Seek to maintain an attitude of prayer wherever you are and in all you do!
I. WHAT IS PRAYER
- PRAYER is simply communicating with God.
- is a dialogue between two people who love each other – God and man
- it’s a “hotline”
- Every Christian has a “hotline” direct communication with God available to him/her at all times.
- It is a channel for appropriating God’s resources for our needs (Hebrews 4:14-16)
- As children of God, we are invited to “Come boldly to the very throne of God and stay there to receive His mercy and to find grace to help us in our times of need.
- Hebrews 4:16 – So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
II. WHO CAN PRAY?
- THOSE WHO BELONG TO CHRIST
- THOSE WHO HAVE CLEAN HEARTS
- Psalm 66:18 – If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened
- Isaiah 59:1-2 – Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
- Dealing with sin and having a pure heart is an established rule of prayer!
- 1 Peter 3:12 – For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
- Repentance and confession of sin are essential for good praying!
- Matthew 6:13 – …Lead us not into temptation…
- THOSE WHO HAVE A FORGIVING SPIRIT
- Mark 11:25 – But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.
- Matthew 6:12 – And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
- If you do forgive, it will purify your heart. The answers to your prayers do not depend on what your adversary does or does not do. They depend on what you do!
- THOSE WHO PRAY IN FAITH
- James 1:6-7 – But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord
- FAITH CLEARLY IS AN IMPORTANT RULE OF PRAYER
- John 14:14 – If you [ask anything in My name, I will do it.
- Mark 11:24 – Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
- Matthew 21:22 – And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
III. WHY WE ARE TO PRAY?
- TO GLORIFY GOD
- John 14:13 – And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
- BECAUSE GOD COMMANDS IT
- 1 Thessalonians 5:17 – pray without ceasing
- Matthew 26:41 – Watch and pray…
- Luke 18:1 – …that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.
- TO COMMUNICATE WITH GOD
- Jeremiah 33:3 – call unto me…
- TO HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD
- Proverbs 15:8 -… But the prayer of the upright is His delight
- TO ACHIEVE RESULTS FOR THE GLORY OF GOD
- John 11:43 – Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”
- James 5:17-18 – Elijah prayed for rain
IV. UNITED PRAYER (CORPORATE PRAYER)
- Acts 4:24 – …When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God:
- Acts 1:14 – They all met together and were constantly united in prayer
- THERE’S POWER IN UNITED PRAYER!
- Acts 6:26 – Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!
- Acts 2:42 – All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.
- Acts 12:5 – But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.
- USHERING THE GLORY OF GOD THROUGH UNITED PRAYER
- 2 Chronicles 5:6, 7, 11-14 – There, before the Ark, King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed so many sheep, goats, and cattle that no one could keep count! 7 Then the priests carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple—the Most Holy Place—and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 11 Then the priests left the Holy Place. All the priests who were present had purified themselves, whether or not they were on duty that day. 12 And the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and all their sons and brothers—were dressed in fine linen robes and stood at the east side of the altar playing cymbals, lyres, and harps. They were joined by 120 priests who were playing trumpets 13 The trumpeters and singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices and praised the Lord with these words: “He is good!
His faithful love endures forever!” At that moment a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. 14 The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God.
- 2 Chronicles 7:1-3 – When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple. 2 The priests could not enter the Temple of the Lord because the glorious presence of the Lord filled it. 3 When all the people of Israel saw the fire coming down and the glorious presence of the Lord filling the Temple, they fell face down on the ground and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying, “He is good! His faithful love endures forever!”
- 2 Chronicles 5:6, 7, 11-14 – There, before the Ark, King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed so many sheep, goats, and cattle that no one could keep count! 7 Then the priests carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple—the Most Holy Place—and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 11 Then the priests left the Holy Place. All the priests who were present had purified themselves, whether or not they were on duty that day. 12 And the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and all their sons and brothers—were dressed in fine linen robes and stood at the east side of the altar playing cymbals, lyres, and harps. They were joined by 120 priests who were playing trumpets 13 The trumpeters and singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices and praised the Lord with these words: “He is good!
V. THE URGENCY OF PRAYER
- Prayer is such an important part of our walk with Christ!
- Connecting with God in focused prayer has a great contribution to our growth as Christians.
- WHY IS PRAYER URGENT?
- 1 Timothy 2:1-8
- Acts 16:20-25 – Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.
- Because…
- 1.We are in a battle (Ephesians 6:18)
- 2.Others are in a battle
- 3.People need the Lord (Romans 10:1; 1 Timothy 2:4)
- 4.All Men need God’s help.
- Luke 6:12 – ‘Now at this time, Jesus went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.’
- “If Jesus put such a high priority on prayer, shouldn’t we do the same?
- “PRAYER IS NOT AN OPTION BUT A NECESSITY!” (Billy Graham)
- “Praying for individuals, Small Groups, elders, pastors, and our government leaders is scriptural”
- ‘First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth.’ – 1 Timothy 2:1-4 (CSB)
- Ephesians 6:18 – Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
- Matthew 16:18 – ON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH, AND THE GATES OF HADES WILL NOT OVERCOME IT.
- THE CHURCH WAS EARNESTLY PRAYING TO GOD FOR HIM.
- Acts 12:5
- THERE IS A KIND OF INTENSITY IN PRAYER THAT IS SOMETIMES NEEDED TO RELEASE GOD’S INTERVENTION.
- EFFECTS OF PRAYER AS A WEAPON OF ATTACK
- 1.Prayer enforces the promises of God’s Word. (Daniel 9:2-3)
- It takes our prayers to make the promises of God’s Word effective.
- 2. PRAYER RELEASES THE INTERVENTION OF ANGELS ON OUR BEHALF.
- Daniel 10:4-14
- Prayer breaks through Satan’s kingdom in the heavens and releases angelic intervention.
- 1.Prayer enforces the promises of God’s Word. (Daniel 9:2-3)
CONCLUSION:
- JIM CYMBALA’S TESTIMONY
- “If you and your wife will lead my people TO PRAY and CALL UPON MY NAME, you will never lack for something fresh to preach. I will supply all the money that’s needed, both for the church and for your family, and you will never have a building large enough to contain the crowds I will send in response.”
- “…from this day on, the prayer meeting will be the barometer of our church. What happens on Tuesday night (their prayer meeting night) will be the gauge by which we will judge success or failure because that will be the measure by which God blesses us. If we call upon the Lord, he has promised in his Word to answer, to bring the unsaved to himself, to pour out his Spirit among us. If we don’t call upon the Lord he has promised nothing – nothing at all… the future will depend upon our times of prayer. This is the engine that will drive the church. Tuesday night (prayer meeting) is what it’s really all about.”
- “You can tell how popular Jesus is by who comes to the prayer meeting.”
- “The condition of the church may be very accurately gauged by its prayer meetings. So is the prayer meeting a grace-ometer, and from it we may judge of the amount of divine working among a people. If God be near a church, IT MUST PRAY. And if He be not there, one of the first tokens of his absence will be a slothfulness in prayer.”
- The great Scottish devotional write Andrew Bonar wrote: “… there is no hope but in PRAYER. Herein lies the Church’s power against the world.”
- “Prayer has to be born out of a whole environment of felt need. We need to be driven to pray! The more we pray, the more we sense our need to pray, and the more we sense a need to pray, the more we want to pray.”
- SEEK TO MAINTAIN AN ATTITUDE OF PRAYER WHEREVER YOU ARE AND IN ALL YOU DO!
