A Better Way to Pay by Andrew Wommack [Summary] Pt1

Main Summary: Andrew Wommack’s A Better Way to Pray challenges common misconceptions about prayer. The book teaches believers how to pray effectively, focusing on intimacy with God, faith, and authority rather than empty rituals, long repetitions, or begging. It reveals prayer as communion with a loving Father who has already provided.

Lessons You’ll Learn From This Post 

• Errors About Pray
• Long Prayer Vs Short Prayer
• Misconceptions About Prayer
• The Lord’s Prayer 
• The Prayer Sandwich Principle
• Begging From God
• God isn’t the Problem 
• Jesus’ Still The Only Mediator
• The Devil’s Scheme
• Come Out of the Closet!

Prayer is not trying to twist God’s arm to make Him do something. Prayer is receiving by faith what He has already done!

Errors About Pray

• Prayer is often misunderstood and misused in the church, leading many believers into spiritual error rather than breakthrough.
• Jesus warned that there are both right and wrong ways to pray (Matt. 6:5). Not all prayer pleases God.
• Wrong teachings—like asking God to use sickness to glorify Himself—are dangerous and can open the door for Satan to destroy lives.
• Motives matter more than length or style of prayer. Prayer driven by pride or selfishness produces no results.
• God has already moved through Christ’s death and resurrection. Prayer is not twisting God’s arm but receiving by faith what He has already provided.
• The real problem is never with God’s giving but with our receiving.

Also read How to Pray Effectively by Pst Chris Oyakhilome [Summary]

Prayer is communion with God! If He’s with you all the time, you ought to be praying all the time.

Long Prayer Vs Short Prayer

• Many Christians wrongly measure their spirituality by the length of their prayers, believing God values long prayers more.
• Jesus warned against vain repetitions—thinking much speaking equals answered prayer (Matt. 6:7).
• God isn’t impressed by long, drawn-out prayers; He desires sincerity, intimacy, and faith.
• Prayer should not be a rigid duty that becomes burdensome or lifeless. Prayer is communion with God, not a religious ritual.
• Spending all day in fellowship with God is better than limiting Him to a set hour. Prayer is about constant relationship, not clock-watching.
• Short, faith-filled prayers often carry more power than long, repetitive ones (“Peace, be still” calmed the storm; “Lazarus, come forth” raised the dead).
• True prayer is walking and talking with God throughout daily life—like Adam and Eve who communed with Him in the garden without petitions or complaints.

Even in prayer, your words produce either death or life. Praying God’s solution releases life, but rehearsing the problem only strengthens it.

Misconceptions About Prayer

• Many believers feel condemned if they don’t pray long hours or lock themselves away daily—but God isn’t impressed by religious calisthenics.
• Prayer doesn’t mean abandoning daily responsibilities (e.g., mothers shouldn’t neglect children just to “pray” for hours). God is pleased with constant communion in everyday life.
• God already knows our needs before we ask (Matt. 6:8). Prayer is not about informing Him of problems or rehearsing negativity.
• Prayers filled with complaints and problem-telling actually release death instead of life (Prov. 18:21).
• True prayer speaks God’s promises and solutions, not just rehearsing the problem.
• Much of what people call “prayer” is actually murmuring or complaining. God wants life-giving words of faith.
• Historical examples (like Dwight L. Moody) according to the author show that effectiveness in ministry is not tied to the number of hours spent in prayer but to living faith and communion with God.

Also read Interceding Christian By Kenneth E. Hagin [Summary]

Jesus wasn’t giving us words to recite; He was showing us principles of how to pray

The Lord’s Prayer 

• The “Lord’s Prayer” (Matt. 6:9–13) was meant as a model for prayer, not a ritual to be repeated word-for-word.
• True New Covenant prayer must be prayed in the name of Jesus (John 16:23–24).
• Prayer should begin with thanksgiving and praise, entering God’s presence with joy and acknowledging Him as Father, not a distant Judge.
• We should approach God confidently as His children, not with fear, guilt, or a sense of unworthiness.
• God is not mad at us; His wrath was satisfied at the cross. He delights when His children come boldly to Him.
• “Thy kingdom come” shows that God’s will on earth mirrors His will in heaven—no sickness, no poverty, no despair. Prayer aligns us with heaven’s reality.
• Asking for daily bread is not begging—it is boldly receiving what a loving Father has already provided.
• Forgiveness and deliverance are already secured in Christ’s finished work; now we stand in victory, not in fear.

God doesn’t enjoy your coming to Him because you have to. He’d rather you come because you want to.

The Prayer Sandwich Principle

• Jesus’ model prayer began and ended with praise — this is the “prayer sandwich” principle. Put your requests in the middle of thanksgiving and worship.
• Focusing on problems magnifies them; focusing on God magnifies Him. Praise shifts perspective and strengthens faith.
• Much of what people call prayer is actually complaining. True prayer is worship, thanksgiving, and fellowship with God.
• God is a Person — He desires time with us because we want to be with Him, not because of rigid religious duty.
• Relationships, whether with family or with God, don’t grow through forced routines but through love, consistency, and intimacy over time.
• God delights in subtle, faith-filled communion, not in constant demands for spectacular experiences.
• A healthy relationship with God is balanced: moments of intimacy, yes, but also daily, simple fellowship — enjoying Him in the ordinary.

Also read Winning Invincible Battles by David Oyedepo [Summary]

The way we’ve been taught to beg in prayer is absolutely wrong. God is trying to get His blessings to you!

Begging From God

• Many misinterpret Jesus’ parable in Luke 11:5–8, thinking God is like the reluctant friend who must be badgered until He gives in.
• Jesus was actually teaching contrast, not comparison — if even a selfish man will eventually respond, how much more will a loving Father answer quickly?
• God is not reluctant, withholding, or waiting to be convinced. He has already provided what we need through grace.
• Faith does not move God — He has already moved through Christ. Faith simply receives what God has already done.
• Begging, pleading, and bombarding heaven misrepresent God’s character and insult His love.
• God is more eager to bless, heal, and revive than we are to ask. He isn’t waiting for enough suffering, or persistence, to finally “let go.”
• True prayer is confident receiving, not desperate begging.

We aren’t called to plead with God as if He’s the problem. True intercession is resisting the devil and standing on Christ’s finished work.

God isn’t the Problem 

• Some prayers wrongly picture God as angry, distant, or unwilling, and believers feel they must persuade Him to show mercy.
• Intercession has been distorted into pleading with God as though He were the problem, instead of standing in agreement with what He already accomplished through Christ.
• Old Testament examples (like Moses pleading with God not to destroy Israel) are often misapplied. They occurred before Jesus’ atonement, when God’s wrath was still being satisfied through the Law.
• Under the New Covenant, God has already poured out His wrath on Jesus at the cross. He doesn’t need to “repent” or be convinced to forgive.
• True intercession is not begging God but enforcing Christ’s finished work against the devil’s schemes.
• Misguided prayer that portrays God as reluctant or harsh insults His love and will keep you in bondage.

You don’t need a special intercessor to get your prayers past the ceiling — Jesus has already opened heaven for you.

Jesus’ Still The Only Mediator

• Many Christians think they need a pastor, prophet, or “special intercessor” to get their prayers through to God.
• The Bible clearly teaches there is only one Mediator between God and man — Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 2:5).
• No saint, leader, or prayer warrior can take the place of Christ. Relying on others to “reach God” undermines your direct relationship with the Father.
• Old Covenant intercessors (like Moses or Elijah) stood between God and the people, but in the New Covenant, Jesus permanently fulfills that role.
• You already have direct access to God through Christ’s blood. Depending on human mediators shows unbelief in what Jesus accomplished.
• True prayer comes boldly before the Father, not through layers of human channels.

“If Satan can keep you begging and pleading, he knows you’ll never take your authority and resist him.

The Devil’s Scheme

• One of Satan’s greatest strategies is to distort prayer, turning it into a burden, ritual, or ineffective practice.
• Wrong ideas about prayer can actually open the door for the enemy, and leave you frustrated and powerless.
• The devil wants you to see God as distant, reluctant, or harsh, because this weakens your faith and confidence in prayer.
• When you spend time begging, complaining, or praying with wrong motives, it keeps you from exercising your authority in Christ.
• The enemy knows that effective prayer releases God’s power, so he works hard to keep Christians bound in ineffective traditions.
• True prayer is powerful because it is rooted in faith, intimacy with God, and the authority Christ has given us.

The secret place of prayer is where intimacy is built — without the need for an audience.

Come Out of the Closet!

• Jesus taught believers to pray to the Father in secret, not for public recognition (Matt. 6:6).
• This does not mean we should never pray publicly — Jesus Himself prayed in public — but it warns against praying to impress others.
• True prayer is about intimacy with God, not religious display.
• Many people change their voice, tone, or style when praying in front of others, making it more of a performance than communion with God.
• God desires sincerity — prayer that flows from the heart rather than ritual or pretense.
• You should live in constant communion with God, whether in private or public, with the same authenticity.

After reading this post, take time to reflect on your own prayer life. Shift from rituals to relationship, from begging to believing. Begin praying with faith, intimacy, and confidence, knowing your heavenly Father delights in answering you.

Finally, here is a question we’d love you to answer.

Having read this, what wrong ways have you been praying? 

We would love to hear from you. Please leave your answer and comment in the comment box below.

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