#14
PRAYER
Throughout the first four chapters of the book of Genesis, we can see that God initially communicated to early mankind by actually talking to them. Beginning with the birth of Enos, (Genesis 4:26) the son of Seth, God began to have men communicate to Him through prayer.
God has made it clear that He communicates to us through His written Word, the Holy Bible. He has given to us the privilege of prayer in order that we may communicate to Him our worship, our hopes, dreams, and desires, and our requests for those that we love.
I. HOW WE PRAY
1. (Mathew 6:9-13) The Disciples in (Luke 11:1) ask Jesus to teach them to pray. Jesus then gives them the correct “manner” in which to pray, or communicate to God. This “model prayer” has been misused and abused for two thousand years by denominations and individual Christians as they seek to imitate rather than decipher the true meaning of what Jesus was teaching in these verses of scripture. In (Mathew 6:7) Jesus actually tells them not to be repetitive “as the heathen do” in our prayers, then He gives us the method to use in our prayers. If we break down and analyze this model prayer, we can understand that God wants us to mostly praise and honor Him, then ask Him to provide our daily needs, (not our wants). We are then to ask for pardon and tell God that we will pardon others as well. We are then asking Him for help through our temptations and protection from the evil that we are faced with on a daily basis. Finally, we are once again to praise Him and honor Him for His greatness.
2. (John 14:13-14) When we pray to the Father we must always pray in Jesus name.
3. (James 1:5-7; Mathew 11:24) We must have faith that God will hear and answer our prayer.
4. (I John 3:22) We must be obedient to what God has told us to do in our daily walk as His child.
5. (James 5:16) Our testimony must be upright and honest before men and God.
6. (Jeremiah 29:13) Our attitude in prayer must be one of commitment, concern, wholeheartedness, and with undivided attention toward communicating with God.
(II Chronicles 7:14) We must be willing to humble ourselves and repent of any sin that may hinder our prayers to God.
II. WHY WE PRAY
1. (Romans 8:26-27) As we struggle with the burdens and heartaches of our daily lives, when we are praying and searching for the right words and feelings toward God, the Holy Spirit fills in the gaps between what we pray for and what we need to communicate to God, but just cannot find the proper words.
2. (Mathew 26:41) As Christians, we know what is right and wrong, but even though the Spirit warns us about daily sin, our flesh is weak and we must pray to God for protection.
3. (Luke 18:1-8) This parable that Jesus spoke to His disciples about teaches us that when we pray and do not get an answer right away, it does not mean that God did not hear us, it simply means that His time table is not like our time table. Our issues and problems are very important to God and He desires greatly that we continue to bombard His throne with our petitions and praise.
4. (John 16:24) God wants us to pray to Him so that He can give us joy, whether in happy times or sad times.
5. (Colossians 4:2-4; Ephesians 6:18) One of the many blessings of prayer is that we can pray for others and can expect God to hear and answer requests made for people who do not even know that God is hearing petitions about them. Praying for others can be a huge encouragement to them as they seek refuge and help from God in time of need.
6. (James 5:13) James encourages us to pray when we are afflicted. God will sometimes heal a body of disease or a sorrowful heart because “He careth for you” (I Peter 5:7).
III. FAILED PRAYER
1. (Deuteronomy 1:26, 45; I Samuel 28: 5-6) When we continuously are disobedient to what God wants us to do, God is not obligated to answer our prayers.
2. (Psalms 66:18) Any time that we have secret sin that is un-confessed, God will not even listen to our prayers.
3. (Proverbs 1:22-29) If a person continues to rebel against the Word of God and ignore God’s warnings about living right, there can come a time when He will not hear their prayer even when they finally wake up and are fearful of judgment.
4. (Proverbs 21:13) When our hearts are too cold to help those that are in need of a helping hand, God is not be obligated to show mercy to us when we pray and are in need ourselves.
5. (James 1:5-7) When we ask God for something in prayer, but do not have the faith to believe that He can and will do it, God will not answer because of lack of faith on our part.
6. (James 4:3) When we seek God in prayer, we must make certain that our prayer request is in His will. When we are selfish and inconsiderate in prayer, God will not give in to those types of child-like desires.
IV. WHERE PRAYERS GO
1. (Revelation 5:8) The prayers from God’s people are sent to heaven and converted into “odors” and kept in vials by the four beasts and twenty four elders that are around the throne of God in heaven.
2. (Revelation 8:3) Sometime during the seven year tribulation period, the prayers of all the saints will be offered as a sacrifice to God upon the alter of God, which is before the throne of God.
V. POSTURE FOR PRAYER
1. (Genesis 24:26; Exodus 4:31) The appropriate position for praying can sometimes be in a bowing position.
2. (I Kings 8:54; Acts 21:5) Sometime it is best to be in a kneeling posture.
3. (Numbers 20:6; Mathew 26:39) When the Spirit moves us to be on our face before God, then that is where we belong during our prayer.
4. (I Kings 8:22; Luke 18:13) Sometimes the best position is just standing wherever you are and offer your prayer to God.
The best advice about prayer was given by Paul the Apostle to all the saints in (I Thessalonians 5:17) when he said to “pray without ceasing”. If we would take heed to that statement, we would go a long way in staying out of trouble, while staying close to our wonderful Lord.
God bless