“And now, O Lord, fulfill for all time the promise you made about me and my descendants, and do what you said you would. Your fame will be great, and people will forever say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel.’ And you will preserve my dynasty for all time. I have the courage to pray this prayer to you, my God, because you have revealed all this to me, your servant, and have told me that you will make my descendants kings. You, Lord, are God, and you have made this wonderful promise to me. I ask you to bless my descendants so that they will continue to enjoy your favor. You, Lord, have blessed them, and your blessing will rest on them forever.” – 1 Chronicles 17:23-27 GNT

David is boldly praying, asking God to what He promised. It was not a passive prayer, nor arrogant.

He has courage to pray because he was promised by God. The promise does not mean I possess it, however, believing prayer appropriates it.

David prays from his heart – not from a legal prespective. I know this because throughout his prayer he uses the designation, Lord, nine times.

I believe that David had the assurance of God’s generosity – it is what enable him to pray. He knew that of all the things he could do, bringing his prayer requests to God was the least he could do.

The prayer moved me because it has an attitude of gratitude – wonderfully God-centred.

And when you ask, you do not receive it, because your motives are bad; you ask for things to use for your own pleasures. – James 4:3 GNT

It is hard to believe I pray with selfish motives. I do know I think I have earned the right to ask because of what I do – fast, pray, evangelize etc. So when I drop my defenses there is more self-centredness than I thought. How much easier for the evil one to twist what prayer looks like.

I need to remember that what I am asking from God, have I also determined how I can bless others with it once I have received it? Would that help in determining my motive – maybe asking why I pray is more important than what I pray for.

It is possible to pray for the right thing, albeit, with the wrong motive. I am not suggesting that prayer for personal needs has to stop. No, Jesus asked me to, even for my own desires. It is the motive where the root problem lies. The conditions of prayer is an honest relationship with God. He is teaching me to pray effectively.

There is great power in prayer – I am spiritually poor because I do not pray or do not ask when I pray.

“If you may have everything by asking, and nothing without asking, I beg you to see how absolutely vital prayer is, and I beseech you to abound in it… Do you know, brothers, what great things are to be had for the asking? Have you ever thought of it? Does it not stimulate you to pray fervently? All heaven lies before the grasp of the asking man; all the promises of God are rich and inexhaustible, and their fulfillment is to be had by prayer.” – Spurgeon

My purpose in praying is not to persuade a relucant God to do my bidding but rather to align my will with His – to be in partnership with Him – to do what He has asked me to do.

“When a man so prays he asks God to be his servant, and gratify his desires; nay, worse than that, he wants God to join him in the service of his lusts. He will gratify his lusts, and God shall come and help him to do it. Such prayer is blasphemous, but a large quantity of it is offered, and it must be one of the most God-provoking things that heaven ever beholds.” – Spurgeon

Jesus dropped a bomb in my life when He asked me to pray for, forgive and bless the one who was abusing me.

Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you. – Luke 6:38 GNT

It is true – when I prayed for the person I took back the power they robbed from me. It was not a call to be pushed around or taken advantage of, but rather an opportunity to change the world through love and peace – only a follower of Jesus is strong enough to do that.

I know I think about Old Testament things at times like these – similar to this old Irish prayer I found —

“May those that love us, love us. And those that don’t love us, may God turn their hearts. And if He doesn’t turn their hearts, may He turn their ankles so we’ll know them by their limping.”

Here is a country song called Pray for you. Here are the lyrics:

I haven’t been to church since I don’t remember when.
Things were goin’ great ’til they fell apart again.
So I listened to the preacher as he told me what to do.
He said you can’t go hatin’ others who have done wrong to you.
Sometimes we get angry, but we must not condemn.
Let the good Lord do His job and you just pray for them.

I pray your brakes go out runnin’ down a hill,
I pray a flowerpot falls from a window sill and knocks you in the head like I’d like to.
I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls,
I pray you’re flyin’ high when your engine stalls.
I pray all your dreams never come true,
Just know wherever you are honey, I pray for you.

I’m really glad I found my way to church,
‘Cause I’m already feelin’ better and I thank God for the words.
Yeah I’m goin’ take the high road,
And do what the preacher told me to do,
You keep messin’ up and I’ll keep prayin’ for you.

I pray your tire blows out at 110,
I pray you pass out drunk with your best friend and wake up with his and her tattoos.
I pray your brakes go out runnin’ down a hill,
I pray a flowerpot falls from a window sill and knocks you in the head like I’d like to.
I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls,
I pray you’re flyin’ high when your engine stalls.
I pray all your dreams never come true.
Just know wherever you are, near or far, in your house or in your car,
wherever you are honey, I pray for you.
I pray for you

Yes, my taking from Old Testament prayers are that they were honest, as many as mine are. But those days need to be seen through the eyes of Jesus – He called me to pray blessings and love. God will take care of His business, my business is to pray like Jesus – He prayed for His enemies too. Stephen did too as he was being stoned to death.

Praying like this changes me. If those I pray for do not change, that has nothing to do with me, I am changed. The Holy Spirit is engaged when I pray. My praying for someone who would not naturally be inclined to pray is a prayer of faith and submitting to God. I know it does not sound like the natural thing to do, then again, I am not natural, I am a child of God. I must pray!

That is glorious, and as simple as it is glorious! Thank God, many are trying it. Don’t you know any one who is always serene? Perhaps he is a very stormy man by his natural make-up, but troubles and conflicts and reverses and bereavements may sweep around him, and the peace of God which passeth all understanding guards his heart and his thoughts in Christ Jesus. – R.A. Torrey