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How to Pray Effectively

Prayers Pastor Steve has prayed and seen answered, free to use as they are or as models for your own. Find the one you need, then pray it.

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Isaiah 43:26 [AKJ] Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare you, that you may be justified.

God invites us to "plead" with Him. What does "plead" mean? To plead is to "state or set forth your case." The picture is one of a courtroom. In court, the best case wins. So build a case for yourself before you come to Heaven’s throne!

The more Scriptures and Scriptural reasons we have for what we want, the better the case we build or present before God. God is not only wanting you to agree with Him, but God also wants to agree with you! You've got to give Him something to agree with. Plead with Him, state your case, give Him your reasons, and present Him your Scriptures!

People intuitively know how to build a good case in life, but when it comes to talking with God, they seem to forget their skill and get awkward in prayer. For instance, lets say you wanted a new job, how are you going to get that job? You need to build a case! Why are you valuable? What can you do for the company? Generally, it's not enough to say, "I can study" or "I have a degree." The boss is interested to know: Can you fix problems? Can you work in teams? Are you accountable? Do you know how to train others? If you build a good case with good reasons and supporting evidence, you will get the job!

It's no different with effective prayer! Build a good case for what you want with good reasons and supporting evidence - that's the Scriptures. Don't just say, "I base all my prayers on one Scripture, Matthew 7:7, Ask and you shall receive." It is generally not a strong or sufficient case. The devil is also pleading against you. Remember the devil is the “false accuser of the brethren.” He’s trying to pile up evidence on his side. But God wants to agree with you, not the devil, so God invites you to "plead" your case with Him.

To help you learn how to plead your case, I have given you a look into my prayer life, by uploading for free many of the prayers that have worked for me and been answered in my life. You can pray them exactly as they are. Use them as models for your own prayer life. If you mix your own faith with these Scriptures, you will find the Word works every time!

God said in Jeremiah 1:12 (ASV), “…I watch over my word to perform it.” Once you learn how to plead your case, you will be adept to highlight your own Scriptures, build your own case with God, and get your own answers for anything you need!

Pleading your case is part of the “prayer of faith” or the prayer to change things and circumstances in your life. There are 9 other types of prayers found in the Bible. To learn more about these, visit our online shop for the CD series called “9 Types of Prayer” or read Pastor Steve’s new book “The Divine Code from 1 to 2020”.

Pray for Pastors

**Tip:**1 Timothy 2:1-4 (God’s Word) gives us God’s agenda for prayer, “First of all, I encourage you to make petitions, prayers, intercessions, and prayers of thanks for all people, for rulers, and for everyone who has authority over us.” The key phrase here is “first of all.” If we would obey this, we would see successes in prayer! Our prayer failures too often come from the fact that we pray first of all for ourselves or our needs. But God said first of all, pray for our leaders, which include our spiritual leaders and their spouses! Then we may pray for our church, family and our own needs.

**Pray:**Father, in the Name of Jesus, we pray and confess that the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ rests upon Pastor Steve, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. Your Spirit makes him of quick understanding and he will not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears. You, Lord, have anointed and qualified him to preach the Gospel to both the poor and the wealthy, the young and the old, Jews and Gentiles, Australians and Asians. You have sent Pastor Steve to heal the sick and the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

We pray that no weapon formed against Pastor Steve shall prosper and that every tongue that shall rise against him in judgment shall be shown to be in the wrong. We pray that You prosper Pastor Steve spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, physically, socially and financially. Shower upon him more grace and favour in Your sight and the sight of man.

Lord, we pray and believe that, every day and in every service, freedom of utterance may be given to Pastor Steve so that he may open his mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the Gospel, that he may speak boldly, as he ought to speak. Thank You, Lord, that You have chosen Pastor Steve and ordained him, that he should bear much fruit (in terms of lost souls saved, sick people healed, empty people filled, disciples made, and all Christians obeying God’s Word), and that his fruits should remain!

We hereby confess that we shall stand by Pastor Steve and undergird him in prayer. We will say only good things that will edify our leader. We will not allow ourselves to yield to a critical spirit, but will continue to pray for him and speak good about and upon him, as is fitting in the Lord. Thank You, dear Lord Jesus, for Your love for Your shepherd. Now I believe Your eyes are over the righteous and Your ears are open to our prayers! Hallelujah! Amen.

Scripture References: Isaiah 11:2-3, Luke 4:18-19, 3 John 1:2, 2 Timothy 1:13-14, Ephesians 6:19-20, John 15:16, 1 Peter 3:12

Written by Steve Cioccolanti for the benefit of the Body of Christ. Free to duplicate but not sell. Rights reserved by Discover Ministries.