By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 2 Peter 1:3 (NLT)
Prayer is tremendously powerful. It allows you to actually enforce the will of God in your life—and His will for you is always good.
Too often people mistakenly think God enjoys punishing people and denying them things they really want. They think prayer is a one-sided dialogue of begging and God is up in heaven with big ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ buttons, randomly blessing some while punishing others.
That is not the way God works. II Peter 1:3 says you already have everything you need to have joy, achieve success, raise an amazing family and have awesome relationships—now, not later or when you earn it.
But to exert that power, you have to enforce His Word in your life and declare His promises. In other words, instead of begging God to help you overcome temptation, let Him know that you are aware of the power He has given you. Thank Him for enabling you to be victorious in your battle with cigarettes or alcohol or whatever it is standing in your way to achieving health, happiness and success. Declare that His strength will help you rise above gossip and petty arguments that undermine your relationships.
Take the authority—it is yours when you accept Jesus as your Saviour. Declare it in your prayers and then put that knowledge into action as you build the life He desires for you.