Are you satisfied with your prayer life? Many are not. Christianity Today magazine did an online poll, and out of 678 respondents, only 23 felt satisfied with the time they were spending in prayer. (Philip Yancey, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? p. 15).

Yet in the Gospels, Jesus Himself specifically tells us how to get our prayers answered. Listen to what He says…

I. Ask in Jesus’ name
“If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” John 14:14, HCSB

Praying in Jesus’ name does not mean using Jesus’ name like a magic chant. It means coming to represent all that Jesus stands for. For example, if the president of the United States sends you as an ambassador to Mexico, then when you go to Mexico City, you are going in the name of the president. You represent his interests and the interests of the United States. You cannot just say anything. You must say what represents the president’s wishes, because you are speaking in his name.

Likewise, praying in Jesus’ name must come from knowing Jesus and all that Jesus represents. There is an interesting example of this is found in Acts 19. It says seven Jewish exorcists in Ephesus “attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, ‘I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches!’ But verse 15 says that the evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul—but who are you?” Then the spirit pounced on them, and the exorcists ran out of the house stripped naked and wounded! (Acts 19:13-16)

Why did this happen? Was the name of Jesus not effective? The very next verse after this story explains it. Acts 19:17 says, “This became know to everyone who lived in Ephesus… then fear fell on all of them, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.” People recognized that it is a serious thing to pray in Jesus’ name, and it is not to be done lightly. To pray in Jesus’ name demands that we know Jesus and what He stands for.

George Mueller, the great prayer warrior who ran an orphanage in England, said, “Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance. It is laying hold of God’s willingness.” We must learn to pray in God’s will. We do that by praying in Jesus’ name.

II. Ask while remaining in Christ
“If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you.” John 15:7, HCSB

Tony Evans tells the story of two dogs who lived at the same house: a German shepherd and a poodle. They were arguing about which dog was the greatest. The German shepherd argued that he was bigger and stronger; the poodle argued that he was cuter.

The German shepherd proposed a contest: they would test their greatness by seeing who could get inside the house of the owner first. Poodle agreed. The German shepherd went first. With its strength, it went up on its hind legs, opened its mouth, and put it on the doorknob. He couldn’t turn the knob with his mouth, so he took his paws and began twisting. After about three minutes, he had twisted the door open. He was worn out, but he finally got the door open.

Next, the poodle took his turn. He went to the other door, got on his hind lets, and scratched. The owner came and opened the door. The poodle was inside the house and was in the lap of the owner, being petted, in less than 30 seconds.

What was the difference? The German shepherd was trying to get the door open by his own strength. The poodle was depending on his master to open it because he had a relationship with his master. (Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations, p. 168-169)

Ole Hallesby, the great Norwegian writer on prayer, says, “Your helplessness is your best prayer.” (O. Hallesby, Prayer, p. 19). What he means is that when we come before God totally helpless and dependent on Him, is when our prayers have most impact, because it is prayer while remaining in Christ.

III. Ask in faith
“And if you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:22, HCSB

Richard Foster is a Christian author and professor at Azusa Pacific University. During his second week at the school, one of his students, named Maria, fell out of a pickup truck and hit her head on the pavement. He rushed to the hospital and joined the students who gathered to pray, fervently calling on God to heal her. Then he went back to the campus, and while he was there, he joined some of the faculty who gathered to pray for Maria.

At the faculty prayer meeting, one prayed, “We place Maria into your hands; there is nothing else we can do.” Another prayed, “Lord, help Maria to get well, if it be thy will.” Dr. Foster agreed that we should seek God’s will, but this kind of praying sounded more like they did not believe Maria could be healed. Their prayers hindered his faith. So he left and went back to the hospital. By this time, her parents had arrived, and they joined the gathered students in praying, believing God was fully able to heal Maria. About 6:00 a.m., the parents decided to pray by picturing in their minds that Maria was waking up. At that very moment a student was in the ICU with Maria, and said Maria opened her eyes and smiled at her. Within a week she was released from the hospital and completely healed. Pray in faith! (Richard Foster, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, p. 212-214)

IV. Keep asking
“Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds,and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8, HCSB

Mother Teresa said, “If you want to pray better, you must pray more.” (Philip Yancey, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? p. 161)

Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was in jail in Iran for three years for his faith. During that time, millions of Christians learned to pray faithfully on his behalf. God decided to answer those prayers. But why didn’t God set him free sooner? God wants us to learn to keep on asking, because in continuing to ask, we learn to depend upon God.

For fifteen years, an Italian mother named Monica prayed for her son to come to Christ. Once, she prayed all night that God would stop him from going to Rome, because she knew how much trouble he would get into in the big city. Yet he slipped out of the house and went to Rome, anyway. Were her prayers unanswered?

Not at all! On that trip to Rome, her son had an experience with Jesus Christ, and became a believer. Reflecting back on it later, he said that God denied his mother once in order to grant her what she had prayed for always.

Oh, and by the way, her son’s name was Augustine. Augustine went on to become one of the greatest theologians in Christian history. (Philip Yancey, p. 241.)

So, my brothers and sisters: pray in Jesus’ name, pray while remaining in Christ, pray in faith, and keep on praying!