Unlock the Power of Prayer: 2 Simple Changes for a More Powerful Prayer Life in 2024

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Are you interested in enhancing your life? We focus on exercising and eating well for our physical well-being, but have you considered your spiritual health? Have you explored methods to enhance your prayer life?

What if I told you there are two simple changes you can make right now to your prayer time that will help you to pray more effectively and have a more powerful prayer life?

Two simple steps! If you are interested in having powerful prayers that move heaven to work for you then read on because that’s exactly what we’re going to learn.

Updated and republished from January 31. 2020

I have to tell you that I always thought that my prayer life was effective because I just sat, spoke to God, and ended with “in Jesus’ Name”.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t pray that way because the Bible teaches us that we should. Jesus is the One we pray in, we pray through and we pray to. He intercedes for us to the Father so that IS how you should pray.

What I mean is, I was placing the phrase “in Jesus’ Name” in the wrong spot. And that meant that my focus was in the wrong spot, too.

If you want to have a powerful prayer life then keep on reading. I want to share with you a concept that you may have not considered before.

I would love to see you pray with more confidence and I would love to see your prayer life go from ho-hum to amazing – to go from sometimes having confidence that your prayers are answered to KNOWING that your powerful prayer will be answered according to God’s will and enjoy that one on one time in conversation and communion with our Father.

To get there, there are two things that you can do right now that will result in powerful prayer life. The first change is found in two verses of the Lord’s Prayer.

The Lord’s Prayer is a Powerful Prayer

We have been taught to pray according to the Avinu (in Hebrew) or what we know as the Lord’s Prayer (or Our Father) in Matthew 6 and Luke 11. For many of us, aside from bedtime prayers, this may have been the first prayer we learned as children.

Diane here at Worth Beyond Rubies does have a VERY detailed post on the Lord’s Prayer that you can read here so I won’t go into all the details of it but it has a lot of great, fascinating information so it’s a great read!

So for now, let’s look closely at Matthew 6:9-10:

“Therefore, pray in this way:
‘Our Father in heaven,
    sanctified be Your name. ¹⁰ Your kingdom come,
    Your will be done  on earth as it is in heaven.

TLV – Bible Gateway

What Do We Learn From the Lord’s Prayer?

• pray to our Father in Heaven
• acknowledge His holy Name
• pray for His kingdom to come, and
• pray for His will to be done on earth.

Jesus teaches us that we are to pray according to the Father’s will.

Have you listened to your prayers lately? How many times do you pray according to your own will? Yikes! I know!

Can you think of a time when you tried to tell God how to answer your request? Let me tell you, I’ve done that many times!

Did you notice something else about these verses in Matthew 6? Jesus taught us that we begin our prayers acknowledging God the Father; acknowledging who He is. The power of prayer is found when we acknowledge that the Lord God is sovereign and that the world is held in His mighty hand.

This reminds me of praying the ACTS way because it begins with adoration and the acknowledgment of our Holy Father and His divine presence.

Do you think that acknowledging God will make a difference in our prayers? Will our prayers become more powerful if we prayed that way?

Another thing is we are taught to pray in the name of Jesus and so we end our prayers that way like a closing salutation. However, that is not a formula for effective prayer.

Author Bryan Chappell, says in his book, Praying Backwards,

“The name of Jesus is not a genie in a bottle or a magic formula to getting whatever it is we want. It is not a wishing well.”

Bryan Chappell, Praying Backwards

And yet, so many believers pray this way, with anticipation of having prayers answered because we said certain words. We also tack on “let Your will be done” thinking that this will surely get our prayers noticed and answered and sometimes we do this without intention or what is known in Hebrew as kavanah. We just say it out of habit.

No! We cannot just add these on to prayer like some formula. We pray in Jesus’ Name because He intercedes for us. We pray in His Name because it is through Him that we come before God’s presence.

As you know, praying does not change all situations. Loved ones still suffer, life still hurts and you still deal with the issues you have been praying for.

But that doesn’t mean you give up. You still stand on the Truth in the Word of God. Still believe. Still trust.

Remember, prayer changes us. Sometimes our situations don’t change but we are changed because we find ourselves abiding closer in Him.

So let’s explore the changes we can make in our prayers!

Two Key Changes for a Powerful Prayer Life

Powerful Prayer Change #1: Begin with the End

So what is this revolutionary way of praying?

Pray backward beginning with the end.

Begin your prayers with “Thy will be done” and “in Jesus’ name.”

By starting your prayers with the ending, your focus is on the One to whom you are submitting. You pray in Jesus’ name, so begin your prayers by using this authority that He has given to you.

Your prayer focus will be on Almighty God and what He can do rather than yourself and your will.

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An Example of a Powerful Prayer when Praying for Healing

Heavenly Father, Lord of all creation and the One who holds us in the palms of His hands, I come before You in the name of Jesus Christ and I pray for Your will to be done in {name’s} life. Have Your way with {name} according to the plan you purposed from before the foundation of the earth and through the power of your Holy Spirit.

Lord, {her} body needs Your healing touch. We stand on Isaiah 53:5 that by His stripes {she} is healed. Your Word is truth and does not lie. Your Word says that You healed all {her} diseases in Psalm 103:3.

Your Word says that You are not a respecter of persons, so, God, I am expecting that You will heal {her}. I believe that You heal ALL diseases, ALL sicknesses, not certain kinds. Your Word says ALL and so I am standing on Your Word.

According to Your Word, touch {her} body, touch every part of it that is not whole, and let Your healing power flow through {her}. May {she} sense the warmth of Your presence with {her}, even now, as we speak.

Dear Lord the destiny You have planned for {name}, let it continue to unfold according to Your plan for {her} life. May {she} walk in Your power and strength, may {she} be filled to overflowing with Your goodness, mercy, and grace.

May {she} be filled with boldness to share {her} testimony of the amazing thing You are doing in {her} life. Dear God, let Your glory shine through {name} as You perform Your will in {her} life. We give you praise and glory and honor. Amen.

I highlighted in bold the phrases that indicate the focus of the prayer. This sample prayer keeps the focus off the details of the situation and keeps the focus on God Himself. He has a plan and desires to work it out. His plan includes healing as noted in Isaiah 54:5 and Psalm 103:3 and many other verses. Spiritual wisdom comes with being able to discern from studying His Word and His character the knowledge of His will.

The Effect of Beginning with the End

When you change the direction of your prayer, to begin with the ending, you will notice the focus of your words are more on Him and what He can do and less on you and what you’d like Him to do.

You are now praying according to the Word of God and not according to your own desires and will.

Stand on His Word and let God fulfill His promises to you. Can you pray backward when interceding for others in prayer? Most certainly you can!

Can you pray the Scriptures back to God when praying for your marriage as well as for healing prayer? Most definitely! I strongly encourage you to do that!

Praying backward has been revolutionary, not only in my prayer life but also in my understanding of His Word as it directs my thinking patterns. I know your thought patterns will change as well!

When you pray focused on His will, your priorities will be altered, your thoughts will be altered, and the direction of your prayers will be altered because now you are wanting God’s will above your own. Altered from less of you to more of Him.

Remember this, it’s not about you or me. It is all about God and His glory, His will for us, and our deep desire to see His will done in our lives and in the lives of others. God’s plan and His will are far better than anything we could ever ask for.

Effective Prayer Outside the Box

So often, in our prayers, we put God in a box. We direct Him to answer prayer in a specific way and we are glad when and if He does.

But if we allow Him to answer according to His will, the answer could be so much more than what we were thinking. We would then say we prayed an effective prayer.

Bryan Chappell’s book, Praying Backwards, has been an eye-opener for me. It really has changed the way I pray as I have now been praying powerful prayers for the past four years since I read his book. I highly recommend you read this book and you’ll see a huge improvement in how you think about effective prayer.

When Jesus’ priorities come first, our prayers will change. They will be less self-oriented, more Christ-directed, more blessed, and ultimately most satisfying to our hearts. (pg 16, Praying Backwards)

Have you listened to how children pray? Pretty cute, huh? But what do you notice about their prayers? Would you say they are self-focused?

While children may pray, “Lord, give me what I want”, the mature believer prays “Lord, conform me to what You want.” (pg 25, Praying Backwards)

Children pray, “My will be done”, the mature believer prays “Thy will be done.” (pg 26, Praying Backwards)

Praying backward is an attitude of the heart (pg 27). It means that you are placing your focus on the Lord Jesus Christ and not on yourself. When you pray backward and pray the Scriptures back to God, you will find you are praying some prayers with great power! There is nothing better than that!

Powerful Prayer Change #2: Pray the Scriptures Back to God

I love to incorporate God’s written Word within my prayers. When I pray for healing, I will pray the Scriptures back to our Holy God. The sample prayer, above, shows how I word Scripture in my prayers.

When I pray for finances, I will remind God that I know He is Lord, and that He will provide for us. I will find Bible verses that speak of His provision and pray the Scriptures back to God.

When I pray for wisdom, or for discernment, I will find verses that apply and pray the Scriptures back to God.

There is nothing more powerful than praying the Word of God to the Father who inspired the Word!

I pray the Scriptures back to God not because He needs to be reminded. That’s not the case at all because He surely knows all that He promised to you and me.

I pray the Scriptures back to God to remind myself of what He has promised me. This bolsters my faith in all areas of life and increases my trust in Him and gives me that inner peace. As I pray the Scriptures back to God, I am telling Him that I believe Him. I am telling Him that I am expecting Him to make good on His promises.

And when you pray the Scriptures back to God, this is what you are telling Him, too. God will honor His promises. He will honor His Word and He will answer your prayers as you requested.

Powerful and Effective Prayer Summarized

So we learned that there are two changes you can make in your prayers that will result in effective prayer life.

Change #1 for a powerful prayer life is to pray backward. Begin with the end to see your prayer focus change from self to Him.

Change #2 for an effective prayer life is to pray the Scriptures back to God. Find appropriate Bible verses that speak to your situation and pray the promises back to God. This will keep your focus on what God promised He would do and in so doing, God will keep His promise.

The book, Praying Backwards, by Bryan Chappell, really is a good book to add to your library. This book has helped improve my prayer life for the past four years now. I know it will help you with effective prayer life, too.

It’s been a pleasure to share this concept with you. What are your thoughts about praying backward, starting with the end of your prayer at the beginning?

Be sure to get your FREE ACTS Prayer Method Workbook below as a gift from Worth Beyond Rubies!

Cindy Barnes has been called by God in the early 80s to be a teacher of His Word. She is a serious student of the Word, focusing on the Inductive Bible Study Method since 2007. Her passion is to teach women how to study the Bible using this method. In addition, she desires for women to develop an intense yearning to draw closer to God through reading and writing out the Bible.

Tree of Life (TLV) – Scripture taken from the Holy Scriptures, Tree of Life Version*. Copyright © 2014,2016 by the Tree of Life Bible Society.  Used by permission of the Tree of Life Bible Society.

Chapell, Bryan: Praying Backwards: Transform Your Prayer Life by Beginning in Jesus’ Name, Baker Books (July 1, 2005)

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