Praying That Pleases God
Prayer is how we as Christians commune with Our Heavenly Father. Those in the Prayerneed Internet ministry of Praise, Prayer and Encouragement have seen the results of prayer over and over again and we give the Glory to God the Father. Prayer is indeed powerful because it involves God’s ability and often activates our own latent capabilities in ways that build godly character in our lives. Our communion through prayer becomes a transforming experience. Therefore, it is important to know how to please our Father and how to pray in a way that pleases and moves the heart and hand of God. With this in mind, let’s examine PRAYER THAT PLEASES GOD.
First, prayer that pleases God starts with a DESIRE TO EXPERIENCE GOD’S BLESSING. Listen to the prayer of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10: “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez saying, "Because I bore him with pain." 10. Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!" And God granted him what he requested.” However, before we can pray the prayer of Jabez, OUR ATTITUDE MUST BE RIGHT.
For example, Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” The Lord impressed upon my heart that we are to rejoice and be joyful no matter what the circumstance. Each day is a special gift from God.
The fact The Lord brings us into a new day of opportunity is cause enough to rejoice and be glad. For indeed, the Lord has given us every reason to be glad.
Right attitude should focus our attention each day on our salvation. Paul said in Ephesians 1:7: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.” Jesus Christ has paid the purchase price for us. He paid the debt we could not pay although many still try. He was the one that went to cross and suffered and died for sinners. He loved us so much, He willingly laid His life down for you and I. And now, we have in Him forgiveness of sins. We can enter His Throne of Grace 24/7 because the veil has been rent from top to bottom. Access is now possible in Christ. Therefore, we should acknowledge how great our salvation is and not neglect it.
Also, right attitude means putting off and putting on. We must put off the weight and the sin that so easily entangles and putting on Christ. Hebrews 12:1-3 says, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” I equate putting on Christ to putting on the full armor of God each day as we enter battle to fight the good fight. Paul describes this armor in Ephesians 6:10-17: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Then, once we have by faith put off the weight and sin that so easily entangles and put on the full armor of God, we need to ask God to deliver us from the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the boastful pride of life. The Apostle John writes, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15-17) That is good counsel for us to follow that desire to follow Christ.
Finally, right attitude involves asking God to fills us with Himself so we can fulfill the purpose He has for us each day. Everyday God has a purpose and plan He wants to accomplish in your life. What an exciting proposition that truth becomes in our daily walk with HIM. Then and only then do I believe we are ready and in a position to pray the prayer that pleases God.
I believe this was the belief and practice of Jabez as well. Jabez means “hollow,” “depression,” or “he who hurries”. Isn’t it interesting that these are often the traits of the Christian without a vital prayer life? Jabez could have a lived a life confined to what his name labeled him to be. His own mother named him Jabez because she bore him in pain. This implies Jabez is one who will experience pain or cause pain in the lives of others. But Jabez hoped for better. He understood what the phrase, “God of Israel” meant in verse ten of this prayer that God was pleased to answer. The nation Israel lived in covenant relationship with God. This meant they had access to God through prayer. Jabez believe this by faith and had the desire to develop his personal relationship with God that was available to him in this covenant. He was persuaded that God was able to transform his life beyond what the world thought he would be. So he acted upon his belief and asked God to bless him.
The word “Bless” comes from the Hebrew word “barak” which describes something that only God can do. The verb means, “to bestow with the power for success.” Human choice or effort cannot achieve it. Thus, Jabez’s prayer was to experience more of the presence and power of God in his life. His prayer pleased God because he discovered the secret is releasing yourself into God’s hands and to His will.
Along with right attitude, OUR ASKING MUST BE RIGHT. It has been said, “Asking is the beginning of receiving.” God wants us to ask for His blessing. How sad that many Christians don’t understand this truth or feel unworthy of asking for God’s blessing.
This is so contrary to Scripture. The Scriptures are clear that God wants to bless us. First, WE ARE GOD’S CHILDREN. The Apostle John said, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” Second, WE ARE HEIRS. Paul said in his letter to the Romans: “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”
Third, THE FATHER WANTS TO GIVE YOU GOOD GIFTS: "Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? "Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:9-11) Four, THE FATHER INVITES US TO ASK: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).
Like Jabez, God wants us to ask him to bless us indeed. Listen to Paul’s words in Ephesians 3:20: “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.” This means God wants to bless beyond the parameters of our reach or even what we think. What love the Father has bestowed on us! In summary, our asking must arise out of a right attitude and right asking that flow out of an on-going intimate relationship. Therefore, the question for us today is “What things are you asking of God that only He can do for you?”
Second, prayer that pleases God starts with a DETERMINATION TO ACT WITH GOD’S DISCERNMENT. Listen to words of King Solomon in 1 Kings 3:5,7-10: “In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, "Ask what you wish me to give you…"Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. Your servant is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. "So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours? It was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing.” Notice again the common thread in verse 5: WE MUST ASK. Both Jabez and Solomon had to ask God. We need to do more than just come to an awareness of our inadequacy. We need to call upon the Lord to provide for us in the area of our specific inability. Then, when we come before God’s Throne of Grace we must come as “a little child.”
This implies an attitude of humility such as a servant making a request of His Master.
In 1 Kings 3:5, God pays a gracious visit to Solomon and says: “ask what you wish me to give you.” Prayer partners, do you wish God would do this for you? Well, He does! He pays the same visit to you through His Spirit and the Scriptures and makes you the same offer. Listen to the words of Jesus to you in John 16:23: “In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you.” Likewise, the Apostle John assures us: “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14). Solomon asks God for a “discerning heart or an understanding heart.” Literally, this means “a heart that listens.” The meaning conveys a concrete and object reality. It is not to be interpreted in some nebulous or romantic sense. A discerning heart means the mind and will are involved in judgment.
Prayer partners this is what God wants to do for us. Job 12:13 says, “To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are “his.” The psalmist says, “I am thy servant give me understanding” (119:125) and the writer of Proverbs (2:6) tells us an understanding heart is God’s gift. But, we must ask. We must pray for it: “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). God wants us to pray for an understanding heart concerning our own personal circumstances and ministries. As with Jabez, Solomon’s prayer request pleased the Lord; ours can also. Our heart attitude is where God is looking. The following statement from Mathew Henry is so true:
God is well pleased with his own work in his people, the desires of his own kindling, and the prayers of his Spirit’s inciting.
The Lord will never leads you where His grace cannot keep you. When we step out in faith, HE will equip us. Listen to His promise: “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass” (1 Thessalonians 5:24). If God were to come to you today and say, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you”, what would your answer be? What are your priorities? What or who comes first? What is it you long for the most in your life? This is what God examines; this is your heart attitude.
Finally, prayer that pleases God comes from a life DEVOTED TO HEARING AND HONORING GOD. Listen to the words of an older King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 5:1-7: “Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few. For the dream comes through much effort and the voice of a fool through many words. When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and destroy the work of your hands? For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God.” “Guard your steps” in verse 1 means, “watch your step”. Solomon is telling us, we must come to God’s house with devoted hearts ready to know and do our duty. We must be ready to hear, that is, we must diligently attend to the Word of God as it is read and preached understanding that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ.
Solomon explains in this passage, we should be careful or our behavior when we enter the house of God. It is one of his many cautions in Ecclesiastes against vanities. A vow is a bond upon the soul (see Numbers 30:2), by which we solemnly oblige ourselves not only, in general, to do that which we are already bound to do but, in some particular instances, to do that which we were not under any antecedent obligation to do. Therefore, we should be quick to listen and resist offering “the sacrifice of fools” or making wrong choices, which is a accurate interpretation of this phrase. Evidently the sacrifice of fools is to offer something to God when our heart and soul aren’t in it. Solomon reminds us in verse 2 that God hears you not for the sake of your many words or often repetitions but considers your faith and servant’s mind. Prayer partners, what we utter before God must come from the heart, and not from a sudden heat or passion.
Solomon would say not only think but think twice before we speak. “…Let our words be few, that they may be well chosen…Job 9:14.”
Prayer that pleases God involves body and soul, words and deeds. We cannot please God with our lips if our heart is far away from him (see Matthew 15:8). Solomon says, “fear God” in verse 7. He is saying we should have the right attitude that gives birth to the right asking because it flows from the heart of one who communes and stands in awe of Almighty God.
Remember, walk so close to God that nothing can come between. Jesus paid it all, all to Him we owe,
Give Him the Glory!
