How many times

[The Sower]

How many times should we pray for the same thing? It seems to me, Scripture suggests as Christians we need only pray once and then believing by faith, God not only hears but the answer is on the way. (The answer being, Yes / No / Wait) So...why do leaders and others as well, continue to pray for the same thing week after week?

[Trini]

Everyone tells me you should pray until it gets answered so now i'm confused!?!

[dill987]

You only should pray once because god isn't going to forget about your pray.In church someone said that you shouldn't beg and beg for something or Jesus will just give it to you in the wrong time and then won't be as happy as you would went u wait.

[m.o.m.]

Okay, first of all, God's timing is perfect and He never gives us things in the wrong time.

Praying is communicating with God and I believe we communicate what is on our heart. It is okay ato let the Lord know that you have things on your heart that you had on your heart yesterday and the day before. The key is to pray that His will be done. Look at the example in the Garden of Gethsemane. Read Mark 14:32-42 for one example. He prayed in verse 36: "Abba! Father! All things are possible for Thee; remove this cup from Me, yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt."

He then went to his disciples and returned to prayer. Vs. 39 "...He went away and prayed, saying the same words."

If Jesus struggled with the need to lay his burdens before the Lord repeatedly; how much more should we. Pray your heart to God. He will listen and respond. He is not; however, a magician who will give you your desires when you "pray" the right words. Pray without ceasing and pray for His will to be done.

m.o.m.

[germanJoy]

How many times should we pray for the same thing? It seems to me, Scripture suggests as Christians we need only pray once and then believing by faith, God not only hears but the answer is on the way. (The answer being, Yes / No / Wait) So...why do leaders and others as well, continue to pray for the same thing week after week?
Praying is a CLEAR issue mentioned in the bible. We are all instructed TO PRAY WITHOUT CEASING. (1 Thes. 5:17

This was instructed by Paul, Silvanus and Timothy to the churches in connection with the words of Christ:

"There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God, and did not respect man. And there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Give me legal protection from my opponent.' And for a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, 'Even though I do not fear God, nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, lest by continually coming she wear me out.' And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now shall God bring about justice for His elect, who cry to Him DAY AND NIGHT, and will He delay long over them? "I tell you that He will bring about justice for them speedily. However, WHEN THE SON OF MAN COMES, will He find faith on the earth?"

By praying to God unceasingly, we declare our surrender to the circumstances and our DEPENDENCE on Him which signifies our FAITH in Him. In the above story, Jesus is telling us to become like the widow not giving up asking God until the prayers are answered.

[SemperReformanda]

Mat 6:9-10 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven.


Mat 26:39 "And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou [wilt]."

Mat 26:42 "He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. "

Mat 26:44 "And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. "

[cyclemad]

Let us consider prayer ...

The fact that we must pray is clear ... none of us will doubt that.
We will also all agree that God works through the prayers of the saints.

James mentions a bit about prayer:
"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray ... sick .... call the elders of the church to pray ... And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well ... the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. ... Elijah ... prayer earnestly ... and it did not rain ... for three and a half years ..." James 5 vs 13-18

It says elsewhere in scripture that our prayers do not get answered if we pray out of impure motives.

It also says that we must present our requestes to God with prayer and petition.
Petition in what Daniel did .... he fasted and called out to God day and night. "So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes." Daniel 9 vs 5
Later on, in chapter 10, he mourned and semi fasted for 3 weeks. "On the 24th day .... I looked up and before me was a man ... he continued ... "Since the first daythat you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me 21 days ...." Daniel 10 vs 1-14

The prince of the Persian kingdom is not humand, but demonic. LET US NOT FORGET THAT WE FIGHT A SPIRITUAL BATTLE!

Yes, God heards our prayers and answers them immediately, but he has chosen to work through the prayers of His saints. "For our struggles are not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms .... And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Ephesians 6 vs 12; 18.

WHY DO WE PRAY?
Because we are in a spiritaul battle

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS OF OUR PRAYERS?
Faith
To happen continually
... in all forms.

Apart from the spiritual battle, I also believe that God uses prayers more to change us, that to change the circumstances around us.

I agree you m.o.m ... all of it.

This is an add on to what you have said. It may be a bit sketchy as I have not had much time to get it 100% ... ask if I need to explain .. or add.

Heaven is not far away ... live like you know it!

[lilian]

i know and believ that we should pray without ceasin...
thts 1 thes 5 18...it doesnt mean that u dont believe if u pray for the same thing over and over again!!! just tell God u know...i knw he doesnt forget but just tell him anyway!!
and another thing..sometymes the holy spirirt can lead us durin prayers!! like ive been pray 4 my parents to be saved for a while now!..and one great sunday at church...we had some powerfull prayers and the holy spirit told me that God has already answered that prayer,...BUT...contiue prayin for them ...dont stop!!! so be lead by the lord and never cease prayin!!!
stay blessed and believin!!

[Daytimeson23]

When the bible speaks of "vain repeatitions" it is not speaking of a person that prays for the same think week after week. EACH day I pray that the Lord watch over my wife and family and in no way is that wrong to do. What God is saying is those prayers where people are babbling the same thing over and over trying to be "eloquent" and trying to impress by their words, it is these repetitions that mean nothing to God.

[The Sower]

I've heard all of these arguments before. This is mainstream thinking and I'm simply wondering if by asking the same thing over and over, we are not robbing ourselves of a deeper walk with our Lord and a deeper prayer life to go with it? Yes, Scripture says Jesus prayed the same thing in the Garden of Gethsemane just before being arrested. No doubt about it! He was about to be forsaken by His closest freinds, falsely tried, falsely accused, blindfolded, beated to a bloody pulp, spit on, have His beard ripped out, a crown of thorns beaten down on His head, stripped naked, mocked, whipped by flogging and delivered to be a bunch of Roman dogs to be nailed by His precious hands and feet to a cross and raised upright for all to see. As if that weren't enough, to have all the sins of humanity placed on Him and then forsaken by His Father and die. I can understand why He might have prayed the same prayer, knowing what was going to transpire in the next 18 hours. I think anyone in that situation would be entitled. A better argument might have been 2 Cor 12:6-10 where we learn how Paul had sought removal three times for the thorn in the flesh. God's response was "No" each time. V.9 tells us why. As for the woman returning to the ungodly judge over and over again until he finally gives in...This is merely an example of showing the contrast between that situation vs. how lovingly God responds to our prayers. None of these responses are a demonstration or principle of how many times we should pray for the same thing. Please consider Mt.6:5-15 for a more complete treatment of our Lord’s model prayer. Lk.11:5-13 is a demonstration as to how far superior God responds to our prayer. Look at Mt.21:21-22. We see just after Jesus killing a fig tree, His disciples were amazed to which He responds, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith, and do not doubt, you shall not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ’Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it shall happen. “And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.” It seems our Lord is stating a principle here which is difficult to get our spiritual hands around. It depends on our level of faith. Faith in what or who? You would say in God of course! And I would agree. Looking a little deeper we see He says, “…, if you have faith, and do not doubt, you shall not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say,______________...” Here is an awesome example! If you say to this MOUNTAIN. There was nothing larger visible to His audience than that mountain. So…He took the most impossible example they could see and understand, and said you can say to this mountain. Not to God, Lord please move this mountain or anything of the sort. But, YOU can say to THIS MOUNTAIN, be taken up and cast into the sea. It’s a faith that goes even deeper. We’re talking very specific power and authority here brothers. We could all probably write a chapter at least on the ramifications of such understanding. At the rate I’m going here, I may be first. (To write that chapter, that is.) It is not my desire at this time and place to go that deep, suffice to say, this is not just faith. When we hear things from His Word like, Matthew 16:19 "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." Matthew 18:18"Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. (We know whenever we see a principle, statement or sentence used more than once, He is stressing or putting special emphasis on it. In other words, this will be on the test.) John 14:13-14 " Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. (We must ask ourselves, what does it mean, “in My name”? As we engage our mind in prayer and as such, close our time of communion with God is more than simply saying, “in Jesus name”. To do anything in someone else’s name is to do that thing in that person’s stead. In their place. It’s what they would do. It also connotes that person’s authority and power! For example, an ambassador has authority to speak and act on behalf of his country. Likewise, we are His ambassadors and our country is not of this world. I challenge myself as I close in prayer, public or otherwise to never say “in Jesus name” without truly considering what that means. It even changes the way I pray as I search my heart for what He would say. In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. John15:16 " You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. John16:23–24&26 " In that day you will not question Me about anything Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. " Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full. " In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; This is the kind of faith I think He looks for in all of us. It is a faith He has already provided to us through His Holy Spirit. It is a matter of appropriating that which He has freely gifted us. In 1 Jn.3:21-22 we read; Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. It should be read in context of the whole chapter. I had a hard time figuring out where or how to pull these from the text because it is all so pertinent. Again though, we see the concept based on our standing secured for us in Christ, as God’s children living in a right relationship with Him, we have divine authority and power by faith…I respectfully submit, we need ask only once and leave it in His most capable hands. Besides, there is a lot more to pray for than the same old thing. Selah!