Prayer the way God intended is an ongoing conversation with him. As his children, we have a right to come before our heavenly Father at any time to talk things over with him. This perfect relationship between God and humankind was one of the things the enemy stole from us when he showed up in the garden of Eden. Because of what Jesus did, that severed relationship is now restored.
When Satan lies to us, we learn the truth when we talk to God. The devil wants to strip us of every blessing and good thing we have ever received, but he can never overcome the word of God. “Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; but if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house” (Proverbs 6:30, 31). When the enemy tries to trick us into thinking it isn’t important that we pray, hearing from God will shatter that lie into a thousand pieces.
Everything in the natural begins in the spiritual, and a strong prayer life enriches every other area of our lives. It’s easy to get tripped up and fooled when we get too busy to pray, and the devil does his best to throw distractions in our path on our Christian walk. We must not allow him to steal the abundant life God wants for us. “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
These promises are real, but they depend on our faith in order for them to work in our lives. Prayer connects us directly to God, but what separates the prayers of the righteous from empty words is our belief. “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24, NIV). God promises to restore whatever is broken or missing in our lives.
Joy is a key element of prayer that makes it stronger than any adversity facing us. We discover this joy when we meditate on the finished works of Jesus and realize the victory is ours because of what he did on the cross. It doesn’t matter what’s happening at the moment or what the situation looks like. “Though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, [though] the product of the olive fails and the fields yield no food, though the flock is cut off from the fold and there are no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the [victorious] God of my salvation!” (Habakkuk 3:17, 18, AMPC). This kind of restoration is seen when we make a deliberate decision to rejoice, regardless of the circumstances.
The notion that we aren’t worthy of being in God’s presence is based in self-effort, guilt, and shame. We’re restored and refreshed when we change our mind and realize that our worthiness is based in Christ, not in us. “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19, NIV). We don’t have to wait until we get to heaven to be with him. Our heartfelt prayers unite us with him right now.