It is important for the Christian to know God when praying to God. This does not mean that someone needs to be a scholar in order to pray. However, it does mean that having an understanding of God will benefit the Christian during times of prayer.
It also does not mean that someone should wait until he knows all there is to know before he prays to God. The truth is he will never know all there is to know about God, whether on earth on in heaven. At the same time, the Christian must be challenged to grow in his knowledge and understanding of God and to allow it to affect his prayer life.
Simply put, knowledge should bear fruit in prayer.
If someone does not believe this to be so, he needs to look no further than the Bible. It is essential to be like the Bereans of Acts. The Bereans were nobler than those in Thessalonica. But why?
It is because they listened to Paul with eagerness but then went back to the Scriptures to make sure that what Paul had said was true.
Look at the following passages to see how knowledge about God leads to effective prayer.
The Fatherhood of God
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus sought to instruct the people on how to pray. The prayer is not meant to be read through speedily without impacting the Christian’s prayer life, as so often takes place.
Instead, each line is to be carefully considered, and principles for prayer are to be drawn. This article does not intend to expound on the bulk of the prayer but to address the opening words.
Jesus said, “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven…” (KJV, Matt. 6:9). Praying to God as Father is essential for a thriving prayer life. The emphasis of prayer is also to be more than an intellectual understanding of Scripture but a heartfelt belief based upon the truth of God’s word.
In other words, praying to God as Father can be done without consideration of what that means.
It is important to know that God is the Father of the Christian. He will take care of the Christian and provide for all his needs. Thus, God the Father desires that the Christian would turn to Him and recognize Him as Father during prayer.
Jesus desired that the people listening to the Sermon on the Mount understood the centrality of the Fatherhood of God in prayer. Shortly after, He spoke to them about the anxiety they felt in life and boiled the matter down to a lack of faith.
The people sought their basic needs with little consideration of God the Father, and their nerves were a wreck. In speaking of the birds, Jesus said, “…your heavenly Father feedeth them…” (Matt. 6:26). The same principle of the Father’s provision must be carried into the heart of the Christian and his subsequent prayer life.
Still, Jesus was not finished in His attempt to help the people see God as their Father and have it affect their prayer life.
He said later, “Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (Matt. 7:9-11).
Sometimes people can have a wrong idea of who God is. But Jesus has clarified that God the Father seeks to do good toward His praying child. So the Christian must develop a good understanding of what the Bible says about the Fatherhood of God.
The covenant of God
It is also essential to know that God is a covenantal God. God keeps His word, and the Christian must know this fact. A covenant is a binding agreement. It is somewhat like a contractual agreement but stronger than a contract. Several covenants can be seen in the Bible.
For example, God entered into a covenant with Abraham and promised his descendants land. God also entered into a covenant with David and promised that someone from his line would sit on his throne forever.
The Christian should be especially concerned with the New Covenant and call God’s attention to it in prayer. Jeremiah is an excellent example of appealing to God’s covenant in prayer.
Scripture says, “Do not abhor us, for thy name’s sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us” (Jer. 14:21). Thus, the Christian should become familiar with the New Covenant and plead its promises.
The mercy of God
The Christian should also be keenly aware of the mercy of God. Sin will be a reality in the life of the Christian until he dies. Satan will accuse the Christian and attempt to discourage him along the way. Guilt, discouragement, and self-condemnation can have a tendency to compound problems.
After David had sinned, he eventually repented and wrote Psalm 51. He opened his Psalm by saying, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness…” (Ps. 51:1).
If someone does not know that God is merciful, he may be tempted to avoid God in prayer. He may believe what he has done could not be forgiven unless he eventually makes up for his bad with good works.
But God is quick to forgive a truly repentant sinner. As a result, Daniel could say, “O my God, incline thine ear, and hear: open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousness, but for thy great mercies” (Dan. 9:18).
The faithfulness of God
God is not only merciful, but He is also faithful. To be faithful is to be consistently loyal. It is one thing to be loyal some of the time. It is entirely different to always be loyal. Understanding God as the always loyal God is foundational for faith and trust in prayer.
David was assured of God’s faithfulness and appealed to God. He said, “Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness” (Ps. 143:1). He called upon the faithfulness of God and relied on a God Who could be trusted.
The promises of God
The Christian will benefit significantly by becoming familiar with some of the promises of Scripture. However, when learned, the promises of Scripture should help shape the Christian’s prayer life. Undoubtedly one of the greatest habits of prayer is to know the Word of God and to pray the Word of God.
In Exodus 32, God was going to judge the people of Israel and start from scratch. However, Moses interceded for the people, but he did so by appealing to the promises of God.
Moses prayed, “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and sadist unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it forever” (Ex. 32:13).
Moses prayed the promises of God, and then the Bible says, “And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people” (Ex. 32:14).
The righteousness of God
Finally, the Christian must become familiar with the righteousness of God. The righteousness of God is His moral perfection. God always does what is right and good and never sins.
Thus Daniel could pray, “O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, Let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us” (Dan. 9:16).
God is a righteous God, and His righteousness must be called upon in prayer.
Final prayer
Father, I pray that You will help me to learn more about You. Teach me and open my eyes to the truth of Your Word. Help me to grow in my prayer life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.