God Wants to Answer Your Prayers
One thing Gloria would tell you before she shared these prayer secrets she found in the Bible is this: God wants to answer your prayers and manifest His glory—not just in emergency situations or when you cry out to Him here and there. He wants to do so every day. He wants to go far beyond what we have ever known, and the only way for Him to take us there is for us to hear Him in the spirit.
Prayer isn’t some religious ritual that earns you points in the kingdom of God—praying is communicating with God—fellowshipping with Him. It’s how you come to know what He thinks, rather than just what He says.
Something you should know about Gloria’s prayer secrets is that they come straight from the life of Jesus. And one thing we know about Jesus and prayer is that He made prayer a priority. The Bible reveals how Jesus would sacrifice sleep or rest to spend time with the Father. He would pray before the sun came up; He would pray all night, even after ministering to people all day. That is a powerful prayer life! And, He didn’t do this as the Son of God on the earth—He did so as the Son of Man anointed by the Holy Ghost.
Now, if Jesus had to have that kind of prayer life to have success—so do you. Your level of victory will be determined by how much time you spend in the presence of God. If you want to spend just enough time to get your needs met, you can do that. But, if you want to reach out to a sick and dying world, and enjoy total and complete victory in your life, you need to spend more time with Him. He needs to be your priority.
Do you want to feel confident and certain in your prayer life? Here are three prayer secrets from Gloria Copeland—guaranteed to grow your prayer life, strengthen your inner man, and change your circumstances.
“Could you not watch with Me one hour?” –Matthew 26:40, NKJV
Many years ago, Gloria asked the Lord to teach her how to walk in the spirit—one step at a time. One of the first things He told her to do was spend an hour each day praying in the spirit. Even though she spent most of her time in the Word of God already, even five minutes praying in the spirit felt like an eternity. But she had determined to obey Him and seek Him with all her heart, so she set the goal and has met it with very few exceptions ever since. It took switching around her whole routine and rearranging her schedule—but she did it!
As she began to spend an hour a day praying in other tongues, her life changed dramatically. She was hearing from the Lord more, and circumstances in her life had improved. The only thing she had done differently was pray for a set amount of time each day—without fail.
Why is it important to set a goal for prayer?
Rather than praying according to her own mood or schedule, Gloria set a goal for prayer through the leading of the Holy Spirit. The Lord soon revealed to her the importance of this goal through Jesus’ example.
Jesus responded, “Could you not watch with Me one hour?” (verse 40, NKJV). Here, He mentions a specific amount of time for prayer, rather than leaving it open-ended. Jesus was calling His disciples to a specific place in prayer.
With that in mind, what might Jesus be saying to you today?
Perhaps He would say: “Can’t you pray with Me one hour? Can’t you visit with Me one hour? Can’t you watch with Me one hour?” Think about that. He told His disciples to watch and pray, so when temptation came, they wouldn’t enter into it. The same thing is true for you. He isn’t trying to make a demand of you to pray—He is trying to protect you, bless you and fellowship with you.
Setting a prayer goal keeps you from cutting your time with God too short. It keeps you from the distractions around you or from skipping that time altogether. Perhaps you’ve found yourself trying to pray, but then the dog needs to be let out—then back in. Kids have questions, phone calls come in and look at that pile of dishes in the sink! It goes on and on. We live in a world of distractions. Setting a goal for a certain amount of time and sticking with it says, “This is what I’m doing right now. Those other things can wait.” As Pastor George Pearsons says, “Put a ‘Gone Fishing’ sign on your mind and keep praying.”
As you set a goal for prayer in your life, it may not be for an hour at first. Seek the Lord, and ask Him what He would have you do. No matter what you decide, be sure to set a goal and stick with it. No excuses. The devil will try to come in and disrupt your goal in any and every way possible. Don’t let him get away with it. Your life will never be the same!
“I pray in the spirit an hour a day because God told me to. And I tell you, it’s changed my life.” –Gloria Copeland
Secret No. 2: Be Consistent with Prayer
“Pray without ceasing.” –1 Thessalonians 5:17, NKJV