One of the reasons God does not answer our prayers is because we often adopt a selfish attitude. James 4: 3 indeed declares that “we ask and do not receive because we ask badly, to satisfy our passions.” Without necessarily realizing it, our prayers often focus on our own needs. We ask God to bless us, heal us, protect us, and raise us as if it were the famous genie of the lamp of Aladdin. What about others, and what about Him? Is our love truly selfless? Would we love God the same if He had nothing to offer us? We must learn to reform the way we pray. Here are our tips for praying in a less selfish way!
Begin your prayer time with songs
Here is one of the secrets that many Christians overlook during their prayer time. Worship is not just a time for singing in Church. This is the atmosphere in which God bathes! The Word declares that God sits amid the praises of His people (Psalm 22: 4). The best way to come into His presence and let yourself be surrounded by Him is to worship Him before you even pray! God is looking for worshipers who will worship him in spirit and truth (John 4:24).
Are you a worshiper? Perhaps it is this dimension that you miss and prevents you from seeing your times of intimacy with God increase by one level and reach Heaven! Worshipping God is a way of reminding Him that our priority is Him and not our requests and requests. Change your prayer times by incorporating a time of praise and worship.
Take time to worship God
After worshipping God with a song, you must begin your prayer with an identical moment of worship, but this time with your words and words. In Matthew 6, Jesus does not begin the Our Father by asking for daily bread but by saying this: “Hallowed be your name”! This is why we should similarly begin our prayers by reminding God of what we love him for.
“Lord, I come to you today to say thank you for who you are. Thank you for sending Your Son to the cross. Thank you for loving me like no other. Your name is wonderful. You reign on the Earth, in the heavens, and my life. All of Creation bow down to You because You are worthy to receive glory! Receive all my adoration, my God. I love you so much !”
Let him know the needs of others before your own needs
Most of us have become accustomed to discussing our own needs first before others. Why not reverse the order? Before spreading all your requests, share those of your loved ones or people you do not necessarily know but who need God as much as you do.
“Jesus, even before praying for me, I want to have a thought for Lucy. Lord Father, you know her situation. I pray that You can manifest Yourself mightily in her life. I want to believe that Your Holy Spirit has already restored her to where she is. ”
Use “WE” more often instead of “I”
One of the reasons the universal Church is in bad shape is because we Christians do not take enough time to pray for others. Salvation is individual, of course, but that should not prevent us from worrying about the Salvation of our brothers and sisters. Why run to convert the whole world when, even among Christians, few have met Jesus? In our prayers, we must learn to put aside the “I” to make more room for “US.” When you do not pray by example for discernment, do not just pray for it yourself, but for all of God’s children to be endowed with it. Take the time to pray for Christian unity. Intercede for the people of God because they also need prayer!
“Lord, forgive us, my brothers and sisters in Christ and myself, for all the times that we have failed to measure up. Help us to walk in Your ways. Purify us. Remove sin from our hearts and transform us. We need You Jesus so much! ”
Intercede for at least 3 people
The Word of God encourages us to become blessings in the lives of others. These blessings can materialize every time we talk about them in our prayers. When you pray, take the time to intercede for at least three people around you. Interceding does not mean evoking. It also doesn’t mean putting their name in a short sentence to show you’ve thought of them. To intercede for a third party is to take his spiritual fight head-on as if it were our fight!
“Lord, this evening, I want to present to you the case of my brother Samuel. I want to stand up in prayer for his situation because You state that the righteous prayer is very effective in your Word. I pray in Jesus’ name that all his torments will be cast out, his troubles will end, and he will come out of his battles with victory. My God, grant Him your grace again! ”
Always refer to His will when formulating His wishes
Do not ask for anything without adding the phrase “according to Your divine will.” Do not make any more requests without first saying, “if you agree with that.” Do not demand any more blessings or provisions without referring to the perfect will of God for your life. The Lord will not give you what you want but what He thinks is good for you. One of the ways to appear less selfish is to ask God for his consent whenever you ask him to supply your needs.
“Jesus, I don’t know what You want for me in this area, but I want to hand over my education to You. I am lost, confused, I do not know what You intended me for, but I am keen to undertake a literary path. If it is Your will, open the doors to me, Lord. ”
Show gratitude
Many of us no longer know how to thank God for the things we have. We are incapable of living in contentment. We live in a consumer society that causes us to miss out on all of the blessings that God bestows on us. Just being able to read this article is a blessing because it means that you have the grace of having a phone, computer, or tablet, that you have the Internet, that you have eyes, and that you have had access to the Internet. Education because you are literate. What Grace! Did you know that a lot of people around the world would dream of having even a third of it all? Whenever we present a need before the Lord, let us also thank Him for a grace He has granted us.
“Almighty Father, I want to thank you for the wonderful body you have given me. Yes, I am a wonderful creature, for You are the one who designed me. Thank you for that beautiful smile you gave me, thank you for those hands, thank you for those eyes that allow me to see. Lord, I want to pray that this perfection will extend to all the members of my body, especially my sick foot. I know Your deepest desire is for me to be healthy. So heal me, Father, in the precious name of Your Son! ”
Let’s be less selfish in our prayers. Let us think of others but also think of God. We will see our prayer times change dramatically!
