First Lady’s Post: Tools for Effective Prayer

In his book, Spiritual Leadership, Oswald Sanders quotes Samuel Chadwick as saying, “When he prayed he expected God to do something.” As Mr. Chadwick was approaching the end of his life, he said that he wished that he had prayed more, even if it meant that he had to work less; and from the bottom of his heart he wished that he had prayed better.

Quite often when I go to the throne of grace, I’m reminded of Samuel Chadwick’s words, especially the part that he says that he wished that he had prayed better.  That stuck with me because that is what I want to do so that I will more eagerly expect God to do something.

In my husband’s book, Tools for Effective Prayer, he tells us how we can pray better.  He tells us that if we want to pray better, we have to know the Word of God.  That is the only way that we can pray in accordance with God’s will and experience the hand of God moving on our behalf and on the behalf of the issues that we are praying for.  When we are in that place, we should be expecting God to do something as Samuel Chadwick said.