Seven More Attitudes in Prayer
—Making prayer effective
The seven attitudes in our previous lesson are not the only attitudes that we should develop in our prayers. Here are seven more. When we pray with these attitudes, the more effective our prayers become.
1 Humility
The need for humility in prayer is made plain in our Lord’s parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14). "God does not forget the cry of the humble" (Psalm 9:12).
2 Earnestness
"The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous person avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours and he prayed earnestly... (James 5:16-17).
3 Contrition
As an example of contrition in prayer, take David’s prayer of repentance after he had sinned with Bathsheba (Psalm 51).
4 Boldness
"So let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:15-16, cf Hebrews 10:19-22).
5 Reverence
"Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and so let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe" (Hebrews 12:28).
6 Child-likeness
King Solomon prayed, "Now, LORD my God, you have made your servant king instead of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties" (1 Kings 3:7).
7 Seeking
Paul said that God made people everywhere "that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is really not far from each one of us" (Acts 17:26-28).