Prayer is not an opportunity to make demands on God, a guarantee against suffering or an opportunity to show off.
Speaker Lois Le Duff addressed misconceptions of prayer before sharing inspiring words about devotion during a prayer breakfast presented by the Greater Mount Canaan Baptist Church, held at Great St. James Baptist Church in Baton Rouge.
"Prayer is a relationship, whereby we humbly communicate," said Le Duff, an associate minister at Shady Grove First Missionary Baptist Church in Baker. "We worship and sincerely seek God's face, knowing that he hears us and he loves us and he will respond, though not always in the manner that we might expect or desire."
It's a simple practice of fellowship with God, Le Duff emphasized.
"Prayer is talking directly to God," she said. "What our poor mothers and fathers taught is just a little talk with Jesus will make it all right."
Prayer involves approaching God with a contrite and humble heart.
"The attitude that we have about prayer and in prayer is most important because we must be arrogant," Le Duff said. "We come today to remind you to pray and to pray continuously and with the right attitude."
Le Duff told attendees they have too many challenges in their lives and communities to waste time with ineffective prayers. She recommended that people pray prayers that will produce results.
One way to effective prayers, she said, is praying in agreement with God's will and his word.
"Sometimes we have already decided this matter ourselves, and we try to make God live up and get in line with what we want. That's not the right way," she said. "Prayer that produces results is prayer that is in agreement with God's word."
Another key to effective prayers is praying with fervency, urgency and desperation.
"A fervent prayer is one that is filled with emotion and passion, and it's a time when we express our feelings and desire to God," she said. "Sometimes, I find myself stretched out on the floor beside my bed, praying to the Lord, just pouring out my heart to him. That is what we must do."
That's similar to what Hannah did in the Old Testament. She was barren and desperately wanted a child. Hannah endured personal sorrow and public shame, Le Duff said.
"She brought her pain before God, and even though she was frustrated and she was sad, she did not turn away from God," Le Duff said. "She ran toward him. She wept bitterly in his presence. She poured out her heart to him."
God eventually blessed Hannah with a son, Samuel, who became a prophet and played a significant role in Israel's history.
"We got to be like Hannah. We got to be persistent in our prayers," Le Duff said. "She spoke victory in spite of the opposition she faced."