{"id":23609,"date":"2025-12-22T16:59:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T21:59:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/openbiblemessage.org\/?p=23609"},"modified":"2025-12-23T09:32:32","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T14:32:32","slug":"the-promise-of-prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/openbiblemessage.org\/es\/2025\/12\/the-promise-of-prayer\/","title":{"rendered":"The Promise of Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Every January since my first year serving as president of Open Bible, I\u2019ve invited our Open Bible family to set aside a week for focused prayer and fasting. We call it \u201cAwakening\u201d; it is a week to seek God together and align our hearts with His purposes for the year ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each year I\u2019ve been encouraged by how many pastors, churches, and leaders have participated. I believe what began as a week of prayer and fasting is becoming something more\u2014a movement of awakening<\/em> across Open Bible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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… what began as a week of prayer and fasting is becoming something more\u2014a movement of awakening<\/em> across Open Bible.<\/mark><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As we approach Awakening 2026, I sense God calling us not simply to talk about prayer or to understand the priority, place, pattern, or even practice of prayer. All of these are biblical and essential, as we will see briefly. But what I also want us to embrace again is the promise of prayer.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we commit ourselves to prayer and pray according to His will, we know He hears us. But I am also struck by this thought: if Jesus asks us to pray and shows us how to pray and what to pray, then surely He intends to answer those prayers.  He would not instruct us to pray in a certain way only to respond, \u201cI don\u2019t think so,\u201d or \u201cThat\u2019s not something I would do.\u201d When we pray according to His will, there is a promise attached. Let\u2019s examine this thought in more detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Priority of Prayer<\/span><\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Matthew 6, Jesus says, \u201cWhen you pray\u2026\u201d not if<\/em> you pray, not \u201con your good days pray,\u201d or \u201cin desperation pray.\u201d \u201cWhen you pray\u201d implies the expectation of regular and consistent time with Him. Prayer is essential for every one of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus modeled this. We see that He frequently withdrew to places to pray and would rise early to spend time in prayer. Before performing miracles, making decisions, or facing challenges, He prayed. Prayer was His priority and His starting point. The disciples recognized this priority and eventually asked Him, \u201cLord, teach us to pray.\u201d They could have asked Him how to do anything, yet the one thing they understood they needed was this life of prayer and communion with the Father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If prayer was Jesus\u2019 priority, it must be ours as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Place of Prayer<\/span><\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew 6:6 tells us to go into our room and pray to the Father. Prayer is personal and relational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke 11 adds another layer: \u201cJesus was praying in a certain place.\u201d This was familiar, intentional, habitual. Jesus returned to a place because prayer was His rhythm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all need a \u201ccertain place,\u201d a space where we meet with God. The location isn\u2019t what matters; His presence does. In that place of prayer, clarity grows, peace settles, and the Holy Spirit aligns our hearts with God\u2019s will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pattern of Prayer<\/span><\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For generations, believers have studied the Lord\u2019s Prayer as a pattern to follow\u2014and rightfully so. It includes worship, surrender, dependence, repentance, forgiveness, and spiritual covering. It is powerful and worth using as a model. But it\u2019s more than a pattern. It\u2019s an invitation to relationship. Prayer is not simply reciting words; it\u2019s drawing near to the Father. The pattern leads us to the Person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Practice of Prayer<\/span><\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prayer is a discipline we cultivate. Acts 1:14 says the early church \u201cjoined together constantly in prayer.\u201d Prayer wasn\u2019t an event; it was a lifestyle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prayer wasn\u2019t an event; it was a lifestyle.<\/mark><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This connects to our MULTIPLY values. The \u201cI\u201d stands for Intimacy with God and fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Prayer is what produces that intimacy. The more we practice<\/em> prayer, the more we recognize God\u2019s voice and trust His leading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Promise of Prayer<\/span><\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is the point I want to drive home: Jesus didn\u2019t just teach us how to pray; He promised God would hear our prayers, and His heart is to answer. If He told us to pray, \u201cYour kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,\u201d then we can trust He desires to fulfill that prayer. He wants us to experience His Kingdom in our lives each and every day\u2014a promise for us to possess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a few Scriptures that reinforce this idea:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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