“Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts.” James 4:2
I can not stress enough the issue of being specific in prayer. It’s easy to think that because you have spent a lot of time talking, you have been specific in your requests. Sometimes talking a lot only leads to an abundance of vague prayers.
Vague prayers usually contain references to things that are going to happen whether we pray for them or not. Things like: the sun coming up or the changing of the seasons. They can also be erratic and lack focus. These two elements should be addressed as you move toward a more fulfilling prayer life. Getting answers requires you to move from the general to the specific always valuing focus over volume.
In order to move out of the arena of vague prayer you must have a true goal in mind. You must also be willing to reveal that to God. A specific goal requires a specific request. Are you really willing to open your heart to Him and reveal your desires? It‘s like the wife who will never tell her husband what she would like to have for Christmas but always feels a little disappointed when she doesn’t get it. She had a specific expectation but would not convey it. She ends up sad. Likewise in prayer, if we have an expectation and will not release it to God, we will never learn to trust God with our thoughts. Worse yet, we will never experience the ministry of the Holy Spirit that teaches us to pray appropriately. Prayer requires trust. If our thoughts or desires are contrary to His will what better time to be corrected and put on the proper path than in the prayer closet.
Finally, it is important to realize that learning to be specific helps you identify answered prayer. When you make a specific request you can easily identify His yes or no. When you fail to be specific life continues to be chaotic because you don’t know what you are expecting.
Here again, a topic that I could write on forever, but I’m really interested in hearing from you. What are your thoughts on getting answers?
Blessings to you,
MC