The Power of Simple Prayer: How to Talk With God About Everything

by Joyce Meyer

  We hurt ourselves every time we do not obey God. For example, if God has told us to go and apologize to somebody and we are too stubborn to say, “I’m sorry,” we are hurting ourselves and negatively affecting our prayer lives. But when we do obey God, we position ourselves for answered prayer and great blessings. Just look at what the Bible says about the good things that come to those who obey.

  Make up your mind that you are going to be extremely, even radically, obedient to God.

  Those who sin but have a repentant attitude can be blessed. We must admit our sins, confess them, and be willing to turn from them. However, if people love their sin and are unwilling to turn from it, they will live under God’s chastisement until they see the light.

  • “Now therefore, if you will obey My voice in truth and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own peculiar possession and treasure” (Exodus 19:5).

  • “Observe and obey all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 12:28, NKJV).

  • “The Lord your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For the Lord will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 30:9–10, NKJV).

  • “If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity and their years in pleasantness and joy” (Job 36:11).

  • “. . .Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you” (Jeremiah 7:23, NKJV).

  • “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:10, NKJV).

  BE CONSISTENTLY RIGHTEOUS

  God promises in His Word that He will hear our prayers if we seek to be faithful in our walk with Him. Proverbs 15:29 says: “The Lord. . .hears the prayer of the [consistently] righteous (the upright, in right standing with Him).” What does it mean to be “consistently righteous”? Simply put, I think the best way to be consistently righteous is to refuse to compromise.

  A person who compromises is someone who tends to go along with what everybody else wants to do, even though it may not be totally right. A compromiser knows when something is not right, but does it anyway and hopes to get away with it. We compromise when we know in our hearts—and even have the conviction of the Holy Spirit—that we should not say, should not do, should not buy, or should not eat something and respond with: “Well, I know I shouldn’t say this, but. . .,” “I know I shouldn’t eat this, but. . .,” “Well, I know I shouldn’t buy this, but. . .,” “I know I shouldn’t do this, but. . .,” and “I know I shouldn’t stay up this late, but. . .#8221; What are we really saying with our I-shouldn’t-but’s? We are saying, “God is showing me what to do, but I’m going to do what I want to do.” In that case, we can only blame ourselves if we do not see the results we would like.

  When we refuse to compromise, though, and devote ourselves to being consistently righteous, God hears our prayers and promises other blessings as well, such as:

  • “. . .the desire of the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall be granted” (Proverbs 10:24).

  • “The [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like the palm tree [be long-lived, stately, upright, useful, and fruitful]” (Psalm 92:12).

  • “Light is sown for the [uncompromisingly] righteous. . .and joy for the upright in heart” (Psalm 97:11).

  • “. . .the Lord loves the [uncompromisingly] righteous (those upright in heart and in right standing with Him)” (Psalm 146:8).

  Even though the Bible clearly affirms the blessings of righteousness, people in our modern society seem to want us to compromise, and if we refuse, they may call us legalistic and rigid. Even some Christians will accuse us of being legalistic if we try to live holy lives. I would rather go overboard trying to be holy than to go overboard taking a bunch of liberties that I do not need to be taking or that will get me in trouble! It is easy to be swept away with the world, but God is looking for those who push against the downhill moral slide the world seems to be in and live pure and holy lives—lives that are without compromise!

  If we are going to obey God . . . we will have to overcome the opinions of people around us and dedicate ourselves to being consistently righteous.

  If we are going to obey God (and remember, that is a key to powerful prayer), we will have to overcome the opinions of people around us and dedicate ourselves to being consistently righteous. What does a consistently righteous person do? A consistently righteous person tries to do what is right all the time. Now, some people only try to do what is right when they are in trouble or when they need a miracle. For instance, they think, We should go to church this week because we need God to help us! Or, for example, We need a healing, so we better not gossip! It is amazing how “holy” we can act when we need a breakthrough, but the consistently righteous person tries to do what is right all the time—not just when he or she needs something from God. The consistently righteous person regularly does what is right because it is right, because it honors God, because it reflects a heart of humility and a desire to obey God—and God likes that!

  KEEP ON PRAYING

  James 5:16 says, “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].” Notice that an earnest prayer, which is the prayer that makes tremendous power available, is heartfelt, continued prayer.

  One of the keys to powerful prayer is to ask God for what we need and to continue to pray until we experience His tremendous power working on our behalf or in our situation. We need to press through in prayer and not give up so easily!

  Soon after Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He encouraged them to be persistent in prayer by saying, “Ask and keep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks and keeps on asking receives; and he who seeks and keeps on seeking finds; and to him who knocks and keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened” (Luke 11:9–10). Jesus wants us to persevere in prayer; He wants us to ask boldly and importunately. That does not mean we ask disrespectfully; it means we ask reverently but confidently. When we pray and keep on praying, He promises that our prayers will be effective and that we will indeed receive the answers we need.

  Refuse to Give Up

  You may remember from the chapter on persistent prayer that Jesus once told a parable about an importunate widow who continued to ask for justice from an unjust judge. The Bible says His purpose in telling this story was to emphasize that we “ought always to pray and not to turn coward (faint, lose heart, and give up)” (Luke 18:1). Essentially, this woman had said, “You better do something for me, or you will get awfully tired of hearing me.” Do you remember what happened? She got what she was asking for!

  Matthew 15:22–27 tells the story of another person who was persistent in her request and received an answer: “And behold, a woman who was a Canaanite from that district came out and, with a [loud, troublesomely urgent] cry, begged, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is miserably and distressingly and cruelly possessed by a demon! But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored him, saying: Send her away, for she is crying out after us. He answered, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Note that this woman was not an Israelite, but she came to Jesus anyway: “But she came and, kneeling, worshiped Him and kept praying, Lord, help me! And He answered, It is not right (proper, becoming, or fair) to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little
dogs. She said, Yes, Lord, yet even the little pups (little whelps) eat the crumbs that fall from their [young] masters’ table.”

  This woman had much faith that Jesus could help her. Basically she was telling Jesus, “You don’t have to do anything big for me. If I can just get a few crumbs, that will be enough.” Because of the persistent faith that proved she was not going to give up, Jesus responded to her and granted her request.

  Bartimaeus was another person in the Bible who was persistent in his asking. He cried out to Jesus and kept on crying out until Jesus paid attention to him. This blind beggar shouted continually, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity and mercy on me!” I can just imagine people saying, “Man, shut up! Leave Him alone! You’re making a ruckus here. You’re making a scene. Be quiet!” But the Bible says that when people told this blind man to keep still, he “kept on shouting out all the more” (Mark 10:47–48). Praise God! He knew that Jesus was his only hope, so he refused to quit crying out to Him. As a result, Jesus stopped what He was doing and healed Bartimaeus right on the spot.

  One of the main reasons people do not experience victory in prayer (as well as in other areas) is simply that they give up too soon. Paul and Silas were found still worshiping and praising God in their jail cell at midnight (see Acts 16:25–26). Many people would have given up and gone to sleep much earlier. Our motto should be: “Never give up.” A person who refuses to quit is one whom Satan cannot defeat.

  I encourage you not to give up praying, no matter what. It is Satan who wants you to throw in the towel and give up right now! He wants you to say:

  • “I’ll never be blessed.”

  • “I guess I wasn’t called into ministry after all.”

  • “Well, I guess I’ll never have a better job.”

  • “I’ll never graduate from college.”

  • “I guess I’ll never be able to move away to a better place.”

  • “I’ll never get married.”

  • “I’ll never have anything.”

  • “I’ll always be in debt.”

  • “I’ll never lose weight.”

  • “I’ll always be the one who gets left out.”

  Attitudes like those illustrated above are likely to guarantee that we will not receive anything! Instead, we need to be saying, “I know who I am in Christ. I know, God, what You did for me and I intend to be an overcomer because Your Word says that I can be. I am more than a conqueror through Christ. Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world. I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me. I refuse to eat ashes and dust all of my life. I am going to have everything God wants for me. I’m coming up out of this pit and I’m going to do great things in Jesus’ name.” That type of prayer and confession agrees with God’s Word, and prayed persistently, it will be powerful and yield great results. In fact, any type of prayer that God inspires and leads us in will be powerful if we pray it and keep on praying until our answers come. Remember, just thanking God that your answer is on the way is a type of persistent prayer. Keep letting God know that you believe His promises and trust Him to be faithful.

  Any type of prayer that God inspires and leads us in will be powerful if we pray it and keep on praying until our answers come.

  BE PROPERLY RELATED TO AUTHORITY

  Proverbs 28:9 says a startling thing about what happens to our prayers when we are not properly related to authority: “He who turns away his ear from hearing the law [of God and man], even his prayer is an abomination, hateful and revolting [to God].”

  Our modern society is absolutely filled with rebellion. I have observed that many, many people have trouble relating to authority. To start with, look at the role reversals we have in our families. I believe that women are equal to men; I believe women can hold respectable positions in the world and make good money; obviously, I also believe that women can be used by God, but none of these beliefs has anything to do with the order—the authority structure—God has established for the home.

  The Bible says that a wife should submit to her husband as unto the Lord. That does not mean she submits to sin. For example, her call to submission to her husband doesn’t mean she has to watch a pornographic movie because he wants her to. But we wives need to have an attitude of submission, an attitude of respect, toward our husbands. If husbands would obey the Word and love their wives as Christ loves the Church, and if wives would embrace true, godly submission, I believe marriages would last—and be happy—and I believe families would be stable, safe, and joyful places. This would be the case because we would all be living in obedience to God’s Word, honoring the authority He places in our lives for the purpose of keeping us safe, secure, and satisfied.

  At one time, my attitude toward my husband was rebellious due to a fear of being taken advantage of. I thought I had a good excuse, but God would not allow me to stay in rebellion just because of past bad experiences. He let me know that unless I submitted to my husband and had a respectful attitude toward him, that my bad attitude would hinder my prayers. No matter what our excuses may be, God cannot bless willful, conscious disobedience. Once I understood what I was doing and knew how to secure God’s grace and power to change, God expected me to do so. It was not easy, but had I refused, I would be stuck at that place still going around and around the same mountains of defeat and frustration.

  Even as the lack of true biblical submission is absent in many marriages, submission to spiritual authority is practically nonexistent. Hebrews 13:17 makes clear the biblical command to be properly positioned under spiritual authority, saying, “Obey your spiritual leaders and submit to them [continually recognizing their authority over you], for they are constantly keeping watch over your souls and guarding your spiritual welfare, as men who will have to render an account [of their trust]. [Do your part to] let them do this with gladness and not with sighing and groaning, for that would not be profitable to you [either].”

  Often when a pastor tries to bring some kind of correction, people tend to become upset and want to leave the church—and that is not right. Paul corrected people often; that was part of his job as a spiritual leader and it remains a responsibility for spiritual leaders today. Paul said: “Not that we have dominion [over you] and lord it over your faith, but [rather that we work with you as] fellow laborers [to promote] your joy” (2 Corinthians 1:24). If we will understand and believe that spiritual authority exists to promote our joy, we will embrace it, and when we do, our joy will increase and our prayers will be effective.

  We simply cannot grow up or mature without correction. If we are rebellious toward office policy, company rules, government guidelines, traffic laws, or toward any other form of authority, then we have more serious attitude problems than we might think. Being rebellious is not something to be proud of; it is something we need to be diligent to eliminate from our attitudes and behaviors! Why? Because if we refuse to submit to earthly authority, then we will not submit to God’s authority. That is called disobedience and it will keep our prayers from having power.

  God placed me in someone else’s ministry for several years before He allowed me to start my own ministry. In the other ministry, I had to learn how to come under authority. That was not easy for me, because I’m a pretty strong person. I did not always agree with the decisions that were made and I did not always feel I was treated fairly, but one of the lessons God taught me is that we are not fit to be in authority until we know how to come under authority. I also learned that God will promote us at the right time if we keep a good, godly attitude during challenging times.

  We are not fit to be in authority until we know how to come under authority.

  You might want a pay raise or a promotion at work, yet you regularly gossip and say critical things about your boss. This is a form of rebellion. God once told me, “Joyce, you can do what you are asked to do and still have a rebellious attitude.” Submission is not an act we put on: it is an attitude we should have.

  The anointing of God (His presence
and power) is a form of authority. If we want to operate in a greater anointing—a stronger authority from God—then we have to submit to the authority under which God places us before He moves us on to a new level of leadership. In our ministry, the people who lead worship are extremely anointed. If they were rebellious toward Dave and me, I do not believe the anointing on their lives would be as strong as it is. By the same token, if I were not submissive to my husband, I do not believe the anointing of God would be as strong on my life as it is. In our marriages, in our spiritual lives, in our professional lives, and in any other realm in which authority is in place, we must be properly related to that authority in order to experience answered prayer and God’s favor in our lives.

  Many people would experience tremendous breakthroughs in prayer if they would simply stop being so rebellious. We do not have to express an opinion about everything; we do not have to have an idea about everything; we do not have to make comments about everything. When we begin to submit to authority, we have to stop saying things like, “It’s not fair that they make me punch a time clock.” Well, too bad. Just go in and punch the thing anyway. We have to stop grumbling about what we do not like and just do those things. We cannot complain and say, “Well, I don’t want this lunch hour. I want another lunch hour.” We just need to do what we are told to do because someone in a position of authority has told us to do it. We need to do it because our Lord has asked us to. We don’t live to please people, but to please the Lord.