Prayer Of The Warrior Series

Yes, brother Scott, that is probably true; however, what would I talk to the Lord about throughout the day? I think I would run out of things to talk about rather quickly.

Brethren, you have a lot to communicate to the Lord:

You can count your blessings - one by one - and thank Him for them.

You can praise Him for His power, wisdom, love, kindness, patience, mercy and goodness.

You can share your circumstances and ask Him for the wisdom to see them clearly and the wisdom to respond to them appropriately

You can ask Him to intervene in your life and the lives of others about you to bring-about good.

You can pray that He will bless the efforts of your fellow brethren

You can ask that more people would be willing to take the Gospel around the world

You can ask Him for encouragement, comfort, peace, joy, strength, steadfastness, and boldness.

You can pray for personal victory.

But, brothers and sisters, you can share anything with your Lord and I promise He will not be bored. You can talk to Him about the weather, your house, your car, your clothes, your trees and grass, your hair, your skin, your job, your school, your neighbor, the mailman, the milkman, the price of beans in Brazil, ….it really doesn’t matter. He loves you and wants you to talk with Him. Share with Him whatever is on your mind! Nothing is too trivial to your Lord. He covets your attention and thoughts.

Let me just say that the more you include Him in your daily life, the more real will your relationship with Him be.

It can blossom to something extraordinary. When you are close to the Lord, people will know it. But, you cannot grow close to the Lord, you cannot build a close relationship with Him without communication.

I am going to devote the rest of this lesson examining with you eight keys to having your prayers answered by the Lord our God.

Keys To Answered Prayer

We Need To Abide in Christ.

Jesus says that you must first abide in Him - John 15:7, "If you abide in Me…ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." What is it to abide in Jesus? You must have obeyed the Gospel. Galatians 3:26-27, "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." Thus, the first key to having your prayers answered is to be a Christian. As a Christian, you are made a priest….meaning that you have access to God.

We Need Ask in the Name of Christ Jesus.

The second key to having your prayers heard and answered is that they must be offered in the Name of Jesus. John 15:16, "Whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you."

John 16:23-24, "In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full."

When Molly and I taught this point to our little James, we told him that a prayer not offered in Jesus’ Name is like a letter sent without a stamp. It will not reach the intended destination. Why is this so? 1 Timothy 2:5, "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." Nothing gets to the Father except through Jesus. He is our go-between Secondly, Jesus is our High Priest. Prayer is a form of worship. As our High Priest, He offers up our prayers to the Father on our behalf (Ephesians 2:18; 3:12; Hebrews 4:14-16).