The prayers of the New Testament church brought powerful results. The church gathered together to pray for Peter when he was on death row. God answered by sending a mighty angel into the prison. Chains fell, doors opened, and Peter was rescued. We want our prayers to be this effective! Fortunately, scripture reveals the ingredients of effective prayer.

We have two choices in prayer — we can make prayer all about us, our past, and our problems, or we can make prayer all about God, His promises, and His purposes. Jabez chose the second option. He didn’t focus on the pain of his past. Rather, he asked for God’s blessing, influence, presence, and protection. We should make these same requests of the Lord in order to fulfill the calling HE has on our lives and our church.

It can sometimes be a struggle to know how to pray, especially if we’ve allowed our prayers to become routine. Fortunately, the Bible outlines many different types of prayers we can use as a pattern, including the prayer of Moses. The prayer of Moses outlines a series of steps we can take to draw closer to God: give God thanks, focus on the cross, offer every part of our lives to God, invite the Holy Spirit to work in us, claim the promises of God’s Word, worship His name, and intercede for others. By praying this way, we avoid merely coming to God with our wish list each day. Instead, we shift the focus to God and others by following godly principles given to us through the Old Testament Tabernacle.