PRAYER TIPS

For Prayers that

Get Results

© 2009 St. Joseph’s Site

 FOREWORD

I believe and have always believed in the power of prayer. In fact, I can
never imagine my life without prayer. Prayer helps me face the challenges of
life with confidence and increases my faith in a loving, generous, merciful and
powerful God.

I admit there were lots of times when I asked myself questions about prayer
which you probably asked or are asking yourself right now:

• Does God really hear and answer prayers?

• How come I have been praying hard for a long time and God doesn’t
seem to hear me?
• How come I prayed for something and got something else?
• Should I keep on praying until my prayer is answered or should I just
do it a few times and let go?
• Do I really have to pray, knowing that we have a God who takes care
of our needs?

I have reflected on these questions, kept a journal of my prayers and their

results and noted down my observations in an attempt to find the ‘formula’ to
praying that yields the outcome I expected. I read countless books and
articles on prayer to discover the ways by which I can make my prayers more
‘effective’.

And guess what, there really isn’t any ‘magic’ formula. Yet, over the years, I
have formed certain beliefs about prayer and have developed my own ‘style’
of praying. I am not suggesting in any way that you believe what I believe
and follow my way of praying.

I am simply sharing what I personally believe to be true based on my

experience in prayer. It is my hope that you will find this material helpful in
enriching your prayer life.

God bless…

Yours in St. Joseph,

Babes Tan-Magkalas
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD

1. WHY YOU SHOULD PRAY………………………………………………… 1

- Prayer connects you to God
- Prayer fosters a deeper and more intimate relationship
with God
- God intends for prayer to be the means of obtaining His
solutions in a number of situations
- Prayer strengthens your faith

2. DISTORTED APPROACHES TO PRAYER………………………… 3

3. PRAYER TIPS…………………………………………………………………….. 5
- Realize that you are partly responsible for the outcome
of your prayer
- Pray about what you want, not what you don't want
- Let go and let God
- Align yourself with God
- Believe that God hears prayers and will not hold back
good things from you
- Do not pray for many things at the same time
- Build your faith moment by moment
- Pray for others not just for yourself

4. THE POWER OF INTERCESSORY PRAYER……………………. 10

 WHY YOU SHOULD PRAY

Prayer is a personal choice. We pray for a variety of

reasons.

Some people pray to ask for a resolution of a problem.

Others pray to thank God or simply to talk to Him. Some
ask for wisdom. The point is God wants you to see Him as your best friend,
someone who is always there for you in both good times and bad, when
you’re happy, sad, angry, confused, weary with life’s burdens, etc.

But the aforementioned only indicates the reasons why people pray. It
doesn’t really say why you SHOULD pray.

Why should you pray anyway?

Prayer connects you to God. We were all created connected to God but
somehow we tend to forget and lose this connection amidst the hustles and
bustles of life. Praying to God is talking to the creator of your very being. It
is connecting with the God of the universe. It is ‘plugging’ in into His power.
God wants to connect with us and work powerfully in our hearts and lives
through prayer.

Prayer fosters a deeper and more intimate relationship with God. The
more you pray, the closer you draw near to God. When you have a friend,
you don’t talk to him or her only when you need something. You express
your feelings and you listen with your heart. Then you get to know your
friend more and your friendship grows. The same with God. The more you
express yourself to Him in prayer, the more your relationship grows.

God intends for prayer to be the means of obtaining His solutions in a

number of situations.

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 • Preparation for major decisions (Luke 6:12-13)

• Overcoming demonic barriers in lives (Mt. 17:14-21)

• The gathering of workers for the spiritual harvest (Luke 10:2)

• The gaining of strength to overcome temptation (Mt. 26:41)

• The means of strengthening others spiritually (Eph 6:18-19)

Prayer strengthens your faith. It allows you not only to exercise your
faith, but also to remind yourself that prayer is indeed essential and not an
optional add-on to your Christian life. Prayer and faith are complimentary. As
Christians, we need to put our faith into action and one way to do that is
through prayer. Indeed, we are called to pray and to believe that we will
receive what we ask for (Mark 11:24). James also writes that when we pray,
we should not doubt. For if we do so, we should not expect to receive
anything from God (James 1:6-8).

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 DISTORTED APPROACHES TO PRAYER

As I mentioned earlier, there is really no magic formula to praying. I look at

prayer as simply a communication between you and your God so despite what
‘experts’ say, I personally believe there is no single right way to pray.

In his book ‘What God Does When Men Pray’, William Carr Peel cites certain
distorted approaches to prayer. Do you identify yourself with anyone of
them?

The Spare Tire Approach – Use prayer for emergency

needs. You pray when you are in trouble.

The Stained Glass Approach – The prayer requires

certain "right" formulas and especially "Thee" and "Thou" of Elizabethan
English.

The Blue Book Approach – God is perceived as

similar to a college professor who grades on the number of
pages you fill. The more words, the more apt God is to
respond.

The Monte Hall Approach – "God, let’s make a deal. If you

answer my prayer and give me this, I will do this (pay so
much to church, donate such and such to church, etc.).

The Aladdin’s Lamp Approach – God is seen as a celestial genie. Rub

Him the right way, and He’ll grant your wish.

The Wrestling Match Approach – God is forcefully

reminded of His promises and obligations.

How and where and what you pray about is entirely up to you. You can pray
silently or out loud. You can pray by the beach, in the shower, in your
workstation, in the boardroom, in a bus, etc. You can use your own words or

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recite from a book. You can sing or dance. Do whatever you feel most
comfortable with. What matters is that you pray from your heart.

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 PRAYER TIPS

I refer to the following simply as ‘prayer tips’. They contain my personal

beliefs and style of praying which I have developed over the years based on
my prayer life experience. Note that I am not saying that this is how you
should pray as I believe that there is no single right way to pray. You may
or you may not choose to believe or follow these ‘tips’. It’s entirely up to you.

Realize that you are partly responsible for the outcome of your
prayer. When you say a prayer, you just don’t sit around and wait for it to
happen and then blame God if things don’t turn out the way you expect.
Remember, God helps those who help themselves. You have to do your part.

Let’s say you want to find that special someone you want to share your life
with. You just don’t stay home and wait for that someone to knock on your
door. Open your heart to new friendships, go to social gatherings, look good,
etc.

When I was a student aiming to get a university degree, I usually prepared

for an exam by reviewing all the materials I needed to review. After I have
done this, I would talk to God and tell Him that I have done my part the best
way I could and that it was His turn to do His. God never failed me. I don’t
recall failing a single exam or getting just a passing grade for the entire
duration of my university life.

Pray using positive words. Pray about what you want, not what you don’t
want.

Instead of asking God not to allow you to get sick (negative), ask Him to keep
you healthy (positive). Instead of asking God to help you alleviate poverty
(negative) in your life, ask Him for more abundance (positive) to come into
your life. Instead of asking God to prevent evil men from harming (negative)
you, ask Him to keep you safe (positive) day and night.

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Some people when they pray focus on what they don’t want to happen (i.e.,
getting sick, being poor, having accidents, losing a job, etc.). Words and
thoughts have power. When you say or think of things that you don’t want to
happen, you tend to attract these things. When you focus on lack, then you
don’t get abundance.

Let go and let God. God knows what is best for you so relax and let go.
Some people are so anxious about their prayer. Some are impatient and
want results right away. If their prayers haven’t come to fruition in quite a
while, they become worried, they lose faith and endlessly wonder why oh why
their prayers haven’t been answered.

Look at it this way. If you plant a tulip bulb in your garden, you know that
what you planted is on its way to becoming a flower long before you see any
physical evidence of it. You don’t go out to your garden everyday and stomp
on the soil where you planted your bulb and demand that you see results
right away! You don’t worry about it and instead, allow nature to take its
course until the bulb that you planted becomes tulips.

In the same manner, when you pray, know that God hears it and that the
result of your prayer is on its way. The answer to your prayer will come to
you in God’s time and in God’s way. He knows the bigger picture so trust
that whatever results you will get will be the best. While focusing on what
you want, don’t be too attached to it and leave yourself open to something
better.

Believe that God hears your prayers and will not hold back good
things from you. Sometimes you may think that God didn’t hear your
prayers because what you expected to happen didn’t. But God isn't under
obligation to say ‘yes’ to us all the time and this is a good thing considering
some of the things we request!

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God may say, ‘Yes, but you have to wait’, or ‘Yes, but not what you
expected’, or ‘Yes and so much more’ or even ‘Yes, I thought you’d never
asked’ or ‘No, because it’s not good for you’. But always remember that He
will not hold back good things from you. He has your best interest at heart.

Align yourself with God. We should approach God in prayer with a humble
heart. Don’t be like the Pharisee in Luke 18:10-14:

"The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I

thank you that I am not like other men -- extortioners,
unjust, adulterers, or even this tax-collector. I fast twice a
week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax-collector,
standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to
heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God be merciful to me a
sinner'! I tell you, this man went down to his house justified
rather than the other, for everyone who exalts himself will be
humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted".

Moreover, approach God with a ‘positive’ heart. When you pray, avoid having
negative emotions such as anger, hate, doubt, jealousy, resentment, fear,
worry, etc. Negative emotions tend to ‘misalign’ you with God for God is love
and all things positive (kind, merciful, generous, loving, powerful,
compassionate, etc.).

Always approach God with a grateful heart. Better still, create a habit of
feeling grateful. While everyone has troubles in varying degrees, the grace of
God is such that we have many good things to be thankful for. All good
things come from God and when we give thanks for all these, we align
ourselves with the Source who is God and this facilitates the flow of joy,
peace and more good things.

Do not pray for many things at the same time; focus on one during
one prayer time then on another in another time. You can pray for as

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many things as you want but personally, I find it more meaningful if I pray for
one thing at a time. I find I can be more focused and more personal with my
God when I pray for a single intention during my prayer time. Oftentimes,
when I pray for a lot of things, I would sometimes just go through them
without much emotional intensity. I don’t actually “feel” what I’m praying for
and it’s like I’m just going through the motions.

Hence, I break my prayer requests down into different prayer times.

A prayer time can be 10 minutes, an hour or any length of time. You
can have a praying time while standing in line to pay in a
supermarket, or in a bus on the way to work, in your bedroom or
wherever.

Again, this is just my personal experience. Other people can pray for
a lot of intentions during one prayer time. It’s really a matter of
preference.

Build your faith in the ‘moment’. It’s not easy to keep your faith
up all the time. Life with its many ups and downs can test our faith.
It is difficult at times to have complete faith when you are praying
especially when you have been praying for something for quite some
time and it still hasn’t manifested.

Yet, we cannot please God without faith. In Hebrews 11:6, it is said

that "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes
to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those
who seek Him."

Don’t be hard on yourself if you cannot keep your faith up all the
time. What you can do is the moment you become aware of negative
thoughts and emotions that affect your faith, look for ways to feel
better in any one moment. One way is to switch your thoughts to an
event in your life when your prayer was answered. Or start praising
Him by simply saying ‘Praise God, Alleluia’ over and over.

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The point is to find ways everyday to feel good even just for a few
seconds the moment negative thoughts and emotions arise. Do this
every time you are sad, afraid, worried, resentful or angry because it
cancels out the negative feelings in that moment. This way you are
building your faith and keeping it up in the moment.

Pray for others, not just for yourself. Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-
92), England's best-known preacher for most of the second half of the
nineteenth century had this to say about intercessory prayer:

"I commend intercessory prayer, because it opens man's

soul, gives a healthy play to his sympathies, constrains him
to feel that he is not everybody, and that this wide world and
this great universe were not after all made that he might be
its petty lord, that everything might bend to his will, and all
creatures crouch at his feet."

Intercessory prayer must start with you. While it is good to ask others to pray for
you, God wants you to put something of yourself on the line. Your prayers should not
just be for your own benefit but also for others.

Intercessory prayer is powerful. I will expound on this further in the

following pages.

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 THE POWER OF INTERCESSORY PRAYER

What is intercessory prayer? It is prayer offered by one person for the

well-being of another person. While it is important that every believer devotes
a daily time for prayer, the Bible provides us with various illustrations of the
power of intercessory prayer. To name a few: Luke 11:5-8 tells the story of
one person going to another person to get bread for a third person; Abraham
intercedes for godless Sodom (Genesis 18: 23-25) and Moses interceded for
the Israelites (Exodus 32:12-14).

Scientific Studies on the Effects of Intercessory Prayer. For those who

are scientifically inclined, let me cite two respected scientific studies on the
effects of intercessory prayer.

The first is a study conducted in the late 80s by Dr. Randolf Byrd, a practicing
cardiologist at San Francisco General Hospital. The controlled ten-month
study which was published in The Southern Medical Journal in 1988, involved
393 cardiac-care-unit patients.

The subjects of the study were selected randomly by a computer: 192

patients were prayed for by Roman Catholic and Protestant prayer groups
while 201 patients were not prayed for.

The results showed that those who were prayed for were five times less likely
to need antibiotics than those who were not prayed for. The former were also
three times less likely to develop pulmonary edema than the latter.
Furthermore, all those who were prayed for did not need mechanical
respiratory support.

The second study was conducted in 1998 at St. Lukes Hospital in Kansas City
and was published in the well-respected Archives of Internal Medicine. Led by
William Harris who has a doctorate degree and specialized in research on
heart disease, the study involved 990 patients admitted to the coronary care
unit of the hospital.

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The patients were split this way: 466 were selected randomly and prayed for
every day and 524 were not prayed for. A total of 75 volunteers from various
denominations did the praying.

And the result...35 different health issues were used to analyze the progress
of the patients such as the number and type of medications the patients
required, time spent on respirators, length of stay in the hospital, etc. The
conclusion of the study was that the patients who were prayed for did 11%
better than those who weren't prayed for. Statistically, such results are
significant.

There is Power in Numbers! Does the number of prayers matter? It

certainly does!

Many studies conducted by Spindrift, an organization based in Salem

(Oregon) show the effectiveness of prayer. Researchers at Spindrift don't limit
themselves to studies involving humans. They also try to get down to the
very basics such as a batch of seedlings.

In order to find out whether more prayer is more effective, the researchers
set up four containers: a control container which would not be prayed for and
containers X, Y and Z. The seeds in containers X and Y were prayed for as a
unit; the seeds in containers Y and Z were also prayed for as a unit. So the
seeds in container Y actually got twice the prayers.

And you know what happened? In terms of germination, the seeds in

container Y did twice as well. Hence, the conclusion was the greater the
amounts of prayer, the stronger the effects!

So harness the power of intercessory prayer. Ask others to pray for you.

Thank you for taking the time to read this short e-book. For more info on
how to pray effectively, please visit www.how-to-pray-effectively.com

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