Monday, November 2, 2026
“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).
If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?
Our initial step in growing up with regards to prayer is to read and believe this: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We should never stop praying. If this is true, and it is, that means prayer is more than simply kneeling, folding hands, closing eyes, and bowing heads—otherwise, we would spend our entire lives on our knees, with hands folded, eyes closed, and heads bowed! Prayer is defined in the Scriptures as “pouring out our heart before the LORD” (1 Samuel 1:12,13,15; Psalm 62:8). Moreover, it does not necessarily have to be audible; we can pray quietly, inside, for God still hears us, as in the aforementioned case of Hannah (Samuel’s mother).
Mark it well. No matter the place on the Bible timeline, God speaks first and then His people talk to Him according to what He told them. Complications develop when souls either have no idea what God said (unawareness of the Bible altogether), or they believe they can apply to themselves what He told someone else (usage of the Bible, but no right division). Prayer must be done in faith, taking God at His Word. Therefore, we have to first know His Word to and about us before we can believe it and pray in light of it.
To see how prayer works, ponder the example of the Old Testament Prophet Elijah. James relates to us in chapter 5, verses 16-18: “…The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias [Greek version of his Hebrew name] was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.” What caused Elijah to pray these specific words? Of all the things that he could have asked, why did he articulate this? The only way to answer such inquiries is to search the Scriptures for cross-references, precisely what we will do now….
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