Andy Baker is a veteran evangelist and the current Vice President for Development at World Christian Broadcasting, the ministry that owns and operates station KNLS.  Andy is currently leading the effort to raise funding for a second transmitter and antenna at the Anchor Point site.  Andy is heard each week on the New Life Station talking ABOUT prayer and leading our listening friends IN prayer.  Below you will find Andy's latest prayer, along with a catalogue of his earlier thoughts on the nature and purpose of prayer.

Can you pray anywhere?

Did you know that you could pray with your eyes open? Did you know you do not have to be in a church or a temple or a masque or even inside of any building to pray? The man, Jesus Christ, did not own a house and did not have an indoor place to pray. He would go to mountains, to a desert or to a wilderness. He would go to any solitary place where he could get away from the noises of life. God heard the prayer of Daniel from a den of lions and He heard David from a cave. Peter was on a ship and Hezekiah was sick in bed. Let me give you something to do today when you pray. Choose a time today to look for things around you that you have to be thankful for and when you pray keep your eyes open and look around you for things for which you can thank God. Make a list. It might surprise you, even when you have things you could complain about, all the things you have to be thankful for. Praying to God and looking at life remembering that God is sitting on the throne ruling the world, makes everything look differently. Let’s pray. Remember to keep your eyes open.

Return to the prayer topic list?

Should you keep praying for the same thing time and again?

I know that there have been times in your life when you prayed quite often for something that you thought you needed or about a problem that you just knew that God could take care of and you saw no evidence that He had even heard your prayers. I know of one husband and wife who prayed for the salvation of their children for more than twenty-five years, with no hint of change. I don’t know why the Lord chooses to grant some of our prayers more quickly than others, but I do know that he honors the prayers of His righteous followers and that we should stay on our knees before Him. Jesus Christ told the story one time about a widow who approached a judge, day after day, asking for justice against her adversary. For some time the judge refused. Finally, however, he gave in saying, "…so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!" Jesus was telling us to not give up, but to pray persistently for the desires of our hearts. The best thing you and I can do today is pray to God. It is a privilege that you and I have. I am delighted that you and I can pause today and talk to the God of the universe together.

Return to the prayer topic list?

Promises made to those who pray

It is a good thing that the creator of the whole universe is involved in everyday life. He did not create the world and then go off and forget about us. Sometimes the problems facing us and facing countries of the world make us wonder if there is anything that we can do that would make things better or different. Well, I learned this week that there is something that we can do. We can pray to the God that can make a difference. But why pray? Daniel, in the Old Testament part of the Bible tells us that God is able to "…change the times and the seasons, he removeth kings and setteth up kings" (Daniel 2:21). But how could you and I make a difference? Listen to this promise: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and will heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14). What a promise! Let's therefore pray for a while together.

Return to the prayer topic list?

Prayer and the art of confession

You will not believe what I read this week. I read about a group of people who were searching for God's place in their lives and got together for several hours to study and pray. "They stood where they were and read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day and spent another quarter in confession and worshipping the Lord their God". I read that in the Old Testament part of the Bible in the book of Nehemiah. When they recognized their need for God, they spent a lot of time confessing their sins to God and reminding themselves of their need of God in their lives. Confessing our sins cleans our souls and draws us closer to God. Pause with me for a couple of minutes and let's pray together.

Return to the prayer topic list?

Praying in troubled times

One of the most beneficial things we can do in the middle of troubles is pray to God. It doesn't have to be fancy words or take a long time to do. Prayer is an expression of your soul's sincere desires. It can be spoken or unspoken. It can be silent and just in your mind. Prayer can be private or public. It ought to be personal. In fact, the bigger and deeper the problem, the more fervently we should pray. Did you know its OK to make a promise to God when you pray. But we better keep our promises that we make. And when God blesses us, we need to remember to thank Him. I read in the Old Testament part of the Bible about David being right in the middle of a lot of troubles. During that time, "David encouraged himself in the Lord his God" (1 Samuel 30:6). What an encouragement to rest in the joy of all that God is. Let's you and I pray together for a couple of minutes.

Return to the prayer topic list?

Pray for God’s guidance

I don't know about you, but I always get my life in a mess when I take out on my own without thinking about what God would want me to do. When I don't seek out God's advice for the decisions I make, it always takes longer to get things done and sometimes my problems never get solved. I need to remember the good advice to "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy paths". (Proverbs 3:6) Thinking about this advice, I read in the Bible, in the Old Testament part, of a man by the name of Joshua who sought God's will and prayed that God might make the sun and moon stand still for awhile. And God did. The prayer of this good and righteous man altered nature. Could the prayer of good people make drastic changes today? I think that's the point God is trying to get us to believe. I read something this week that grabbed my attention. The statement read, "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice rise like a fountain for me night and day". Then I read a verse in the Bible that taught the same thing. In the Old Testament part of the Bible, 2 Chronicles 7:14 records a statement that God gave to the wise man Solomon. God said, "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land". What a promise! With all the uncertainties of life, you and I need the power of prayer in our lives. So, just for today, work and pray, think and pray, watch and pray.

Return to the prayer topic list?

The answer to your prayer may be "No!"

When you and I pray to God, He always answers our prayers in a way that conforms with his divine character. Since nothing can ever happen that surprises God and since God is always consistent with his will for our lives, we can pray with courage and confidence. Do you know what that means? Since God loves us and will give us the answers to our prayers that are best for us, sometimes the right answer to our requests is no. But also since one person praying earnestly can change things and bring blessing to many people, many times the right answer is yes.

Return to the prayer topic list?

You can talk to God about anything

I have just had the opportunity to spend some time with my Dad. I have a Dad that I can talk with anytime about anything. It reminded me that I can also talk with my heavenly Father anytime about anything as a child of God. So can you. We can do nothing better for others than to pray for them. How do we know that? Our Father has told us, "The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16). God hears our groanings. God remembers those for whom we pray. God is always listening for our requests as his children. He respects the things that we sincerely discuss with Him. Make a list and pray for others today. It will be the best thing you can for them.

Return to the prayer topic list?

God is always listening, night or day

What time do you go to work? What time does your company close at the end of the day? How many hours is the store where you buy your food open? When it comes to our prayers, time does not matter because God’s ear is always open to our cry. Jesus was known to pray all night, late at night, and sometimes early in the morning before the noises of the day started. In the Old Testament part of the Bible, we are told that David prayed all day and that Daniel prayed at noon. Back in the New Testament part of the Bible we are told the story of Paul and Silas praying at midnight. Time does not matter to God. And nothing ever happens that surprises God. It is wonderful to know that we have access to God at all times and He never gets tired of our requests. This makes everything look different. Whatever time it is on your watch right now, what a blessing to know that He is listening to our prayers. Let’s pray together for a few minutes.

Return to the prayer topic list?

Calling your Creator

Would you ever visit your doctor unannounced and expect him to be available to see you? Can you imagine taking a quick trip to your government headquarters and immediately being taken into the office of your President. Of course you can’t. You would need to have an appointment first and a very good reason for being there! There is someone far more important than the President of your country to whom you can drop in for a visit anytime that you would like. You can also expect him to push aside whatever he is working on to visit with you. The God of the universe, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the creator of heaven and earth is that person. He wants to have a personal, loving relationship with you and me. He cares about what we think and feel. He wants to spend time with us, hear about our struggles, encourage us in our difficulties and learn about his plans for our lives. Prayer is a wonderful opportunity. Prayer is a chance for direct communication with our Creator. No matter how busy He may be, he always has time in his schedule to talk with us.

Return to the prayer topic list?

Is your name on God’s prayer list?

You and I have been praying together every week for about one year. You have heard about some things on my prayer list and I have added some things to my prayer list that I hear about each week. There is a third prayer list that I want you to know about. It is the prayer list of Jesus Christ. Listen to a statement that Jesus told one of his followers, Simon Peter: "And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not" (Luke 22:31) Peter was prayed for by name by Jesus. What a comfort to know that each of us are on God’s prayer list! No matter how insignificant we may think or someone else thinks that we are, God remembers us. That makes everything look differently.

Return to the prayer topic list?

Persistence in prayer

He, his wife and his children were already in bed when the neighbor came and knocked on his door. The neighbor kept banging on the door till he answered him. The man told his neighbor to go away and be quiet because his family was in bed and all the noise would for sure wake them up. The neighbor explained that he had had some unexpected company to come and he needed some extra food. The man refused to help and asked his neighbor to just go back home and be quiet. When the neighbor continued to make his request at the front door, the man finally got up and gave his neighbor the food that he was requesting. The continual asking for help made such an impact on the man that he could not do anything else but to get up and provide the food that was needed. Jesus Christ told this story while he was teaching his disciples about prayer and about God and how he answers prayers. Being persistent with God in prayer tells Him that we are so concerned about the things about which we are praying that we are not going to let him go until our prayers are answered. Have you ever made a request to God and then said in your heart, "What’;s the use of praying? There doesn’t seem to be any answers or changes taking place. Why should I keep on praying about this"; But we must keep on praying. Keep praying to God about those things that it seems like he has avoided and not heard. This story that Jesus told says that persistence pays.

Return to the prayer topic list?

Pray in good times and bad

The happy, the healthy and the rich of this world generally do not have as much urgency and interest in praying, as do those whose lives are in a mess. Too many people wait for crises to overtake them before they pray. Many times a habitual prayerful attitude would have prepared them for the crises. The God of the universe, though, is not turned off or angered when we wait till then to pray to Him. God can bless us even in the midst of such things. He gives us a new way of looking at everything. He might not deliver us out of our messed up life. He might stand beside us through our problems. God has given us a promise "All things work together for good to those who love God." (Romans 8:28).

Return to the prayer topic list?

The New Life Station is pleased to provide transcripts online for a number of KNLS programs.  Please note that all scripts are the property of World Christian Broadcasting and/or SeedSower Productions.  They are provided here for your personal enjoyment only and may not be disseminated in any fashion without prior written permission.

                     KNLS International, © 2001/2002/2003 - Mike Osborne webmaster