Does it Pay to Pray?
Luke 18:1
“And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;”
What is Prayer? A Talk with God – Gen 3:10
Prayer is a Commandment
· Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
· 1Th 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
· Mat 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
· 1Ch 16:11 Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.
Ways to Pray
· Bow - Exo 34:8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.
· Kneel - Psa 95:6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
· On your Face - Num 20:6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them.
· Stand - Mar 11:25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
· Secret - Mat 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
· Daily - Dan 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
· All Night - Luk 6:12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
How Do I Pray - Luk 6:12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
The Pharisee and the Publican – Luke 18:10-14
Luk 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luk 18:12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Luk 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
The Lord’s Prayer – Matthew 6:5-13
Motive
Wrong Motive –
Place - Loving to pray: Only in synagogues, Streets
Reason - For Recognition
Reward - Man’s Esteem
Right Motive –
Place – Private
Reason – God is one’s secret/ private place
Reward – Will receive open blessings
3 Rules of Prayer
#1 Don’t use empty repetitions
#2 Don’t use much speech
#3 Trust God
He Hears you
He knows your needs
He desires to hear from you
The model Prayer
There is Surrender – To our Father in Heaven
There is Request
§ For God’s Kingdom
§ For God’s Will
§ For Daily Bread
§ For Forgiveness
§ For Deliverance
The Answer is Promised
· Psa 91:15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
· Isa 58:9 Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
· Isa 65:24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
· Zec 13:9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
· Joh 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Prayers answered in the Bible
· Moses - Exo 15:24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?25 And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,
· Solomon - 1Ki 9:3 And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
· Elijah - 1Ki 18:37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.38 Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
· Hezekiah - 2Ki 19:19 Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only. 20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.
· Early Church - Act 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
· Paul & Silas - Act 16:25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.
Causes of Failure in Prayer
· Self Will – Matthew 6:10 “Thy will be done”
· Self Way - 1Sa 14:37 And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day.
· Sin - Isa 59:1 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
· Secret Sin - Psa 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
· Shaky - Jam 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
· Self Indulgence - Jam 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
· Separate from the Law - Pro 28:9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.
How is your Prayer?
