How to Pray Effectively (I)

Bible Verses for Reference:

“God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).

Relevant Words of God:

What does it mean to truly pray? It means speaking the words within your heart to God, and communing with God having grasped His will and based upon His words; it means feeling particularly close to God, feeling that He is in front of you, and that you have something to say to Him; and it means being especially radiant within your heart, and feeling that God is especially lovely. You will feel especially inspired, and after hearing your words your brothers and sisters will feel gratified, they will feel that the words you speak are the words within their hearts, the words they wish to say, and that what you say represents what they want to say. This is what it means to truly pray. After you have truly prayed, in your heart you will feel at peace, and gratified; the strength to love God will rise up, and you will feel that nothing in your entire life is more worthy or significant than loving God—and all this will prove that your prayers have been effective.

from “Concerning the Practice of Prayer” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Whilst praying, your heart must be at peace before God, and it must be sincere. You are truly communing and praying with God; you must not deceive God using nice-sounding words. Prayer must be centered around that which God wishes to complete today. Ask God to bring you greater enlightenment and illumination, and bring your actual state and troubles before God to pray, and make resolution before God. Prayer is not the following of procedure, but the seeking of God using your true heart. Ask that God protect your heart, making it able to often be at peace before God, making you able to know yourself, and despise yourself, and forsake yourself in the environment that God has set for you, thus allowing you to have a normal relationship with God and making you someone who truly loves God.

from “Concerning the Practice of Prayer” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The lowest standard that God requires of people is that they be able to open their hearts to Him. If man gives his true heart to God and says what is really within his heart to God, then God is willing to work in man; God does not want the twisted heart of man, but his pure and honest heart. If man does not truly speak his heart to God, then God does not touch man’s heart, or work within him. Thus, the most crucial thing about praying is to speak the words of your true heart to God, telling God of your flaws or rebellious disposition and completely opening yourself up to God. Only then will God be interested in your prayers; if not, then God will hide His face from you. The minimum criterion for prayer is that you must be able to keep your heart at peace before God, and it must not depart from God. Perhaps, during this period, you have not gained a newer or higher view, but you must use prayer to keep things as they are—you cannot regress. This is the very least that you must achieve.

from “Concerning the Practice of Prayer” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Prayer is of the utmost importance for you. When you pray, you receive the work of the Holy Spirit, your heart is thus touched by God, and the strength of the love for God within you comes forth. If you do not pray with your heart, if you do not open your heart to commune with God, then God will have no way of working within you. If, having prayed, you have spoken all the words within your heart and the Spirit of God has not worked, if you do not feel inspired inside, then this shows that your heart is not earnest, that your words are not true, and still impure. If, having prayed, you are gratified, then your prayers have been accepted by God and the Spirit of God has worked within you. As someone who serves before God, you cannot be without prayers. If you truly see fellowship with God as something that is meaningful and valuable, could you forsake prayer? No one can be without communion with God. Without prayer, you live in the flesh, you live in the bondage of Satan; without true prayer, you live under the influence of darkness.

from “Concerning the Practice of Prayer” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Prayer is not a case of going through the formalities, or following procedure, or reciting the words of God, which is to say, prayer does not mean parroting words and copying others. In prayer, you must give your heart to God, sharing the words in your heart with God so that you may be touched by God. If your prayers are to be effective, then they must be based on your reading of God’s words. Only by praying amid God’s words will you be able to receive more enlightenment and illumination. A true prayer is shown by having a heart that yearns for the requirements made by God, and being willing to fulfill these requirements; you will be able to hate all that God hates, upon the basis of which you will have knowledge, and will know and be clear about the truths explained by God. Having the resolution, and faith, and knowledge, and a path by which to practice after praying—only this is truly praying, and only prayer such as this can be effective. Yet prayer must be built upon the foundation of enjoying God’s words and communing with God in His words, your heart being able to seek God and being at peace before God. Such prayer has already reached the point of true communion with God.

from “Concerning the Practice of Prayer” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Relevant Fellowship:

True prayer starts from when a person can purely open his heart wide to God. When a person can say to God what is in his heart, can truly lay his heart bare, can recount to God his own true difficulties and corrupt state, and then beg for God’s mercy, beg for God’s salvation, this is speaking what is in his heart. In God’s view, even though a person is immature and does not understand the truth, as long as he can open his heart to God, God will be very satisfied; God’s requirements for man are not high.

from “How to Achieve True Worship of God” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life IV

How does your prayer mean that you are laying your heart bare to God? If you pray with the words that are usually on your lips, then your prayer would be going through the motions; like two people saying to one another those surface greetings and courtesies. A person asks, “How is the relationship between the two of you?” “So-so, I never open my heart, when we meet we just nod our heads and say a few words of greeting.” Is that genuine communion? If you want genuine communion, then don’t be concerned with this outer layer of words, whether you say them or not is no use. When you pray to God, you should speak heart-to-heart, take the words in your heart, the difficulties in your heart, the suffering in your heart, any control you are under, or any fatal spots in your heart, and pass them to God to let Him solve. When you are judged and chastised, pruned and dealt with, or when you are revealed in some trials and refinements, you should pray to God, “Help me to truly know myself, help me to know my real stature, help me to know how exactly I should do my duty in line with Your will.” If your speaking and praying can attain these results, that is true prayer. As soon as they say their prayer, some people would close their eyes, and those few common phrases would emerge. After that, as soon as they open their eyes, it is finished; is this praying? This cannot be called genuine communion, and at God’s side the Holy Spirit won’t work. Prayer is surrendering your heart, you are moved by your own words, you yourself feel: “I am saying this from the depths of my heart, this is my heart’s pain, these are the words in my heart.” When you are finished praying to God, your spirit is released, the heart feels enjoyment, you feel that is a true prayer, true communion with God; only prayer that achieves this result is true prayer.

from “Exactly How to Pursue the Truth and Practice the Truth in Order to be Saved” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (IX)