Former Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne said, “I’ve found that prayers work best when you have big players.” Maybe when it comes to football, big players do make the difference in prayer. In the game of life, I’ve discovered the bottom line to getting prayers answered. As I look back on the times God has answered my prayers, I know why I got the answer. It was because I prayed the right prayer. I was specific with God when I prayed.

In Malachi 3:10 the Lord says, “Test Me in this way…See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure.” Here we see the power of God to provide when we test Him. The way to test God is to be specific.

I have gotten into the habit of “testing” God. I plant the seeds of faith with Him for a specific need and say, “Lord, I commit this need to You and trust by faith that You will meet this need.” And I get specific answers, because I pray specific prayers.

When we get down to business with God and pray specifically, our needs will be met. God will do as He promised in Malachi 3:10. Our prayers will be answered when we let the Lord know exactly what is needed.