Everyone wants to know the secret to something. Golfers want to know the secret to playing golf like Jack Nicklaus or Rory McIlroy. Investors want to know the secret to making a fortune on Wall Street. Parents want to know the secret to raising healthy, happy kids. And Christians desperately want to know the secrets to effective prayer. So what are the secrets to real intimacy with God through prayer?

The first secret to effective prayer is secret prayer, and Jesus provided the ultimate example. As Dr. Luke put it, Jesus “often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16). Unlike the religious leaders of His day, Jesus did not pray to be seen by men. He prayed because He treasured fellowship with His Father. Hypocrites gain their reward through public prayer. They may be perceived as spiritual giants, but by the time they are finished, they have received everything they will ever get—their prayer’s worth and nothing more.

A further secret is to recognize the connection between prayer and meditation. Our prayers are only as inspired as our intake of Scripture. Scripture feeds meditation, and meditation gives food to our prayers. Meditating on Scripture allows us to more naturally transition into a marvelous time of meaningful prayer. Author Donald Whitney, who rightly refers to meditation as the missing link between the intake of Scripture and prayer, notes that if there was a secret to the prayer life of evangelist George Müller, it was his discovery of the connection between meditation and prayer.

A final secret is to discover your secret place, a place where you can drown out the noise of the world and hear the voice of your heavenly Father. The issue, of course, is not location but motivation. We are all unique creations of God. Thus, your secret place will no doubt be different from mine. The point is that we all desperately need a place away from the invasive sounds of this world so that we can hear the sounds of another place and another Voice.

 

Adapted from The Prayer of Jesus and The Covering

“When you pray, go into your room, and when

you have shut your door, pray to your Father

who is in the secret place; and your Father

who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

Matthew 6:6 NKJV

For further study, see Hank Hanegraaff, The Prayer of Jesus: Secrets to Intimacy with God (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2001).

Model prayers in Scripture and the Ancient Church

  • Jacob prayed for protection (Genesis 32:9–12).
  • Job prayed for conviction of sin (Job 13:23).
  • Moses prayed to know God and to see His glory (Exodus 33:12–18).
  • Manoah prayed for guidance in raising his son, Samson (Judges 13:8).
  • Hannah prayed to exalt God with thanksgiving and praise (1 Samuel 2:1–10).
  • Elijah prayed for vindication and proof of God’s power (1 Kings 18:36–37).
  • Hezekiah prayed for deliverance from enemies (2 Kings 19:15–19).
  • Solomon prayed for forgiveness of sins for Israel (2 Chronicles 6:21).
  • David, throughout Psalms, prayed with thanksgiving and praise for mercy and grace, conviction of sin, forgiveness, instruction, and deliverance from enemies.
  • Jeremiah prayed to complain (Jeremiah 20:7–18).
  • Ezra prayed to confess his people’s sin (Ezra 9:6–15).
  • Daniel prayed for help with thanksgiving (Daniel 6:10–11).
  • Daniel prayed to confess his people’s sin (Daniel 9:9–19).
  • Jonah prayed for restoration (Jonah 2:1–9).
  • Jesus prayed for God’s will (Matthew 26:36–46).
  • Jesus prayed for Himself, for the disciples, and for all believers (John 17:1–26).
  • Jesus prayed for forgiveness for His enemies (Luke 23:34).
  • The apostles prayed for selection of Judas’s replacement (Acts 1:24–25).
  • The apostles prayed for the bold proclamation of the gospel with miracles (Acts 4:29–30).
  • Stephen prayed for the Lord to receive his spirit and to forgive his killers (Acts 7:59–60).
  • The famed Prayer of Saint Ephraim.
  • The Lord’s Prayer (The Prayer of Jesus) (Matthew 6:9–15).
  • The Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”
  • The Great Compline and the Small Compline.

 

**Note the preceding text is adapted from a new Revised and Updated version of The Complete Bible Answer Book that is forthcoming. When available we will update this page with corresponding information. Until then you can still purchase or receive for your partnering gift the current version by clicking here for purchase or here for partnering gift. ***