Many times, our prayers are hindered by some very simple, but common mistakes we make in our prayers. These mistakes can happen in our private prayer time, but are even more likely to occur when we are praying publicly with other believers. That means that instead of having the multiplication of effect that comes when we pray together, we instead end up wasting out time, the time of fellow believers, and even the Lord's time.

Unfortunately, although there is a lot of teaching on the need for prayer, many believers have never really learned how to pray effectively. What they've learned has been through hearing other's pray (who may, or may not know how to pray effectively). Because of this, many times, the same mistakes are repeated over and over, and the people who are making those mistakes actually think that they are praying well. Let's take a look at some of the more common errors that believer's make in their prayer time.

Spending All One's Time on Praying "give me" Prayers (prayers of petition) - This is the most common prayer error of the believer. Prayer should not be just about asking God for things that we want. If we look at the Lord's Prayer (Mt 6:9-13), the example of how to pray which the Lord Himself gave us, we find that the prayer of petition ("give us this day our daily bread") is the shortest part of the prayer. Yet, somehow it has become the greatest part of most believer's prayers.

Some believers have a "give me" list that's so long, they can't even finish it in their prayer session. According to their list, everything in their life needs to be changed. They're so busy praying for themselves, and their desires, they don't have any time to pray for anything else. This is a very selfish form of Christianity, and contrary to the Will of God!

Looking at the Lord's Prayer again, we see that the biggest part of that prayer is the prayer of praise; both starting and ending the prayer. The second biggest part is the prayer of intercession ("Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven"). If those are the two biggest parts of the prayer which the Lord taught His disciples, it seems to me they should be the biggest parts of our prayer life as well.

Jesus told his disciples, "Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him" (Mt 6:8). If He knows what we need, why do we spend so much time telling Him about it?

Praying Outside of God's Will - This comes from a misunderstanding of a couple of verses.

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Mt 21:22

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Jn 14:13

The misunderstanding is that God has to do whatever we ask in prayer. That, in effect, a prayer is a command to God, and He must, as our servant, do what we have commanded.

Hold on a minute! That sounds an awful lot like we're God, and not Him. God is not our servant, He's our God. We are to serve Him. Our prayers are petitions to Him, asking Him to do something on our behalf, not instructions and commandments to Him.

But, there's another part of this as well. That's the misunderstanding of what the phrase, "in my name" means. To a lot of believers, those are "the magic words" to get your prayer answered. If you say them at the end of your prayer, it will get answered. On the other hand, if you leave those words off of the prayer, nothing happens. I've even heard people say that the prayer doesn't go to heaven unless you add those words. But, that's not what Jesus said.

When the Lord told us to pray in His name, that's the same as saying we are praying as if we are Him, and doing it for Him. It's the same as a lawyer, or ambassador. A lawyer only has a right to say what his client wants him to say; to do things in agreement with his client's will and desire. Likewise, an ambassador can only say what his government wants him to say; the will and desire of the chief executive of his government. When we pray "in the name of Jesus" we are essentially saying, "I am praying the will and desire of my Lord, Jesus."

Where do we find the will and desire of Jesus? We find it in the Word of God. If we want to truly pray "in the name of Jesus" we'd better find out what He's said He wants us to pray, and start praying it.

Not Praying the Word of God - As I said, if we want to be sure that the prayer we pray is in alignment with God's will, we need to find out what God's Word says about it. In fact, the best prayer we can possibly make is to pray God's Word.

It's not that we need to remind God of what His Word says, it's that we cannot express His will any better than He did. By praying His Word, we insure that when we say "in the name of Jesus" we are saying it correctly.

To do this requires knowing the Bible. Not just having a bunch of verses memorized, but really knowing what is behind those verses. More than anything, it's knowing God's heart (which is expressed to us in His Word). Very few people pray this kind of prayer, because they don't know the Bible well enough to do it.

Sadly, many people think they are praying God's will, because they say, "God do your will in such-and-such a situation." Really, all they're saying is that they don't know God's will. One of the reasons why we have the Bible is to know the Lord's will. Otherwise, all we are praying is what we think God wants, instead of what He has told us He wants.

Praying Without Faith - If someone prays, without believing that God will answer their prayer, what are they bothering to pray? Yet, many times, prayers are offered up to God without any true faith that they'll be answered.

It's not that the people don't believe God answers prayer, just that they're not sure if He'll answer that particular prayer. "You know, sometimes God does it, and sometimes He doesn't," they say to themselves. Or, they're not sure that God will answer the prayer for them; as if you need enough brownie points with God before He'll answer your prayer. Or, what they're praying for is just plain bigger than their faith.

I remember being in a church service once where the pastor started the service by announcing that Sister So-and-So was just diagnosed with cancer, and had only a few months to live. Everyone prayed for her then, even though she wasn't present, and then started the service.

Partway through the service, the sister arrived in church, being pushed in a wheelchair. The pastor immediately stopped the service, and asked everyone to gather around her to pray. So far, so good. But, once he started praying for her, it seemed to me that I could hear in his voice that he didn't have any faith to pray for her healing, he was just going through the motions, because he thought he should.

I wonder how many times that happens; Christians praying for one another without having the faith for what they're praying for. If we don't have faith, all we're doing is putting on a show for people to see. God's not going to be impressed, and I don't think any believer with true discernment is either.

Focusing on the Problem, Instead of the Solution - This is probably the greatest manifestation of lack of faith that we can see in prayer. Faith, according to the book of Hebrews, "…is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb 11:1). If that is true, then our faith gives substance to our prayers. But, if we are focused on the problem, instead of the solution, how can we say we are praying in faith?

If we have faith in God, we focus on God. If we don't have faith in God, we focus on the problem. It is impossible to do both at the same time.

When we pray, it is important that we focus on the answer, not the problem. What's the answer? It's what God says about the problem. If someone is needing a job, their prayer shouldn't be about their lack of a job, but thanking God that He is their provider (Phil 4:19). If they need healing, it shouldn't be about their sickness, but about verses which talk about God being a healer (Is 53:5). If they need wisdom for a problem, it shouldn't be about the problem, but that God provides wisdom to those who ask (Jms 1:5).

If we want God to move, we must let go of the problem. As long as we are focused on it, it is in our hands, and God can't do anything. But, when we truly give it to him, we stop being preoccupied by that particular problem. Then, and only then, can God move on our behalf.

Praying, Then Saying the Opposite - Words are spiritual seeds. As seeds, they need to be given a chance to grow and bring forth a harvest. But, many times, we destroy our own prayers by our words.

For example, a man wakes up one morning not feeling good. Since he is in the habit of starting his day with prayer, he prays, including a faith filled prayer for his own healing. Then, when he leaves his "prayer closet" his wife asks him how he's feeling, and he responds, "I'm not feeling real good today, I think I have the flu." Wait a minute! If his words in prayer had power, so did his words to his wife. He prayed for healing, then confessed he wasn't healed. Which words are supposed to work? Which ones does he want to bring forth a harvest?

While we know what he really means in this example, we can also see that by his own words he has destroyed his prayer. When we pray for something, we need to continue in faith, confessing the Word of God over our prayer until we see the manifestation. We shouldn't talk about the facts of the situation, just the truth. The facts may be that we have symptoms of sickness, but the truth is that God has healed us.

In the book of Daniel, chapter 10, the prophet Daniel prayed and fasted for an answer to a question for three weeks. Finally, at the end of that time, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, bringing the answer to his question. But, before answering the question, the angel said: Then said he unto me, "Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia" (Dan 10:12-13). The angel had to fight to bring Daniel's answer to him!

If the angel had to fight to bring Daniel's answer to him, I think it's safe to say that the angels have to fight to bring our answers to us. As long as we continue to believe and confess the Word of God, those angels are able to keep battling to bring our answer to us. But, when we start saying the opposite, we eliminate their ability to fight on our behalf.

I can just imagine it. That same man I mentioned earlier prays for his healing day after day. But, every day he ends up confessing the opposite to a family member, friend, or co-worker. Each time, the angel which was trying to bring him his answer has to turn around and go back to heaven. There must be a lot of frustrated angels up there, trying over and over to bring an answer to someone who won't just keep their mouth shut.

Complaining to God, Instead of Praying - There are times when we all need to just complain about things that are going on in our lives, so that we can unload what's in our hearts. There's nothing wrong with that, as long as we go from that to something constructive. There's not even anything wrong with going to God and complaining about those things. After all, it's not as if He doesn't know what's in our hearts.

But, the problem comes in when people just complain to God, and leave it at that, thinking they'd prayed. I don't care what form complaining takes, it isn't, and can't be prayer; it's just complaining. While that may make the person feel better, it isn't a solution to their problem.

As I already said, true prayer focuses on the solution, not the problem. Complaining, on the other hand, focuses on the problem. So, if someone starts out by complaining, then moves to praying the solution, they've done well. But, not if they just talk about how bad everything is.

Praying to Impress Man, Instead of God - I'm sure you've heard this, and probably heard it lots of times. People who pray prayers that are so elegant, and well spoken, in King James English, that you know they've studied and practiced to get it that good. You hear someone pray like that and it makes you feel inadequate, especially if you're called to pray after them.

The thing most people don't realize is that those people are praying from their head, and not their heart. Faith doesn't come from the head, nor does love, they come from the heart. Since God looks at the condition of the person's heart, and not their head, it's as if the person hasn't prayed at all. Man is impressed by their prayer, but God is not.

Jesus talked about this, saying: "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward." (Mt 6:5). Did you see that? It says, "they have their reward." In other words, they aren't going to receive anything from God for their prayer, because they've already received everything that their prayer is worth from man.

I think that the prayers that impress God the most are the ones that don't seem "spiritual" enough to man. The ones where someone staggers into their house at the end of a really bad day, falls down on their knees beside their bed, while crying out "God… Help!" Those are really good prayers, because they come from the heart. They're not done to impress anyone, they're just honest communication with our Heavenly Father.

"Preaching" a Prayer - This is another form of trying to impress man instead of impress God. But, instead of trying to impress the congregation with the person's ability to pray, they try and get the congregation all excited, and shouting Amen" to their prayer.

While wanting others to agree with your prayer, and say "Amen" isn't bad in and of itself. The problem with this type of prayer is that there usually isn't any substance in it. The person praying, or preaching, usually doesn't have any scripture to back up what they are saying, doesn't ask God to do anything, and usually doesn't even complete a thought, before going on to something else that will get the people excited.

While I agree that we should get excited about the Lord, and what He's done for us. I don't believe we should substitute emotion for substance. Instead, our emotion should be based upon the substance of who He is, and what He has done for us.

When we have emotionalism without substance in the church, we end up ministering to people's emotions, and not their spirits. Church becomes a show, to make people feel good, instead of a time of meeting together with the Lord. This doesn't just apply to prayer, but to anything we do in a service, whether it be singing, preaching, or even giving an offering.

Praying Platitudes and Partial Phrases - This is another form of emotionalism that exists in prayer. In fact, it's another form of show that has come into prayer. It's a way in which the person praying can add to the length of their prayer, and make it sound impressive, without having to think of anything to say. Once again, it's a waste of everyone's time.

I remember being in a prayer service at a church. The pastor was walking around, praying (or at least acting like he was praying). Throughout the prayer time, he would repeat the phrase, "in the name," usually saying it several times together. But, he never completed the phrase with the words "of Jesus." I'm not really sure what that pastor thought he was doing, but I do know that the devil was laughing at him. Since he wasn't finishing the phrase, he really wasn't saying anything that the Lord could use.

Another time I was in a church service where the pastor, supposedly in a time of prayer, said five minutes of continuous Christian platitudes, but never really prayed about anything in all that time. In fact, I could never figure out what he was trying to say, because he didn't have any substance to his prayer.

We must be careful about how we use words in prayer. Our words have power, and are spiritual seeds which God uses to accomplish His will here on earth. But, if the seeds we sow aren't the right seeds, we may in fact be giving them to the enemy to use, instead of giving them to God.

Not Giving God Time to Speak - Prayer is called "communication with God." Since communication is a two-way street, we not only need to talk to God, but listen to Him as well. Yet, most believers never give God the opportunity to say anything to them.

In the first and second chapters of Matthew, God had to send an angel to talk to Joseph (Jesus' stepfather) in a dream (Mt 1:20; 2:13, 2:19). Why? Probably because he was like us, too busy to take time out to listen to God. Now remember, the Bible calls Joseph a "just man" (Mt 1:19). I don't think there's any way the Bible would call him that if he wasn't a man of prayer. But, that doesn't mean he made time to listen to God; probably, just like us, he thought his talking to God was enough.

Great men and women of prayer know how to hear God. They not only pray, asking God for wisdom, direction, and anointing, they also take the time to be quiet before Him, and hear what He wants to say to them. It is impossible to reach the greatest levels of intimacy with the Lord, without taking the time to hear His voice.

Calling Declarations Prophecy - Some believers have a major misunderstanding over the difference between a prayer of declaration, and speaking forth a prophecy. Although you don't hear it very often, occasionally you can find someone who "prays" something like, "I prophecy to the north to let God's people go. I prophecy to the south to let God's people go, etc." Sometimes, these people will tell everyone to prophecy to the winds together. The problem is, they aren't prophesying.

By definition, prophecy is the Holy Spirit speaking through an individual. He either gives them a vision, which they describe, or gives them specific words to speak out. We see an example of this in Ezekiel, chapter 37, when God told the prophet to "prophecy to the wind" and prophecy to the dry bones." In this case, it is clear that what the prophet said was prophecy, because the Holy Spirit gave him specific words to speak.

By contrast, declarations, while they may be done under the leading of the Holy Spirit, aren't specific words that the Holy Spirit has told the person to say. The person in my example, while they might be motivated by the Holy Spirit to say what they are saying, isn't prophesying, because they are using their own words.

Declarations carry the same power as words of prophecy, especially when we do them under the direction of the Holy Spirit. But, they aren't prophecy. By calling them prophecy, we are, in a sense, mocking God. We can never pray effectively while mocking God.

Not Using Our Authority as a Believer - There are certain things which we are to ask God to do for us through prayer, and there are others which we are to take care of ourselves. Although it isn't always easy to discern which we are to do, with a few basic guidelines, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit we can easily accomplish that which we need to.

First of all, we must understand that God the Father gave all power and authority on heaven, on the earth, and under the earth to Jesus Christ (Mt 28:18). Then, we need to understand that the Lord gave us the right to use His authority and power. He said:

Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Mt 28:18-19

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; ¹⁸ They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Mk 16:17-18

Therefore, we are responsible before the Lord to use the authority and power He gave us. How do we use it? By doing things the way Jesus did. By binding the works of the enemy. By setting the captives free. By healing the sick; and by declaring the good news of the gospel.

When we are faced with the works of the enemy, that is the time we need to use the authority that the Lord has given us. That isn't time to ask the Lord to move, that's our time to move. We have been given His authority for that specific purpose. We need to take authority over the enemy, in the name of Jesus, and bind him, his works, his demons, and break every assignment that he has made. In this way, we do the work of the Lord.

For example, if we are praying for our city, we don't need to ask God to deal with the problem of alcoholism, prostitution, or any other area of sin. In those cases, we need to bind the spirits behind those works, and declare their works destroyed. But, afterwards, we need to pray and ask the Lord to move in the city, convicting people of their sin, and pouring out His Spirit in revival.

Yelling at the Devil - This is actually a manifestation of not understanding our authority in Jesus. When someone knows their authority, they don't need to yell, they just need to talk. Those who hear, know that person has authority, and listen to what he has to say.

In a factory, the factory manager doesn't need to yell at the workers, they know he has authority. They know that they have to listen to him, and do what he says, or they will be fired. On the other hand, someone who works in the accounting department doesn't have that authority. If they want something done, they have to convince someone to do it, either by reasoning with them, or by yelling at them.

When we start yelling at the devil, we're telling him that we aren't sure of our authority. He is quick to pick that up, and quick to use it to avoid obeying us. But, when we are sure of our authority, he can tell that as well, and will be quick to obey.

Lack of Thanks and Praise - I mentioned earlier that the biggest part of the Lord's Prayer is the prayer of thanksgiving and praise. The prayer both starts, and ends with words of praise to the Lord.

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Mt 6:9

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Mt 6:13

The Bible clearly tells us, in Psalm 100, verse 4, that praise is the key to open the door to God's presence. I don't know about you, but I always find it easier to talk to someone when I'm in their presence, instead of trying to do it by long distance. If we want to talk to God, it just makes sense that we first praise Him, so that we can come before His throne.

The other part of praise is thanksgiving. If you do something for someone, don't you want them to thank you for it? What makes you think God is different. When He moves on our behalf, He desires our praise and thanksgiving. It not only opens the door for this time, but leaves it open for us to go back and see Him again.

There is a definite connection between prayer and singing praise and worship to the Lord. I'm not talking about just good Christian songs, but only those which glorify Him. David, who was probably the greatest worshipper of all times, received many answers, and many miracles from God. Why? I'd have to say because he knew how to praise, how to worship, and how to offer thanks to God.

Lack of Repentance - Every believer knows that sin separates us from God. But, not many believers think about what that really means. If entering into God's presence is necessary for effective prayer, and sin eliminates our ability to enter into God's presence, then sin eliminates our ability to pray effectively.

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

2 Chr 7:14

Please take a moment to notice three things in this verse. The first is the term "my people." God isn't talking about unbelievers here, he's talking about believers. Secondly, the phrase "shall humble themselves and pray." God expects us to come to Him humbly. Why? Because only when we are humble will we truly repent. Pride destroys repentance. Thirdly, the phrase "turn from their wicked ways." This is the literal definition of the word "repent" (to change your direction).

It is clear from this verse, which just about everyone uses when they are talking about prayer, that an important ingredient in getting God to move on our behalf is repentance. But, many, many times, when we enter into our prayer time, we forget this simple, important ingredient.

Actually, repentance and worship go together to form the keys to having our prayers heard. When we pray, we need to do both. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to search our hearts, and show us where we need to repent, then we need to praise the Lord for who He is. Once we've done that, then we're free to enter into an effective time of prayer.

Not Praying - Last, but not least, the biggest mistake many people make is not praying. They talk about needing to pray, they act like they pray, but they don't pray. Lack of prayer is probably the most common sin of omission in the Body of Christ. If we don't pray, how can we expect God to move on our behalf?

Pray Without Ceasing