Prayer
A century and a half ago, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln spoke the following about prayer and praying:
"We have been the receipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prospertiy; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us."__submitted to www.sermoncentral.com by Jeff Sims
Note: Scriptures are from the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible unless otherwise noted.
Matthew 6:5-13, “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’"
Joel 1:10, "The fields are ruined, the ground is dried up; the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the olive oil fails."
Joel 2:15-17, Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber. Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”
Prayer is pleasing to God. Praying will bring deliverance in our collective and individual lives.
Samuel Chadwick, a nineteenth century Wesleyan Methodist minister, stated, "The one concern of the Devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray."
Praying in private is productive (Matthew 6:6); but, no matter where we are God can hear us. He heard Hagar in the wilderness--Genesis 16:13; Jonah in the deep--Jonah 2:1; Hezekiah on his bed--2 Kings 20:2; David in a cave--1 Samuel 22:1; Psalm 142; Peter on a ship--Matthew 14:28; the malefactor on the Cross--Luke 22:32.
There is a certain philosophy in prayer. God is to be honored and God is to be acknowledged according to James 4:3, "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." The petitioner must bring his will into God's will. Even God's Son Jesus The Christ subjected His will to the will of His Heavenly Father. Please note the following proof texts:
Matthew 6:8, "Do not be like them [babbling pagans], for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."
John 15:7, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."
John 15:14, "You are my friends if you do what I command."
Matthew 6:9-13 discloses the manner of prayer:
Pray fraternally - "Our Father..."
Pray reverently - "Hallowed be Thy Name."
Pray loyally and hopefully - "Thy Kingdom come..."
Pray submissively and assertively - "Thy will be done..."
Pray dependently - "...daily bread..."
Pray penitently - "Forgive us our debts."
Pray cautiously - "Deliver us from evil."
Additionally, in Ephesians 6:18, the prayer warrior to is pray in the Holy Spirit.
Paul the Apostle said that he prayed and the Spirit and prayed in the understanding also. He sang in the Spirit and sang in the understanding also (1 Corinthians 14:15).
Through praying in the Spirit God has provided a supernatural means of communication with Himself.
The pastor that is devoted to prayer will, by example, encourage others to make prayer a vital part of their life, too. The sheer force of modeling prayer by the pastor will cause others to follow.__Robert D. Pace (used by permission)
Praying "Hallowed [sanctified] be thy Name." leads us to some Old Testament names of our Heavenly Father:
JEHOVAH JIREH - The LORD will provide (Genesis 22:13-14)
JEHOVAH RAPHA - The LORD that heals (Exodus 15:26)
JEHOVAH NISSI - The LORD our banner (Exodus 17:8-15)
JEHOVAH SHALOM - The LORD our peace ( Judges 6:24)
JEHOVAH-RA-AH - The LORD my shepherd (Psalm 23:1)
JEHOVAH TSIDKENU -The LORD our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6)
JEHOVAH SHAMMAH - The LORD is present (Ezekies 48:35)
JEHOVAH M ' KADDESH - The LORD doth sanctify (Exodus 31:13)
JEHOVAH MAKKEH - The LORD doth smite thee (Ezekiel 7:9)
JEHOVAH TSEBAOTH - Refers to warfare of service (Romans 9:29; James 5:4)
Praying for others pleases God and blesses the prayer warrior(s).
Here are some of the Bible characters who prayed intecessory prayers:
Abraham, on behalf of Sodom (Genesis 18:23-33)
Moses, for sinful Israel, (Numbers 14:11-20)
Daniel, for the Jewish captives (Daniel 9:3-6, 16-22)
Job, for his friends (Job 42:7-10)
Jesus, for His disciples (John 17:9-26)
Paul, for the Ephesians (Ephesians 3:14-19)
Prayer to the LORD produces some blessed and beneficial effects because our God is a Consuming Fire (Hebrews 12:29).
1. Elijah prayed and the fire came and consumed the sacrifice (1 Kings 18:21-38).
2. The saints can pray until the fire of the Holy Ghost will consume our sinful tendencies.
3. Prayer warriors can pray until the fire of the Holy Ghost will rid us of self-centeredness.
4. God's people can pray until the fire of the Holy Ghost will heal our nearsightedness,
both physical and spiritual. Nearsightedness can be replaced with God directed spiritual insight.
5. God's people can pray until the fire of the Holy Ghost will heal our near-sightedness,
both physical and spiritual. Near-sightedness can be replaced with God directed spiritual insight.
6. Children of God struggling against the strongholds of Satan have access to the empowering Holy
Ghost who will deal appropriately with the evil (Romans 8:26).
Remember, prayer was a turning point in Job's circumstances (Job 42:10).
7. We can pray effectively and fervently (red hot fiery prayers) until the Holy Spirit will
enable us to overcome our complacency and ineffectiveness.
There have been numerous recorded instances of answered prayers in today's contemporary society. God has not changed. His promises of healings and deliverances have not changed. What has changed is mankind's trust in the LORD and His Holy Word that was written for our learning?
The things of this world pale into insignificance when compared with the acts of God's Holy Ghost. God's way is the best way. It is the only satisfying way. You have tried the rest--now try the BEST!
Still being discussed is the subject of bonifide prayer and praying that will lead us in ways more perfect.
One well known evangelist who has gone to be with the Lord told the account of his mother and siblings at the dinner table where there was no food. There was no food in the house. His mother prayed, "Lord we thank thee for what we are about to receive." The evangelist (then a young lad) thought to himself, "What are we going to receive? There is nothing on the table but the plates and silverware." After the prayer ended, someone knocked on the door delivering a hot meal for everyone.
Friends, pray until you have prayed; then, pray some more!
I know this next statement will sound redundant, old-fashioned, and not politically correct. The statement is this: "Much prayer, much power; little prayer, little power; no prayer, no power!"
There are indictments against prayerlessness:
Christian altars are missing in the homes and churches of our country.
Some ministers no longer weep. Many compromise, compete and become complacent.
Worldlings ask members of church congregations, "Where is your God?"
The prophet Joel noticed this in his day (Joel 2:17b).
Secular Humanism would have all believe that every ministry is a fallen or failing ministry.
The unsaved subscribe to their counselors, horoscopes, palm readers, quija boards, and psychic advisors.
Seems nominal Christians would rather play than pray, feast than fast, buy the pills than bend the knee.
What is the answer to these charges? An answer can be found in Joel 2:15-19,
[15] Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: [16] Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. [17] Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where [is] their God? [18] Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. [19] Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen: (Joe 2:15-19 KJV)
Joel 2:29, et. al. gives the following encouragements that can be appropriated by faith in the Word of God and the God of the Word:
1. God will answer.
2. God will provide spiritual and physical sustenance (please see 1 Kings 17:6 and Isaiah 41:10).
3. He will take away the reproach.
4. He will drive the Enemy into a barren place.
5. The Lord will pour out His Spirit on all flesh.
By praying we can be full of the power of the Spirit of the Lord (Micah 3:8).
By praying we can stand and feed in the strength of the Lord (Micah 5:4).
Looking unto the Lord and waiting for Him are surely aspects of prayer, making real light about us in our darkness (Micah 7:8).
The prayer channel is a mirror reflecting the spiritual condition__Leonard Ravenhill
Prayer is the soul's sincere desire,
uttered or unexpressed,
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the brest.
Prayer makes the darkened clouds withdraw;
Prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw;
Brings every blessing from above.__selected
