Prayer: the WiFi connection to heaven

David Bassey
Editor in Chief

For many Americans according to the Pew research center, every day is a day of prayer. With more than half of Americans praying every day, and even 20% those who are religiously unaffiliated saying they pray daily.

But what is prayer and how can you be sure your prayers are answered? In this first edition of the year of our “where to worship” publication, I decided to share my thoughts and lessons learned on prayer.

What is Prayer?

Prayer is a two-way communication with God Isa. 38:2. It is asking God to intervene on the basis of his word. Luke 18:1

Minnesota State Mankato student, Nick Wolbert added that, “prayer is having a relationship with God, it’s like having the Wi-Fi connection to God.”

In prayer, it is better to have a heart without words than to have words without heart. Zechariah 2:13

Having a time of intense prayer affects present and future circumstances because prayer is an earthly license for heavenly interference; and it is through prayer that we know the mind of God.

Prayer is not a monologue or begging God to do things for us but to challenge him by His word.

Well, you might say, “but God is sovereign, why do I still need to pray?”. Remember the Israelites were in Egypt until they cried to God, then he sent Moses to deliver them. Exodus 3:7

Kinds of prayer

Getting results demands using the right tools and as such there are different kinds of prayer. There are many kinds of prayer, however, the top three most commonly used today are:

1. Prayer of petition(supplication) -this is making a formal request to an official person or an organized body having the power to grant it. In historical times, the Romans used petitions as a form of appeal against mistaken verdict and as a means of ratifying inadequate legislation.
2. Prayer of agreement- this involves two or more people to agree on a particular subject. Deut. 32:20. Eccl. 4:9. This kind of prayer requires you to believe in the same God, have a definite subject, be backed by the word and give thanks.

It has immense benefits such as being backed up by heaven, multiplication of strength and

• Prayer of intercession- This is standing in the gap for another person. Exe 22:31. It requires you to identify the need, have love for others and a relationship with God. Intercessors are seen as facilitators of divine interventions. A good example is Abraham Gen. 20:17-18, David 2 Sam. 5:18-22.

How do I pray?

We learn how to do basic things in life by having appropriate models. IN the book of Matthew 6: 9-13, Jesus showed his disciples how to pray. This prayer model highlights certain important aspects of prayer.

1. Intimacy with God – Our father
2. Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth
3. Survival prayer – Give us this day our daily bread
4. Deliverance prayer -do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one

How do I know my prayer I answered?

For you to see the answer to your prayer, pray as if everything depended on prayer. You also need to pray in faith, believing that He has already answered Heb. 11:1-2.

As children, when we make requests of our parents, we believe them that it is done even though it is not seen yet; how much more God?

I hope that with these few nuggets, you continue to grow in your prayer life this semester.

Remain blessed!