We all feel the call to pray, but how do we grow in prayer?
And how can explore greater diversity in our prayers?
In Matthew 7:7-8, Jesus is teaching his disciples how to pray effectively;
‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.’
Ask, Seek, Knock – some equate this with growing in increasing levels of intensity…
ASK
In asking prayer, we make our petitions known to God. He says, ‘You have not because you ask not’ so ‘ask and make my joy complete’. Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, ‘Give us today our daily bread’
‘You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it’ -John 14:13-14
‘But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!’ -John 15:7
‘And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for’ -1 John 4:14-15
SEEK
God conceals a matter and kings search out a matter. King David always enquired and sought the Lord. God says, ‘Ask of me and I will show you great and unsearchable things you do not know’
We can draw out understanding of the deep things through intercession with groanings and tongues. We don’t know what we ought to pray but the Spirit prays through groanings in accordance with God’s will.
The Lord is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). He wants us to seek His face, not just what He can do for us. Seek His presence!
‘Search for me and you will find me, if you search for me with all your heart’
As you search, God may begin speaking to you in a parable or giving you a piece of a jigsaw puzzle – that’s when we need to push in further, waiting on Him, listening and asking more questions. Sometimes it will lead us to search out a matter (research), digging into scripture or some other means.
One evening in September 2023 approximately twenty of us were gathered under a canopy in a field in Northamptonshire. We had spent a few days together in prayer and worship. On this particular evening, out of nowhere I had a word of knowledge – and just said, ‘I’m getting the word “Morocco” – does that mean anything to anyone?’ As it turned out, it didn’t mean anything to anyone present. That night I went to sleep and the next morning I saw a news headline that there had been the worst earthquake in Morocco for 120 years that night!
In Autumn 2024 in a House of Prayer in Nottingham, as we were interceding I got the word, ‘Canterbury’. Again, it didn’t mean anything to those in the room – but in less than a month, The Archbishop of Canterbury stepped down.
‘My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “LORD, I am coming.”‘ -Psalm 27:8
KNOCK
In knocking prayer, we move beyond requests and seeking to declaring a matter! Decree a thing and it shall happen!
If two of you agree on anything it shall be done for you. What you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. We are to execute the judgments written – that is the privilege of the saints. We declare ‘Open up the ancient gates and let the King of Glory come in’
I was recently in a coffee house in Daventry with my brother and co-worker James. As I came out of the toilet I heard the words; ‘Ye shall have whatsoever ye saith’ – which is strange as I don’t speak old English or read the King James Version of the Bible! Anyway, the phrase has stuck with me…
‘Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, “May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,” and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and it you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.”‘ -Mark 11:23-24
Read Luke 11:5-10 and then Luke 18:1-8
A Story of Answered Prayer…
In February 2025, A few members of our Shining Lights team met up in Northampton to work on developing a new website. The thing is, we had no money to pay a web-developer and none of us on the team had the skills to design one from scratch. However, I had come across some ‘free’ websites online that used templates. You just had to pick between different options and colours and voila, you have a website. But when we began going down this route we found that there were hidden costs – a bit like when you book a ‘cheap flight’.
All-in-all, it would cost over £300 to get the website up and running and none of us had that money available. So we couldn’t do any of what we had planned to do for those 3 days we had set aside for that purpose. So four of us decided to get in the car and go to a nearby forest to pray. We started by asking God to send money or expertise to build a website. Then we wondered through the woods, seeking God’s will until it came to a point where we started making prophetic declarations – declaring that the money would be transferred over to the righteous.
The next evening we hosted a small seminar entitled: ‘Kingdom Business’ and we discussed next steps. One of those present asked what we needed to get going – I said, ‘Well we need a website and we’ve been praying that God will provide either the money or a developer’.
Long story short – one of those present said they had been given some money the previous day and could put £250 into Shining Lights bank account for the website. That day, someone else also sent £60 so that evening we were able to pay for the website.
We also received help in developing the site.
Prayer works!
Prayer is powerful. Thank you for sharing. Even the simple prayer of a child. I heard testimony two days ago. A woman in Africa had given birth to a baby and then died. The premature baby was tiny. Keeping the child warm was key, but the last hit water bottle they had burst. They would have wrapped it in a cloth and laid it near the baby. A little child stood up and said, God, send us a water bottle without delay, and a doll for the crying toddler whose Mommy died. The next day, a parcel arrived from England and it contained a water bottle and a doll. Interesting thing was that it was posted months before. As the LORD says, before you call, I will answer. It’s interesting what you heard in King James language. In that translation it does say you will have whatever you say. If your heart isn’t doubting and you believe what you say, you will have it, on the negative side too. Prayer is powerful, hence scripture says, we should guard our mouth. Glory to God.