A man of God asked his congregation a tempting question one day. He asked; “How many of you believe that God can give you a car tonight?” Nobody raised a hand except one young man. To the surprise of everyone, the young man was handed a car key by the pastor; God had instructed him to give someone a car. It was this young man who aligned his thought with his prayer.

Friend, God is committed to both your asking and your thinking. In fact, what you ask and what you think are both prayer forces that God reckons with (Ephesians 3:20). Since God is a Spirit, it stands to reason that He relates more in the realm of the intangibles than the tangibles; your thinking is intangible, your asking or praying is tangible (John 4:23-24). God will hear your heart or thoughts faster or more than He would do your words (1 Samuel 1:12-17).

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think…” (Ephesians 3:20). This scripture did not say; “ask and think” but “ask or think”. God weighs what you think the same way He does what you ask (1 Samuel 2:3). This means that your thoughts are prayer forces that God works with. This is why He says before you ask, He would answer; as you are thinking it, God is doing it (Isaiah 65:24). Your thoughts are prayer commands in the spirit.

Did you notice that the famous Philippians 4:6-7 was immediately followed by your thought pattern (Philippians 4:8)? The principle is this; as you make your requests known unto God in prayers or asking, your thoughts must align with the request, else, your prayer is going nowhere. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons some of our prayers are not answered; our thoughts contradict our prayers.

“But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4). You cannot separate an effective prayer life from an effective word life. Prayer and the word of God are inseparable; it is not prayer or the word but prayer and the word. The purpose of the word of God is to renew our minds and align our thoughts so we can pray accurately (Romans 12:1-2). You can only pray effectively when you have successfully renewed your mind with the word of God.

Like the disciples in Acts 12, it is possible to be thinking the exact opposite of what you are asking in prayers. You can be praying for healing or deliverance while you are thinking of the burial of the loved one you are praying for (Acts 12:13-15). At this point, prayer is just a religious exercise. You can have prayer in your mouth but unbelief in your heart (Mark 11:23, Acts 12:16, Hebrews 3:12). Align your thoughts with your prayers!

© ‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria