P R A Y E R
In Isaiah we read in Chapter 62:6,7 I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
We are urged to call upon Lord without ceasing and we are not expected give Lord rest at all. Regarding Prayer I would like to mention few points.
Five Conditions for prayer:
1.We should have a proper place for calling upon Lord. When we are alone it should be secret place.
Mathew 6:6 says: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.
2. We should have proper purpose for prayer: In Mathew 6:5 we see And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
3. We should have the proper relation with the father, we should believe that He is our father He will not give us anything which is harmful to us. Luke 11:11-13 shows the relation and the trust in Him;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?
4. We should have proper faith in our father that being sons/daughters our Heavenly father will defenitely give whatever we ask as per His wish. Psalms 55:16,17 says:As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
5. We should have a proper, rather clean heart for calling up Mark 7:6,7 says: He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
6. We should be abiding in Him..."If ye abide in Me, and My Words abide
in
you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." John
15:7
Five Commandments for Prayer:
1. Be watchful and pray. We should not sleep, but be awaken. We see in Luke 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
2. Pray that we are not tempted. In Mathew 26:41 we read: Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak
3. Pray for Lord’s workers. In Luke 10:2 we read: Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
4. Pray for persons in authority. In 1 Timothy 2:1,2 we read: I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty
5. Pray for even our enemies. Luke 6:28 says:Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
WHEN SHOULD WE PRAY:
Psalms 55:16,17 says: As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. We should pray in the morning, noon and in the evening.
In Isaiah 62:6,7 we saw ’pray always’ that is 24 hours a day.
In Mark 1:35 we see, early morning: And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed
In Luke 6:12 we see ’whole night’: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.
In Mark 6:41 we see before meals:And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.
FOR WHAT SHOULD WE PRAY:
For ourselves, we should pray. In1 Chronicle 4:10 we see: And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.
For one another, we should pray. In James 5:16 we see:Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
For our spiritual leaders, growth of church and gospel, we should pray. In 2 Thes.3:1 we see:Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you
Pray for sick. In James 5:15 we see: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him
Pray for the fallen believers: In John 5:16 we read:If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
For the Father’s Will to be done, not ours...Matthew 6:10 "Thy Will be
done
in earth, as it is in heaven."
and Matthew 26:39 "...nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt"
Prayer Help:
1.Who will assist us in prayer? In Rom 8:26 we see: Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Our helper is Holy Spirit in our prayers.
2. Our co-believer is another help in prayers. In Mathew 18:19 we read: Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. If two of us agree in heart on a subject we pray, the success is guaranteed!
3. Prayer by whole church yield result. In Acts 4:24 we see:And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
God Bless you!
