The Privilege of Prayer - WHAT MUST WE DO TO BE HEARD BY GOD?

Does Jehovah listen to all prayers?  No, he does no.  In the  time of the prophet Isaiah, Jehovah told the Israelites:  "Although you offer many prayers, I am not listening, your hands are filled with blood."(Isaiah 1:15)  So if we are not careful, we could do things that would distance us from Jehovah, causing him to ignore our prayers.

If we want Jehovah to listen our prayers, we must have faith in him. (Mark 11:24)  The apostle Paul explains:  "Without faith it is impossible to please God well, for whoever approaches God must believe that he is and that he becomes the rewarder of those earnestly seeking him."  (Hebrews 11:6)  But it is not enough just to say that we have faith. We need to prove our faith clearly by obeying Jehovah every day.  - Read JAMES 2:26. 

We should be humble and respectful as we pray to Jehovah.  Why?  If were to to speak to a king or a president, we would do in a respectful way. Jehovah is Almighty God, so shouldn't we show  even more respect and humility when we speak to him.  (Genesis 17:1; Psalm 138:6)  We should also be sincere and pray to Jehovah from our heat, not just repeating the same words over and over again. - MATTHEW 6:7, 8. 

Finally, when we pray about something, we must do everything we can to work at what we are praying for. For example, if we pray to Jehovah for daily needs, then we  can't be lazy and expect Jehovah to give us everything even though we able to work for it. We must work hard and accept whatever job we are able to do.  (Matthew 6:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:10)  or if we pray  to Jehovah to help us to stop doing something wrong, we must avoid any situation that could tempt us.  (Colossians 3:5)  Let's now examine some common questions about prayer.

Next time: The Privilege of Prayer - COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT PRAYER

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