

However, if you only want to satisfy your own desires, have wrong motives, or hope that bad things will happen to others, then most likely God will not grant it. Because that does not align with His character, which is good. God is good. He will not give something bad to His people.

3. God is detailed

“Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. This is how you are to build it: the ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle, and upper decks.” – Genesis 6:14-16

Based on that verse, we know that God is a detailed person. No need to look far; just look at how your body works, and you will marvel at how detailed He was in creating us as human beings.

He, the detailed God, wants us to become people who are detailed as well. Detailed in obedience, and also in our requests to Him. If we ask specifically, God will answer specifically as well. If we do not make our requests specific, do not be surprised if we also receive an answer that is not specific.

Try it! I have tried it myself, and it worked.

So, remember, He is the God who is holy, good, and detailed. Make sure we come to Him in holiness, ask for good things with the right motives, and ask Him in detail. That way, we will not ask for something that God will not answer because it goes against His character. May this strategy help so that your prayer may be answered by God.

* Church GKDI is currently in 35 cities. We have Bible Study activities in every area; if you need information or would like to get involved, contact us at contact Church GKDI Official: WhatsApp 0821 2285 8686 or Facebook / Instagram GKDI Official

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