7 People Who Ought To Pray

7 People Who Ought To Pray

I Sam. 12:23

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and

mighty things, which thou knowest not."--Jer. 33:3.

Moses cried out to God, and God spared Israel from judgment.

Joshua’s prayer made the sun stand still. Hannah’s prayer was

answered with a baby boy. Solomon got wisdom in answer to his

prayer. Fire came down from Heaven when Elijah prayed and devoured

the sacrifice on Mount Carmel. Jonah’s prayer brought him out of

the belly of the whale. Elijah had the great power of God upon his

life. But when Elisha prayed for a double portion of the Spirit,

God did not bat an eye when He gave it to him. Jabez prayed for God to bless him, enlarge his coasts, for God’s hand to be with him, and keep him from evil, and God granted his request!

Ten lepers prayed and were instantaneously healed. Peter

prayed, and Dorcas arose from the dead. The thief on the cross

prayed and was saved immediately. The early church prayed, and the

place was shaken where they were gathered together. Peter got out

of jail in answer to the early Christians’ prayers. The door of the

Philippian jail fell off when Paul and Silas prayed.

So, why don’t we really pray?

It is fascinating to read of the accounts of the prayers of the saints of

God in the Bible. But don’t we serve the same God? Shouldn’t we also pray?

Church history books will stir up your soul, too, as you read

how God answered the prayers of George Mueller of Bristol and David

Brainerd of New England. J. Hudson Taylor and Charles Finney

believed the Bible and got the power of God through answered

prayer. They called upon God, and He answered them and showed them

great and mighty things which they knew not.

It was Abraham Lincoln who said, "Many times I have been forced

to my knees, realizing there was simply no other place to go."

George Washington met the crisis of Valley Forge on his knees in

prayer. In a speech to the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin

Franklin reminded the delegates of the daily prayer to God for the

guidance and protection that they had offered. Stonewall Jackson

said, "I have so fixed the habit in my mind that I never raise a

glass of water to my lips without lifting my heart to God in thanks

and prayer for the Water of Life."

The Bible is filled with promises to modern-day Christians, and

God still promises to hear and answer prayer.

We read in John 14:13,14, "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my

name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it."

John 15:7 says, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you,

ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."

First John 3:22 reads, "And whatsoever we ask, we receive of

him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are

pleasing in his sight."

First John 5:14,15 tells us, "And this is the confidence that

we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he

heareth us: And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we

know that we have the petitions that we desired of him."

Matthew 7:7 reads, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and

ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

In Matthew 21:22 we read, "And all things, whatsoever ye shall

ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."

James 5:16 says, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous

man availeth much."

In James 4:2 we are told, "Ye have not, because ye ask not."

1. People in Trouble Ought to Pray. The psalmist said,

"This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of

all his troubles" (Ps. 34:6).

2. People Who Need Wisdom Ought to Pray. "If any of you

lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally,

and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (James 1:5).

3. People Who Need Power Ought to Pray. Jesus said, "If a

son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him

a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye

then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children:

how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to

them that ask him?" (Luke 11:11-13).