Connecting in Prayer

(William Barclay)

There are three questions that are constantly asked by those who are successful in prayer. 1.) Do I admit and confess the wrong that the Holy Spirit reveals to me is offensive to the Lord? 1 John 1:8 says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” 2.) Am I presently ignoring God’s Word and avoiding His Biblical principles for living? 1 John 3:21-22 says, “Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from Him anything we ask, because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him.” 3.) Do I really want to surrender to God’s will for my life? 1 John 5:14-15 says, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if 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.”

Transitional Sentence: The first step to Christians connecting with God in prayer is to be honest with themselves. Do they live in a way that reflects a life of abiding in Christ? Jesus Christ gives us another truth to connecting with God in prayer. He says in Mark 11:24-25, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” One, you must have a faith that Christ will answer your prayer in accordance to His Father’s will and two, you must have a forgiving attitude toward others.

Number one characteristic to being successful in prayer is to have faith and the second is to have a forgiving heart. Jesus is very direct on this matter of forgiveness, because resentment will kill your ability to keep your mind and heart steadfast during prayer.

In Matthew 6 Jesus taught that when we pray we should ask, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12) Christians cannot not hold unforgiveness in their hearts and expect to enjoy success and remain connected to God in prayer. A heart that can forgive others is a heart that receives forgiveness from God and keeps itself aright in prayer.

The Christian who wants to be successful in prayer must learn what Jesus taught Andrew Lang. Andrew Lang was a famous Scottish man of letters. He once wrote a very kind review of a book that was written by a young man who thought of nothing but himself. The young man repaid Mr. Lang with a bitter and insulting attack. About three years later Robert Bridges, a poet saw Mr. Lang reading a book. Robert Bridges said, “Why, that is another book written by that ungrateful young writer who behaved so shamefully to you.”

To the astonishment of Mr. Bridges, Andrew Lang’s mind was a blank on the whole matter. Andrew Lang had completely forgotten the bitter and insulting attack. Robert Bridges wrote, “To forgive is the sign of a great man, but to forget is sublime. Nothing but the cleansing Spirit of Christ can take from these memories of ours the old bitterness that we must forget. (William Barclay)

Do you rely on the Holy Spirit to cleanse your heart and keep the root of bitterness out so you can be successful and connect in prayer to God?
Transitional Sentence: Being connected in prayer means that you must have a compassionate heart