If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your only Savior and Lord, then God saw your decision to commit to the Lord!. And instantly, we are given God-given privileges as His beloved children. So, we get to start talking to our Good God. By saying “Abba Father”. A prayer is very simple: you are simply talking to your Heavenly Father who not only has created you but also wants to start talking to you. And our Good Father is Almighty. We may have many impossible situations in our lives, but our Good God wants to help us, do the impossible things that only He can do, while we do what we can do, that includes the very act of “asking” in our daily lives. He is our Rock, our Fortress and Deliverer when we are in a crisis or when we need help from Him.

And when we start talking to God, it is best that we do this in this order – Thanksgiving first, Confessions/Forgiving others who may wronged us second and Requesting God to help us third. This is so important to get our prayers answered simply because that is how God wants it. He is not a “vending machine” or “robot”.

And most effective prayers are to pray most truthfully, honestly and genuinely. And most fervently. Try to pray in faith – knowing that God will hear our prayers and answers as our Good Father. Try to pray by repeating very short phrase of what you want. For example, “Dear Lord,…I need Money! Please give me the $3,000 I need. By tomorrow….” Most importantly, try to pray with God’s promises in the Bible. Ask God, “…Dear Lord, you have said “…that you will supply all of my needs. So please give me the job that I need….” Also, make sure to pray every day for at least 15 minutes to even 3 hours per day, until you see something happening. Or up to 3 weeks. It is quite effective. Even for 3 days, or 4 days should work as well. If you, for some reasons, stopped praying for a day. It’s okay, no prayer goes wasted. So, keep on believing, praying and expecting that your prayers will be answered. And lastly, start giving thanksgiving “in advance” until something starts happening. And we do our best to continue to trust Him – knowing that we won’t know His Timing and His Ways. No matter how much we pray, we will never know When & How He will deliver. Don’t spend hours trying to guess how and when. Just trust God that He will answer in His Perfect Timing & through His Ways. And while waiting, just Enjoy Life that God has given you. Find things to do. Go and volunteer to help the Homeless by providing some foods. Or at a Bible-based church.

Please find a list of God’s promises in each situation in our lives, and start praying to God, asking God to work according to His Promises & His Wills. Remember, every single problem that we face, whether small or large, is “a battle that has already been won by our Good Christ about 2000 years ago.” So, have some confidence before you even start praying and believing:

1. [Impossibilities] “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength!” Philippians 4:13

2. [Our Needs] “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

3. [Help] “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way…” Psalms 46:1-2

4. [Fear] “So do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God, I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

5. [Faith] “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

6. [Prayer & Work] “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7

7. [Worries] “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:25-26

8. [Prayer] “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

9. [Prayer & Faith] “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11: 24

10. [Hope/Positivity] “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

11. [Impossibilities] Jesus looked at them and said, ” With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

12. [Pray with God’s Will] “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that is we ask anything according to His Will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of Him.” 1 John 5:14

13. [Brokenhearted] “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalms 34:18

14. [Christian Life] “The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.” Psalm 34:19-20

15. [God’s Protection & Comforts] “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Isaiah 43:2

16. [Inmates] “He (God) has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…” Isaiah 61:1-2

17. [Entrepreneurs] “Your beginning will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be.” Job 8:7

18. [Grace] “Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1

19. [Everything Will Work-Out] “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

20. [Healing] “Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.” Jeremiah 17:14

21. [Healing] “The Lord sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness.” Psalms 41:3

22. [Strengths] “Let the weakling say, ‘I am strong!’” Joel 3:10

23. [Delays While Waiting] “And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.” Luke 18:7

24. [Wrong Motives] “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” James 4:3

25. [In Waiting & Doubts] “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” James 1:7

26. [Our Rock, Fortress & Deliverer] “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.” Psalms 18:2

27. [All Battles Already Won By Christ] “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

If you believe you feel “stuck” in your prayers or faith, please feel free to reach out to Pastor Gideon Chang at vitalchrist@yahoo.com and info@vitalchrist.com. We would love to encourage you and help you further.