Effective Prayer: 7 Steps to Build Prayers that Avail Much

Effective, fervent prayers that avail much don’t just happen—they are built on the firm foundation of God’s Word.

Even then, while prayer should be a comfortable and heartfelt conversation with the One who knows you best and loves you most, the only way to pray God’s will is to build your prayer on God’s Word because God is His Word (John 1:1, 2 Tim. 3:16-17, John 1:14). God wants your prayers to avail much, and that’s why He tells you exactly how to pray.

First John 5:14-15 says, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, 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 the petitions that we have asked of Him” (NKJV). That’s a pretty ironclad guarantee! So, let’s take a closer at how to sharpen your prayer skills, whether you are a beginner pray-er or a seasoned pray-er.

God Created You to Pray

God designed man from the beginning to fellowship with Him, and prayer is just an outflow of the relationship He desires with every believer. Your heavenly Father wants to talk to you. You can know God and tell Him anything and everything! God is Spirit, and the real you is a spirit. In fact, 1 Thessalonians 5:23 explains you are spirit who has a soul and lives in a body of flesh. But it’s your spirit that communicates with God—the real you who will live eternally.

When you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, God raised the real you from the dead and made you alive in Christ. Now, spiritually speaking, you are seated in heavenly places with Him (Eph. 2). In 2 Peter 1:1-4, Peter outlines how you are a partaker of this divine nature and by faith you are able to ignite the power God has imparted to you. You learn to talk with your Father using words that are spirit and life—supernatural words found in the book we call the Bible.

This passage in 2 Peter also tells us that God has already blessed you with exceedingly great and precious promises, and through faith and prayer, you take hold of them. You learn who God is and who you are in Christ Jesus. When the enemy comes to sow doubt, you will have an arsenal of weapons. God’s Word written on the tablet of your heart is your sword against any attempt of the devil to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Satan does not play by the rules, and he will attempt to convince you that you do not have time to pray. But Jesus came to earth to teach us how to live, and Jesus is a pray-er. Jesus also showed us in Matthew 4 how to stare down Lucifer: with the Word.

The Holy Spirit is present to help you pray when you do not know how or what to pray (Rom. 8:26). As you renew your mind to the Word of God and set your mind on things above, you learn the strategies of prayer, the different forms of prayer, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, prayer becomes as natural and vital as breathing.

When you were born again by the Spirit of God, He awakened your spirit and gave you the ability to communicate with Him through His Word. God talks with you through the pages of the Bible. Prayer is a conversation with the Creator of the universe who also just happens to be your Father. Praying scriptural prayer is praying the language of heaven. You will learn God’s thoughts that are higher than yours, and therefore, prayers based on His words will know no limitations. Your faith will increase as you hear yourself speaking His words and thoughts in your prayers. Furthermore, God watches over His Word to perform it (Jer. 1:12) and not one word of His good promise has ever failed to come to pass (1 Kngs. 8:56).

Seven Building Blocks of Strong Prayer

Let’s look at the seven building blocks of prayers that avail much.

Building Block #1

Your prayer time is a conversation with God who loves you unconditionally. So be real and speak from your heart. You don’t need to be on your knees, you don’t need to fold your hands, and you don’t need thee’s and thou’s.

Your number one resource for what to say is the Bible. God talks to you from His written Word, and you can do the same.

If you are at a loss for words, you might turn to a scripture and pray from it. For example, you could turn to Psalm 42:1 and pray, “As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, O God.” Pray in first person or insert the names of people for whom you are praying. Prayer is not about many words or eloquent words. It’s about Word-based, heart-to-heart conversation with your Father-God.

Scriptural prayers usher you into a greater intimacy with the Creator. God reveals His will, His mind, and His thoughts to you, and you learn to speak His language. Overtime, you will find yourself talking to Him throughout the day—just as you would any very close friend.

Throughout the pages that follow, we’ve provided guides and cues to help you learn to pray or deepen and expand your prayers. At the end of each of three sections, we’ve also included pages where you decide what you pray about and you can personalize this journey even more specifically. Remember, this is your journal for your eyes only, so express yourself freely!

Building Block #2

Pray to the Father in Jesus’ name (John 14:13-14). This is an important opening and closing line, but it’s also much more. In Colossians 3:17, Paul says, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” That includes prayer! Prayer is an action verb, and when we pray, we enter into agreement with Him. Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father praying for you, and Ephesians 2 says you are seated together with Him in heavenly places. That means the devil is under your feet (along with whatever problem he might bring your way).

From the moment you pray, “Dear Father,” you are accessing the throne room. Your Father is listening, and you are taking your position in Him in prayer—above whatever problem you’re praying about.

When you pray in Jesus’ name, you “seal the deal” with the blood of Jesus that purchased the answer to your prayer. Jesus’ name is the authority that allows you to say “amen” or “so be it.”

Building Block #3

As we’ve discussed, God tells you how to pray in 1 John 5:14-15, where He makes the Word a priority in prayer. The Word lays a firm foundation for whatever you will ask.

Look up scriptures that speak to your situation or prayer request. Perhaps read the verses in different Bible versions because different wording can sometimes provide new insight. If you don’t know the meaning of a particular word or the Holy Spirit highlights a word to you, look it up online or in a concordance (Strong’s concordance is my favorite). We’ve listed resources on page 191 to help you with this. It’s easy to quickly look up multiple Bible versions by visiting www.biblegateway.com or www.biblehub.com.

Even if you are well acquainted with the scriptures, still look up words that apply to your situation to allow God’s Word to speak to you. As an example: If you are praying to overcome fear, look up the word fear and find scriptures where it appears. The Word of God will enlighten you with revelation, energize you, give you confidence, and build your faith (Rom. 10:17).

Building Block #4

Pray believing! (Mark 11:24). In Romans 1:16, Paul says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.” Notice that believing in the gospel or God’s Word ignites the power! Our prayers are built on the fact that we trust God to keep His promises (Num. 23:19; 1 Kngs. 8:56).

Building Block #5

Your words have power. Proverbs 18:21 says you have the power of life and death in your tongue, so speak life! After praying God’s Word about a matter, do not waver by talking about the problem afterward. Don’t pray one thing and leave prayer discussing the problem with others. Act like the Word is true because it is (James 2:17).

Building Block #6

Praise God before you see the answer to your prayer. Praise God because you see the answer through your spiritual eyes—through the eye of faith. Praise is the highest kind of prayer and your faith in action. It also silences the enemy who tries to steal your joy (Heb. 13:15). Do not be moved by what you see with your natural eyes. When doubt tries to take root, get your written prayer out, and declare every word with praise.

Building Block #7

In Luke 17, Jesus healed 10 lepers but only one returned to thank Him. Be that thankful one! Thank God for answered prayer. Keeping a journal and filling out the “My Praise Report” will help you remember how your prayers were answered. Be thankful and say so with great joy. It is your Father’s joy to answer prayer, and remember, in His presence is fullness of joy for you.

In my guided prayer journey, you will find a guide to help you make the most of your prayer life as well as cues to personalize the Word to speak to God with His decrees. Most of all, friend, always remember you will learn the very most about prayer by praying!