Prayer Part 5 Series

Prayer Part 5

(Rev. Barry Johnson and Rev. Rodney Johnson)

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 who are seeking to grow in their relationship with Jesus. This is a Bible study lesson, not a sermon. The Bible studies teach foundational truth that are 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. The Bible studies you find on this site contains the written version of the lesson. However, these lessons also include a video and an audio file of the study, a PDF version of the lesson and a sheet for note taking. If you would like any of the additional resources for these studies, please email us at newlightfaithministries@gmail.com or bjteachingltr@gmail.com for more information or contact us at the email provided on both of our Sermon Central pages. Please visit our YouTube Channel (Barry Johnson Ministries; New Light Faith Ministries, Inc.) to watch or listen to these lessons as well as other available sermons. Be blessed.

Introduction

Hello everyone. Over the years, we cannot tell you the number of times we’ve heard this said: “There is power in prayer.” We have even said this ourselves. It’s a statement that is affirmed with hand clapping and Amens. But what does the statement really mean? Is there really power in prayer, and if so, what is that “power”? And to take this a step further: what is the purpose of the “power”? This is the fifth and final study on prayer and the answer to these questions is the focus of this lesson. But before we begin, let’s do a quick review of the first four parts of this study on prayer.

In part one, we introduced the story and testimony of Sis. Betsy, which is part of the foundation for this series on prayer. Because of the drought in the area, her church had set a time for the congregation to gather to pray for rain. Sis. Betsy arrives wearing what you would expect a person to wear if it was raining. However, because she arrived wearing a raincoat, walking in galoshes and carrying an umbrella, the church members became concerned about her mental well-being. Her response to their concerns was simple: “We are here to pray for rain. I came here expecting God to answer our prayer. Why didn’t you?” We repeated this story in each of the four parts because it set the tone for this series on prayer. If we are not truly going to God in faith with the expectation that He will answer our prayer, then we are simply going through the motions. When we pray, we should walk away knowing and expecting God to answer that prayer. It is just that simple. In part one we also looked at the types of prayers and the foundation for praying.

In part two, we examined the behaviors that hinder God’s ability to answer our prayers. In part three, we looked at the spiritual reason as to why our prayers may be hindered. In the realm of the spirit, which is unseen to us, Satan is actively fighting to keep answered prayers from reaching us and we saw this in the record found in Daniel 10. We finished the lesson by pointing out some of the reasons why we do not pray. In part four, we spent some time looking at the foundational verses for this study on prayer: First Thessalonians 5:17 and Philippians 4:6-7, which we will repeat in a moment. We then transitioned into how to pray God’s Word and closed with a brief look at Second Chronicles 7:14, which says, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Now, let’s read the foundational scriptures for this series on prayer.

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

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

What we see in these foundational verses is fellowship with our Father. As we covered in the previous lessons, prayer is a conversation that we have with our Father about the things on our hearts. When we pray, what we are doing is laying our troubles, cares and concerns before the Lord and when we do, He promises to give us a supernatural peace that the world cannot explain or understand. Jesus said the following in John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” What we see in this verse, as well as in Philippians chapter four, is the designed result of prayer: to give us an unexplainable supernatural peace that only our Father can give us. And we see this worded beautifully in what the Lord says to Israel in Isaiah 30:29. It says, “You shall have a song as in the night when a holy festival is kept, and gladness of heart as when one goes with a flute, to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the Mighty One of Israel.”