Prayer - Part 1 Series

NOTE: New Light Faith Ministries and Barry Johnson Ministries, founded by Rodney V. Johnson and Barry O. Johnson, respectively, are partnering to offer Bible studies for Christians seeking to grow in their relationship with Jesus. This is a Bible study lesson, not a sermon. The Bible studies teach foundational truths designed to challenge, encourage, and most importantly, flame the fire of hunger in the Christian who wants to learn more about who they have become in Christ Jesus.

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Introduction

Good morning everyone, this is our first lesson on the subject of prayer.

First Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray without ceasing.”

Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

When you have a problem and go to a family member or friend to talk about it, you do so because this is normal. You go to them to discuss or have a conversation about your problem. As you discuss your problem, you sometimes ask their advice on how you should handle things, and sometimes the advice they give you is appropriate for the situation, especially when it is based on God’s word.

Well, we want you to know that what you are doing in this situation is the same thing that you are doing when you talk to God, but in that case, it’s called prayer. Now why are we saying it’s the same thing? In this lesson, you will hear that prayer is simply having a conversation with God where not only do we talk to Him, but He talks back to us if we listen closely.

Many people believe they know what they need to know about prayer, and they could be right. At one time I had my thoughts about what prayer was and how it should be practiced in the life of a Christian. The goal of this lesson is to increase our understanding of prayer, especially as it relates to praying in the will of God thus ensuring our prayers are answered.

In this lesson, we will define prayer, discuss its power, and why it is so important that we believe once we have prayed in agreement with God’s Word, that He is going to answer it. To set the stage for what you will hear in this lesson, we want to open it with one of our favorite stories about praying and believing in the power of that prayer. This is the story of Sis. Betsy and it goes like this:

“Several years ago, there was a drought in one city and the pastor of the Church called for a prayer meeting to pray for rain. The prayer meeting was held on a hot summer evening. All of the members came out dressed in summer cool clothes since they would be there for a while praying. Well, when Sister Betsy arrived at the Church, everyone heard her approaching as her shoes were making a loud noise. As she entered the Church, everyone turned to see why she was making such a loud entry. What they saw tickled them and some of the members laughed softly. Here was Sister Betsy entering the Church wearing rain boots, a raincoat, a hat, and carrying an umbrella. She looked a sight in the sweltering heat.

"Some of the members thought Sister Betsy had finally lost her mind – that her elevator was no longer going to the top floor. The pastor looked at her with much concern. He comes down from the pulpit and approaches her. He asks her, “Sister Betsy are you all right – are you feeling okay?” Sister Betsy looked at him confused by the question and replied, “I feel fine.” Then the pastor asked her, “Well I must ask, why are you dressed this way? Didn’t you feel how hot it is outside? You must be burning up in this outfit. What possessed you to wear all of this tonight in this heat?”

Again, some of the members continued to snicker and laugh under their breath while others now shifted to true concern for Sister Betsy’s mental state. Sister Betsy looked at her pastor and then scanned the faces of the rest of the members and made the following statement: “You know pastor, I too was confused when I walked into the Church. You see, I thought we were all coming here to pray for rain, and I expected there to be rain when we left. I am confused as to why none of you are dressed for rain since that is what we are supposed to be here asking from God.”